At Hell's Gates
by mrsemmettcullen12
Summary: What if Sam had a twin sister? This is the story of Dean and Sam with a sister, Alex.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. _

**At Hell's Gates**

22 Years Ago…

A beautiful blonde woman walked into a nursery with a four year old boy on her hip. She flipped on the light, set him down, and said, "C'mon, let's say goodnight to the twins." The boy rushed to one crib, kissed the baby on the forehead, then repeated the actions for the other baby while his mother looked on, standing in the doorway. "Goodnight loves," she said as the little boy stood next to her. "Hey Dean," said a man from the doorway, standing behind the woman. Dean turned, said "Daddy!" and ran into his dad's arms. "Hey buddy. So what do you think? You think Sam and Alex are ready to toss around a football?" "No Daddy," said Dean, shaking his head. "No," said the dad, rolling his eyes. The woman turned to them. "You got him?" she asked. "I got him." Dean snuggled into his dad's chest. "Sweet dreams Sam and Alex," said the dad. He smiled and walked out of the room, turning off the lights and shutting the door behind him.

The babies' room was silent except for baby Sam. He was looking at the mobile above his head, cooing to himself while his sister lay silent in her crib. The clock was ticking and the lights began to flicker.

In the master bedroom, the baby monitor went off with Sam's crying. The mom sighed and flipped on a light on her bedside table. "John." She sat up and looked around, but John was not next to her. She sighed again and got out of bed to go to the twins' room. She walked in and saw a figure standing over Sams crib. "John, is he hungry?" "Ssh," cautioned the figure, bringing a finger to his lips to emphasize his warning. "Okay." She left the room and headed down the hall. She noticed that a light was flickering. She went over to it and lightly tapped it, but nothing happened. "Huh." She headed downstairs and saw that John was asleep in his armchair, with an old western movie playing on the television. She ran back up the stairs to the babies' room. "Sammy! Alex!" She entered the room, gasped, and screamed.

John was startled awake when he heard his wife scream. "Mary!" He ran up the stairs two at a time, heading for the twins' room. "Mary?" He looked around, but didn't see her. Both of the babies were whimpering. He walked over to Sams crib first. "Hey Sammy," he said. The baby smiled up at him. John reached over to touch Sam's cheek when something dripped on his knuckles. He looked at them, confused. He looked up and pinned to the ceiling was Mary, blood dripping from the gash across her stomach. "No, Mary!" John fell to the floor as Mary burst into flames. The babies began to cry. John stood up, grabbed Sam, then Alex. He ran into the hall and handed them to Dean, who had woken up from the noises. "Take them outside as fast as you can. Don't look back. Now, Dean, go!" ordered John. Dean ran down the steps with his siblings as John ran back into the flaming nursery. "Mary!" He shielded his face as flames and flying debris surrounded him.

Dean looked up at the window of the burning nursery when he was on the front lawn. The babies were still crying. "Ssh, it's okay," he said, as he tried to soothe them. John suddenly ran from the house, scooped his children up, and ran away from their house as it burst into flames.

The firemen sprayed down what was left of the house while the family looked on. Dean held a now sleeping Alex and John held a whimpering Sam.

John looked at his children, then at his house, and knew what he had to do.

Stanford University, Present Day…

"Sam, get a move on! We were supposed to be there like, 15 minutes ago," said a blonde who was putting in her earrings. "Sam! You coming or what?" "Do I have to?" asked Sam, as he stuck his head in the doorway. "Yes. It'll be fun." Sam walked up to her. "And where's your costume?" she questioned. Sam scoffed. "You know how I feel about Halloween." The girl grabbed what she needed and they headed out the door.

Loud music played as Sam sat at a table with his friend and girlfriend. "So, here's to Sam and his awesome LSAT victory." The blonde raised her shot glass and chugged it with Sam and his friend. "Alright, alright. It's not that big of a deal," said Sam, setting down his glass. "He's so humble even though he scored a 174," said the blonde to Sam's friend. "So now, you can go to any law school you want," remarked the friend. "Actually, I have an interview here on Monday. If it goes well, I think I have a shot at a full ride next year." Sam smiled as he finished his remark. "Hey, it's gonna go great," said his girlfriend, the blonde. "How does it feel to be the golden boy of your family?" asked his friend. Sam sighed. "They don't care." "Nah man, I would be gloating! Why not?" he asked. "Because we're not exactly the Brady's." replied Sam. "I'm gonna get us more shots," said the friend, walking away. "Seriously, I'm proud of you." The blonde pulled Sam in for a kiss.

Lying in bed that night, Sam heard a crashing sound. He got up and headed down the hall. He saw an open window and looked around. He noticed a figure scampering across an open door, so he entered the room. Sam hid in a closet and just as the figure passed by, Sam jumped out. He threw a few punches, but the man pinned him to the ground. "Whoa, easy tiger." "Dean?" panted Sam. "You scared the crap outta me." "That's because you're out of practice," replied Dean. Sam suddenly sat up and had Dean on his back, on the floor. "Or not. Get off of me." Sam let Dean up. "Dean, what the hell are you doing here?" "Well, I was lookin' for a beer." Dean smirked at his clever remark. Sam crossed his arms and looked Dean in the eyes. "What the hell are you doing here?" he repeated. "Okay, alright. We gotta talk." Dean replied. "Sam?" said a voice. The blonde appeared and flipped on the light, squinting at Dean. "Jess, hey. Dean, this is my girlfriend Jessica." Dean smiled and nodded his head in approval. "Wait, your brother Dean?" asked Jessica to Sam. "I love the Smurfs," said Dean, pointing to the shirt Jessica was wearing. "You know, you are completely out of my brothers league." "Just let me put something on," said Jessica, as she turned to go back to the bedroom. "No, I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously," said Dean, smirking. "Anyway, I've gotta borrow your boyfriend to talk about some private family business, but uh, nice meeting you." "No. Whatever you wanna say, you can say it in front of her." Sam went to stand by Jessica after his statement. "Okay. Um… Dad hasn't been home in a few days," said Dean. "So, he's working overtime. He'll stumble home in a few days." Sam replied. Dean looked him in the eye. "Dad's on a hunting trip and he hasn't been home in a few days." Sam stiffened and Jessica looked up at him. "Jess, excuse us." Sam said. "We have to go outside."


	2. Chapter 2

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. _

**Chapter 2**

"I mean, c'mon. You can't just break into our apartment in the middle of the night and expect me to hit the road with you," said Sam to Dean. They had left Sam's apartment and were walking down the stairs of the apartment building. "You're not hearing me Sammy. Dad's missing and I need your help finding him," replied Dean. "He's always missing and he's always fine." Dean stopped at the step landing and looked at his younger sibling. "Are you gonna come with me or not?" he asked. "I'm not." Dean sighed. "Why not?" "I swore I was done hunting for good." Sam answered. "Well, it wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad," said Dean. "Yeah? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." Sam raised his eyebrows. "What was he supposed to do?" asked Dean. " I was 9 years old!" yelled Sam. Dean turned and headed outside. Sam followed. "Do you think Mom would've wanted this for us?" asked Sam. Dean ignored the question. "Dean, we were raised like warriors." They walked to Dean's car. "I can't do this alone," said Dean. "Yes, you can." "You're right. I don't want to do this alone." Dean looked at Sam. After a few moments, Sam sighed. "What was he hunting?" Dean walked with Sam to the trunk. Dean opened it and handed Sam a folder. "Here." Sam began to look it over, then paused. "Wait. Why did you come get me and not Alex?" he asked. Dean sighed and said, "After you left, she felt betrayed. She was mad at Dad and me for not stopping you from leaving. We left for a job and when we came back home a couple days later, she was gone. No note, nothin'. I haven't talked to or seen her since." "Alright, I'll help. Let's go get Alex and then find Dad." Sam shut the trunk and climbed in the passenger seat while his brother drove.

"Alex, you're so beautiful." Alex sighed as Jason pulled her shirt over her head and kissed down her neck. "Thanks." She pulled his head up to kiss him when suddenly, there was a pounding at her door. "What the hell is that?" She pushed Jason off of her and went to her door. She looked out of the peephole and standing outside her door were two people she never expected to see anytime soon. "Shit!" She threw on her shirt and turned to a confused Jason. "Look. Unless you wanna die, you better go out through the fire escape now." Jason obliged and left through her window. She shut the window and opened her door. "Hey sis. It's been a long time." Dean entered her apartment followed by Sam. "What do you want?" she asked. "Help. Dad's been gone for three weeks on a hunting trip." Dean answered. "Well, I don't want to help any of you." She looked at Sam. "How could you just leave us? Leave me?" Alex let a single tear fall down her cheek. Sam looked at her sadly. "I'm here now. I'll make it up to you, I swear." He pulled her in his arms for a hug and she returned it. "What the hell is that?" Sam pulled Alex's hair back to inspect her neck, which was covered in hickeys. "Uh, they're burn marks?" She looked at her brothers, who looked livid. "Alright, fine. They're hickeys." "I'm gonna kill whoever gave that to you," said Dean. "Dude, he marked her up good," commented Sam. Alex glared at him and Sam looked at the floor with his hands in his pockets. "Dean, you can kill him later. Now, let's go find Dad." Alex grabbed a duffel bag from her closet and threw some clothes in it. She walked to the door where her brothers were waiting. "Glad to have you back Lex," said Dean and he threw his arm over Alex's shoulders.


	3. Chapter 3

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. _

**Chapter 3**

"So, where are we headed?" asked Alex. She was stretched out in the backseat of Dean's car, an Impala. Dean was driving, while Sam was in the passenger seat. "Jericho, California." Sam answered. He passed back the folder containing the information. "Well, let me know when we get there." She threw the folder on the floor, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

She was jolted awake when they stopped for gas. Dean was inside and Sam had his door open, looking through Dean's tapes. "Morning." He looked at Alex as she sat up and rubbed sleep out of her eyes. Dean came out of the store and walked to the car. He held up a bag of Cheetos and a two-liter of Coke. "Hey. You want breakfast?" he asked, looking between them. Alex scrunched up her face in disgust and shook her head. "No thanks," said Sam, scoffing. Alex leaned her arms on the back of Dean's vacated headrest. "What are you looking at, Sammy?" "Dean's tape collection, which you need to update." Sam said to Dean as he entered the car. "Why?" asked Dean. "Well, for one they're cassette tapes. And two… Black Sabbath? Metallica? Motorhead? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock." Alex laughed and Dean glared at her through the rearview mirror. Sam shut his door and they pulled out of the gas station with Dean cranking up AC/DC.

When they saw the 7 miles to Jericho sign, they also saw police cars. "Check it out." Dean slowed the Impala to a stop on the side of the road and took the keys out of the ignition. He grabbed some fake F.B.I. badges from the glove compartment, told Alex to stay in the car, and he and Sam got out.

The boys walked onto the bridge. "You fellas had another one like this just last month, didn't you?" asked Dean. He and Sam approached two local police officers that looked up from their inspection of the dead man's car. " Who are you?" asked one. "Federal Marshals." Dean and Sam showed their badges. "You two are a little young to be Marshals, aren't you?" "That's awfully kind of you. You did have another one like this, correct?" asked Dean, as he inspected the vehicle. "That's right. There have been others too." "What's the theory?" asked Sam. "We don't have one." Dean walked back over to Sam. "Thank you for your time gentlemen," said Sam. Dean and Sam walked away and walked towards the car. "Son of a bitch," muttered Dean. "Wha-? Oh." Sam looked up and saw Alex a little too close to some guy. "I'm gonna kill him," said Dean, walking forward. "Be calm." Sam said, but Dean was too far gone. Sam sighed and quickened his pace to catch up to Dean.

Alex was giggling as Johnny was kissing her neck and sliding his hand under her skirt. She looked over his shoulder and saw Dean walking towards them, looking livid. "Johnny, Johnny. You have to stop." Alex pushed him away, but he still held onto her waist. "Why baby? We're having so much fun." He smiled and went to kiss her, but was yanked away by Dean. "What the hell?" Johnny looked at Dean. "Stay away from my little sister." Johnny looked at Alex, than Dean, panic on his face. He stood up from the ground and quickly scampered away. "I hate you!" yelled Alex and she shoved past Dean to get into the car. "C'mon man, let's go." Sam said. The brothers climbed into the car and went to find a motel.


	4. Chapter 4

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. _

**Chapter 4**

Once they found a motel and a room, the siblings went to the library to look up any local legends. Dean was having no luck on the computer searches. He sighed after the last search produced no results. "Let me try," said Sam. He tried to grab the mouse, but Dean swatted his hand away. Sam glared at his brother's immaturity and pushed Dean's chair away from the computer. He moved his own in front of the screen as Alex laughed at her brothers' antics. Sam typed in "Female Murder on Centennial Highway" and got no results. "Wait. Angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?" asked Alex. "Yeah." "Then maybe it's not murder." She sat on Sam's lap and typed in "Female Suicide Centennial Highway" and got one result. "Constance Welch, 24 years old, jumps off the bridge and drowns in the river," read Sam over Alex's shoulder. "Her kids drowned in the bathtub. That's why she did it." "That bridge look familiar to you?" asked Dean, pointing to the picture. Sam looked at it. "Yep. Good job lil' sis." Sam hugged her and Dean kissed the top of her head as they left the library.

"So, this is where Constance took a swan dive." Sam and Dean were at the bridge. Alex remained at the motel. "You think Dad would've been here?" asked Sam. "Well, he was chasing this story and we're chasing him." Dean bean walking farther down the bridge and Sam followed. "Okay, now what?" "We keep digging until we find him. It might take awhile." Sam sighed in frustration at his brother's answer. "Dean, I told you. I've gotta get back by…" "Monday." Dean finished Sam's sentence. "Right, the interview. I forgot." "Yeah." Dean turned to his brother. "You're really serious about it, aren't you? You think you'll marry your girl?" he asked. "I don't know, maybe." Sam shrugged. "Does Jessica know the truth about you? Does she know about the things you've done?" asked Dean. "No, and she's not ever going to know." said Sam. "Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want Sammy, but sooner or later you'll have to fess up to what you really are." Dean turned and began to walk away. "And who is that?" Sam caught up to his brother. "One of us." "No. I'm not like you and this is not my life," said Sam, planting himself in front of his brother's path. "This is your responsibility," said Dean. "To Dad? You know, if it weren't for pictures, Alex and I would never know what Mom looked like." Dean stiffened. "She's gone. She's never coming back." At Sam's comment, Dean shoved Sam against the bridge. "Don't talk about her like that." Dean let him go and they continued walking towards the car. Dean turned around at a noise and saw a woman wearing a white dress, standing on the edge of the bridge. "Sam." Dean hit Sam's shoulder and Sam turned to look. She looked at them and jumped. They ran to the edge and looked down. "Where did she go?" asked Dean. "I don't know." Suddenly, the car engine started and they looked up. "Who's driving your car?" asked Sam, squinting at the brightness of the headlights. Dean pulled the keys out of his jacket pocket and the car lurched toward them. "Dean, go. Go!" yelled Sam. He ran behind Dean and they jumped off of the bridge.

Sam pulled himself up from the ledge he was hanging on and looked down. "Dean? Dean!" "What?" answered Dean. "Hey, are you alright?" asked Sam. Dean made an OK symbol. "I'm super." Sam laughed at the sight of his brother covered in mud.

"Car alright?" asked Sam. They were on the bridge again, inspecting the car for any damage. "Yeah. Whatever she did to it, it seems fine now. That Constance chick, what a bitch!" yelled Dean into the night. "You smell like a toilet." Sam wrinkled his nose. Dean glared at him. "Let's go see Alex so we can figure out a plan and I can shower."

Sam and Dean walked through the door to see Alex wide-awake, eating chips and watching some Lifetime movie. She turned to them and looked Dean up and down, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "What the hell happened to you?" Dean ignored her question and walked into the bathroom, locking the door. A few seconds later, Sam and Alex heard the shower start up. Sam smiled and walked over to Alex. "The spirit was chasing us. We jumped off over the bridge and Dean didn't hold on. He fell in the mud below the bridge." Alex smirked and Sam sat next to her on the bed, slipping off his shoes. Alex glanced at the TV screen and turned back to Sam. "Oh, I found Dad's room here. I picked the lock and looked around. He figured it out. Had the same article we had. I figured he already took care of the body, so I wrote down the address of Constance's husband." Sam smiled. "You're awesome." Alex grinned and turned back to the TV. Sam grabbed his cell phone and began checking his voicemail when Dean came out of the bathroom, fully dressed. "I'm gonna go grab some food. You all want anything?" He grabbed his jacket and put it on. "Nah," said Sam. "Lex?" "A cheeseburger." Dean grabbed his keys off the table and headed out the door.

Dean walked out the door into the afternoon sun and saw the two cops from the bridge yesterday outside the motel, talking to the manager. They saw him and began heading toward him. He took out his cell phone and dialed Sam. "Hello?" "Dude, 5-0. Take off. Go find Dad." He hung up and turned around to face the cops. "Problem, officers?" "Where's your partner?" asked one cop. "Partner?" asked Dean, faking confusion. One cop went to check out the room as the other continued talking to Dean. "Fake U.S. Marshal, huh? Do you have anything that is real?" "Uh… my boots," replied Dean. The cop frowned, handcuffed Dean and stuck him in the back of the squad car.

"Alex, we gotta go." Sam hung up his phone and headed for the window. "Why? Where's Dean?" Alex turned off the TV and followed Sam to the window. "The cops have him." Sam opened the window and motioned for Alex to climb through it. She obliged and Sam followed her down the fire escape to the car.

" So, you wanna give us your real name?" asked the police chief. Dean was at the police station being questioned. "I told you already. It's Ted Nugent." "I'm not sure you realize how much trouble you're in here." "Like… misdemeanor trouble?" asked Dean. "Boy, you are officially a suspect." "Well, that makes sense because when the first victim went missing, I was three." "I know you got partners. One of em's an older guy. So, tell me, Dean, is this his?" The chief reached behind him and threw a leather journal on the table. Dean's smile faded, recognizing it as his father's journal. "I thought that might be your name. See, I leafed through this. I found this too." The chief flipped the journal to a page that said "Dean, 35-111." "Now, you're staying here until you tell me what that means."

Sam knocked on a door that he hoped was Joseph Welch's. An older man answered. "Hi. Are you Joseph Welch?" asked Sam, squinting in the sunlight. The man nodded and Sam pulled out a picture of John, Dean and himself. "Have you seen this man?" asked Sam, pointing to John. "Yeah. That guy came by about three days ago, said he was a reporter." "We're working on a story together." "He asked me where my wife was buried." "Mr. Welch, did you ever marry again after Constance?" "No. Constance was the love of my life." "So you had a happy marriage." "Definitely." "Well, thanks for your time," said Sam, walking to the Impala. As Sam reached the driver's side door, he paused. "Mr. Welch, have you ever heard of a Woman In White?" Joseph paused. "You think that has something to do with Constance?" "You tell me."

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you. It's my high school locker combination," said Dean. The police chief sighed, exasperated. A young officer peeked his head in the door. "Excuse me, sir. We just got a 911, shots fired." The chief nodded and handcuffed Dean to the table. The chief rushed out the door with the rest of the squad and Dean noticed a paperclip in the journal. He managed to grab it and picked the handcuffs open. He grabbed the journal and ran out the door.

"Fake 911 call, Sammy. That's pretty illegal," said Dean, smiling. He was talking to Sam from a pay phone. "You're welcome. So, the husband was unfaithful. This is a Woman In White." "Dad left Jericho. I've got his journal." Sam sighed. "What's it say? I don't understand what could be so important that Dad skips out on a job." " Sam, look out!" yelled Alex from the passenger seat. "Whoa!" Sam dropped his phone on the floor of the car and ran right through Constance, the ghost. "Sam! Alex!" yelled Dean through the phone. "Take me home," said the spirit, who was now in the backseat of the car. "Listen bitch…" said Alex. Suddenly, Alex was flung from the car with Sam's cell phone as well. "Alex!" yelled Sam, trying to open the door. " I said, take me home." Sam glanced in the rearview mirror at Constance. "No." Constance frowned and used her abilities to put the car in drive to her house.

"Dean, Sammy's in the car with that girl!" said Alex, talking to Dean on the phone. "Alright, Lex. I'll give you the address and you head up there. I'll meet you there." Dean read her the address and hung up, running to the house.

The Impala pulled up to the abandoned house and the headlights shut off. "I can never go home," whispered Constance, staring at the house with longing. Sam looked at the house, realization dawning. "You're scared." He turned to her, but she was gone. He turned back around and suddenly; she was on top of him. She pushed him so that he was lying down with her on top of him. "You can't kill me. I'm not unfaithful." Constance leaned down to whisper in Sam's ear. "You will be." She kissed him and stuck her hand in his chest. "Aah!" yelled Sam.

Alex ran into the yard of the abandoned house and saw the Impala. She pulled out her gun and shot the driver's side window of the car. Constance didn't move. "Lex, move!" Dean shot the ghost next and she disappeared. Sam sat up and started the car. "I'm taking you home." He drove the car through the house. Dean and Alex ran inside. "Sam?" asked Alex, looking through the rubble. "I'm here." Dean opened the passenger door. "You okay?" "I think. Help me out." Alex grabbed his hand and pulled Sam out of the car. They turned to look at the landing of the stairs where the ghost was standing. She was holding a framed photo of her kids. She threw it aside and pinned the Winchesters to the wall. They struggled and watched as the children of Constance came down the stairs and hugged her. She screamed and they all disappeared. The Winchesters fell from the wall and stood up, walking to the Impala. "If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you," said Dean, inspecting the car. Sam rolled his eyes and Alex laughed.

"Okay, Dad went to Blackwater Ridge, Colorado," said Sam. They were in the car, heading back to Stanford to drop off Sam. "How far?" asked Alex. "About 600 miles." "We could make it by morning," said Dean, stepping on the accelerator. "Dean, I-" "You're not going?" asked Alex. "My interview's in, like, 10 hours. I've gotta be there." "Yeah. I'll take you home," said Dean.

A few hours later, Dean pulled up to Sam's apartment that he lived in with Jessica. "Call me if you find him," said Sam. "Alright,"said Dean. "See you sis." Sam patted the top of the car and Dean revved the engine. Alex blew Sam a kiss and they drove away.

Sam unlocked the door to his apartment and walked through it. "Jess? You home?" He walked to the kitchen and saw a plate of cookies on the table. He grabbed one and took a bite, climbing up the stairs. He entered the bedroom, threw his stuff on the floor and lay on the bed. He finished the cookie and closed his eyes. He felt something drip onto his forehead and looked up. Jessica was pinned to the ceiling, blood dripping from her stomach. "No!" yelled Sam as she burst into flames. Suddenly, Dean burst through the door. "Sam! Sam!" He ran to the bed, grabbed Sam and pushed him out the door and down the stairs.

The firemen were outside the apartment and Dean was watching the crown that had appeared. He walked back over to the car where Alex and Sam were standing with the trunk open. Sam finished loading a gun and he threw it in the trunk. He pulled Alex close to his side and looked at Dean. "We got work to do." Sam shut the trunk and followed his brother and sister to the car, watching the firemen until they were little specks in the distance.


	5. Chapter 5

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. _

**Chapter 5**

"So, where are we going now?" asked Alex, yawning. "Blackwater Ridge, Colorado," said Dean. Sam remained silent in the passenger seat. He continued to stare out the window at the passing scenery. "Sammy? Are you alright?" asked Alex. "Yeah, I'm just gonna sleep for awhile." He leaned his head against the window.

Sam jerked awake a few hours later, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Where are we?" "We are pulling into the Ranger Station for Lost Creek Trail," said Dean, putting the car in park. The three of them climbed out of the car and entered the station.

"You three aren't planning to go out near Blackwater Ridge, are you?" asked a ranger as Sam, Dean, and Alex entered the station. "No, sir. We're just working on a paper," answered Sam. "Bull. You're friends with that Haley girl, right?" he asked. "Yes," said Alex. "Well, tell her to stop worrying. I'm sure her brother is fine." The ranger began to walk away, but Alex spoke. "Actually, can we have a copy of her brother's permit? It might help her." The ranger smiled. "Sure." He printed off a copy and handed it to her. "Thanks," said Sam and they left.

"You must be Haley. I'm Dean, this is Sam. Our other ranger is Alex. We wanted to ask you some questions." Haley looked them over. "C'mon in."

"How do you know something's wrong?" asked Sam. "He always checks in. Calls, videos. He never forgets," said Haley. She pulled up a video on her laptop and played it for them. "Do you mind forwarding these to me?" asked Sam. "No. Anyway, we're going to that mountain tomorrow. Maybe we'll see you up there." She put her hands on her little brothers shoulders. "Thanks for your time," said Sam and he followed his brother and sister out the door.

"These articles I found claim it as a grizzly bear attack. They happen every 23 years, like clockwork," said Sam. "Are there any survivors?" asked Alex. "One." "Well, let's go talk to him," said Dean. Alex got out of the car and stood by Dean's car door. He handed her a credit card. "Lex, go check out a room." Alex nodded and entered the motel as they drove away.

The boys returned an hour later, plopping down next to Alex on the bed. "So what'd you find out?" "It's not a bear, that's for sure. We have to go with Ben and Haley on their search," said Dean. Alex nodded and turned up the TV.

"Who are you?" asked the guide who was leading Ben and Haley on their search the next morning. "We're rangers. We just wanna help find their brother," said Sam. "I'm Roy. Let's go you three." He motioned to Alex, Sam, and Dean and they began walking up the mountain.

"You three only brought a duffel bag. Who are you?" asked Haley. Her and Dean had fallen to the back of the pack. Dean sighed. "We're looking for our father. Those two up there…" Dean motioned to Sam and Alex…" are twins. They're my younger siblings." "We're here. Blackwater Ridge," said Roy. "Do you two hear that?" asked Dean, looking at his siblings. "Yeah, silence," said Sam. "I'm gonna take a look around," said Roy. The siblings looked up from their huddle. "You shouldn't go off by yourself," said Sam. "I'll go with him," said Alex. "Lex…" warned Dean. "I'll be fine." She smiled at her brothers. They watched her walk away. "Okay, let's keep going."

"Sam!" yelled Dean. Sam found Dean looking at tracks. "They just vanish. Weird." They began walking back to Haley when they heard Alex screaming. "Sam! Dean! Help!" They ran towards her voice. Dean saw drag marks from when she had been taken. "Shit!" Dean looked around and Sam ran a hand through his hair. "I think it's a Wendigo," said Sam. Dean looked at him and nodded grimly.

"Where the hell are we?" asked Roy. He was in a dark place with absolutely no light with Alex. " I don't know, but I think it's a Wendigo," said Alex, struggling with her bonds. "Hey, I'm Tommy," said a guy across the way. "I'm Alex." She smiled at him. "What do we do?" asked Tommy, looking up at his own bonds to gauge how tight they were. "We wait. My brothers will come save us," said Alex, biting her lip.

"These things aren't supposed to be real," said Haley, staring at Dean. "I wish I could tell you different, I really do," said Dean. "Alright, Dean. Let's go after this thing. I want to get Alex back," said Sam. "I'm with him. I want Tommy," said Ben, Haley's little brother. "Cool. Let's go get this evil son of a bitch." Dean threw his duffel bag on his back and led the way.

"Alright. Sam and I will go in, get Tommy and Alex, and then we'll torch the sucker," said Dean to Haley and Ben. They nodded and Dean walked over to his brother. " Ready Sam?" "Yeah." They entered the cavern quietly. Dean held the machetes and gasoline while Sam had the flashlight. "Alex!"

Alex was still trying to break free of her bonds when she heard yelling. She stopped struggling to yell back. "Sam! Dean! Over here!" She returned back to her struggling when her brothers found her. "Thank God you found us," said Alex, nodding at Roy and Tommy. Dean began working on Tommy's ropes while Sam untied Alex. He got her free and pulled her close. "Don't ever scare us like that again." Dean had untied Tommy and Roy. "Alright, let's get outta here." They headed back the way they had come and had almost reached the exit of the cave when they heard a low growl from behind them. "Shit. Roy and Tommy, run outside now," said Dean. The men nodded and ran as fast as they could. Dean turned back to Sam and Alex, pushing Alex behind him and Sam. "Sam, take Lex outside." Sam's eyebrows pulled together. "What? Dean, no. We're staying with you." Dean sighed, but agreed. He uncapped the gasoline and poured it all around them. They began to back up, causing the Wendigo to step forward into the gasoline puddle. Dean threw a lit match onto the gasoline and ran outside behind his siblings. They stood with Haley, Ben, Tommy and Roy, watching it burn.

"Thank you for finding Tommy," said Haley. Dean smiled and she hugged all three of the Winchesters. Tommy approached Alex and Dean glared at his back. "Dean, c'mon." Sam tugged on Dean's arm and pulled him towards the car. "Thanks for keeping me calm in there. You don't know what I saw…" Tommy shuddered and Alex smiled. "I can bet that I've seen worse. And no problem." Tommy smiled and leaned down to kiss her. Their lips moved together perfectly and Tommy's hands moved to Alex's waist. Alex put her hands on his shoulders and began to deepen the kiss. Dean cleared his throat and Tommy pulled away, smiling. Alex waved bye to him and climbed in the car, watching them disappear as Dean drove away.


	6. Chapter 6

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. _

**Chapter 6**

Alex, Sam and Dean were at a diner eating breakfast. Dean was looking through the local paper for mysterious deaths. He circled one and pointed it out to Sam and Alex. "I found one. Sophie Carlton, drowned in Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Third this year." Sam shoved some hash browns in his mouth and took a swig of apple juice. "Okay. Let's go." He put on his jacket and headed for the door, Alex and Dean behind him.

Dean parked the car and looked at Alex in the backseat. "Alex, wait here." Alex waved him off with her hand and he and Sam got out of the car and walked up the front porch steps of a small, wooden house. They knocked on the door and a teenage boy answered the door. "Hi. We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service. We have some questions about your sisters death," said Dean. The boy glanced inside, and then shut the door behind him. "Okay." He sat on a chair on the front porch and Sam and Dean stood in front of him. "Did your sister often swim in the lake?" asked Dean. "Yeah. Every day. This is why her death doesn't make sense." The kid put his head in his hands and Sam looked at Dean. "Was there any splashing?" The kid shook his head. "No." "No signs of distress at all?" asked Sam. "None. She just got pulled under." Sam wrote the information down in a notepad and smiled at the kid. "Thanks for your time." He and Dean stepped off the porch and headed for the car.

Sam and Dean had left Alex at the motel and were at the police station, talking to the chief police. A young woman appeared at the door. "Excuse me. Am I interrupting something?" she asked. "Gentlemen, this is my daughter," said the chief. She entered the room and shook both of their hands. "I'm Dean." "Andrea Bar." A little boy peeked out from behind Andrea's leg, looking up at Dean. "Hi there," said Dean, smiling. The buy quickly turned away and his mom sighed. "His name's Lucas," said the chief. "Is he okay?" asked Sam. "My grandson's been through a lot."

"Hey guys," said Alex as Sam and Dean walked through the motel room door. "Hey sis. Did you get any research done?" asked Dean. "Yeah. Besides the three drownings this year, there have been six more. Spread out over 12 years. If there's something out there, no one's lived to tell about it." Alex clicked on a page on the laptop and a picture popped up. "Wait a minute, Bar. That's Andrea's last name," said Dean, looking at the picture. Sam came over and looked at it too. "That's Lucas," said Dean. "I guess we have an eyewitness after all," said Sam. "You know this kid?" asked Alex, looking between her brothers. "Yeah. Let's go see him."

The siblings went to the local park and saw Andrea sitting on a bench alone. They walked up to her. "Can we join you?" asked Sam. "I'm here with my son," said Andrea. "Oh, cool. Mind if I say hi?" Dean didn't wait for an answer, but walked over to Lucas. Sam sat next to Andrea on the bench. "Andrea, this is my sister, Alex." Andrea smiled at Alex. "You are so gorgeous," said Andrea. "Thank you. You have a beautiful son." "Well, thank you."

Dean walked up to Lucas and plopped down next to him. "Hey there." Lucas said nothing and continued drawing. "Mind if I sit and draw with you?" asked Dean. He grabbed a crayon and paper and began to draw. He looked at Lucas, who hadn't moved an inch. Dean looked back at his own paper and began to talk. "I know something bad happened to you and your dad on the lake. I just want you to know, I'll believe you." He handed Lucas the picture he had drawn. "This is for you." Dean pointed to each figure as he named them off. "That's my dad, my mom, my little sister and my little geek brother. That's me." Dean set the crayon down that he had drawn with. "See you around, Lucas." Dean walked away and Lucas watched him leave.

"Lucas hasn't said a word since the accident," said Andrea. "Well, kids are tough. You'd be surprised what they can go through," said Sam, looking up as Dean approached. "Ready to go?" asked Alex. Dean nodded and looked down when he felt a tug on his jacket sleeve. Lucas handed Dean a picture that he had drawn of a small, red house and ran back to his coloring area. They watched him go and Sam stared at his brother.

Alex and Sam were watching TV when Dean came storming into the motel room. "Whoa, slow down. What's a matter?" asked Alex. "I just drove past the Carlton house. Will Carlton, the son, is dead. He drowned… in the sink." "Well, it's not a creature," said Alex. Sam nodded and Dean sighed. "Let's go pay Bill Carlton a visit."

Bill Carlton was sitting in a chair by the lake as Sam and Dean approached him. "Mr. Carlton? We're from the Wildlife-" "I don't care where you're from. I'm not answering any questions. Just leave me alone, please." Sam looked at Dean, who nodded and they headed back to the car.

"Hey, you know that picture Lucas drew and gave you?" asked Alex. She was leaning out the passenger side window of the Impala. "Yeah. What about it?" asked Dean. "It looks a lot like the Carlton house to me." Sam and Dean turned and studied the house intently. "Huh. Lucas may know something," said Sam.

The Winchesters were at Andrea's house so that Dean could talk to Lucas. "Hey Lucas. Remember me?" Dean crouched down to be at the same level as Lucas. Sam, Alex, and Andrea looked on at the doorway. "I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. I need your help again." Dean pulled the picture out of his pocket and unfolded it. He smoothed it out and set it in front of Lucas. "Did you know something bad was gonna happen?" Lucas said nothing. "I know you're scared. I understand. You see, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom." Sam and Alex looked at each other. "I was scared too. I didn't feel like talking. But I know my mom wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day." Lucas looked up at him and handed him a picture of a little boy on a bicycle. Dean smiled. "Thanks Lucas."

"So, we've got another house to find," said Alex. "There are like, a thousand yellow two story houses around here," said Dean, anger and frustration evident in his tone. "See this church?" Sam pointed to a picture Lucas had given them. "There aren't a thousand of those." Alex nodded and looked at Dean. "Hey, Dean?" "Yeah?" "What you said about Mom… you never told me that before." "Me either," said Sam. Dean shrugged and continued looking out his window for the house. "It's no big deal."

"So, she said that Peter just vanished," said Sam. He was back at the motel with Dean after visiting an old lady who told them that a young boy had just vanished 35 years ago. "And this Peter kid hung around with Bill Carlton and Andrea's dad," said Dean. "Alex, open the fuckin' door!" Dean banged on the door. "Dude, I have a key. Calm down." Sam took out his key and opened the door, suddenly wishing he hadn't. Alex was making out with some guy in bed. She was topless, but she still had on her bra. Her skirt was also still on. The boy with her had on just his boxers and was looking right at Sam and Dean. "Oh, fuck." Alex pushed the boy off of her and slid under the covers. Dean barreled into the room, picked up they boy, and slammed him into the wall. "Listen, you little scumbag. You come anywhere near my sister again and I'll fuckin' kill you. Understand?" The kid nodded, his eyes wide with fear. Dean let him go and he scampered past Sam and out the door, never looking back. "Alex. What the fuck were you doing?" asked Dean. Sam chuckled. "Really Dean? Are you that oblivious?" Dean glared at him and Alex threw on her shirt. Dean turned back to her. "I don't wanna know that you're… you know…" Dean looked down, unable to finish his sentence. "Having sex? I lost my virginity when I was 15," said Alex. She found a pair of shorts on the floor and put them on. Sam's mouth gaped open at her confession. "Look, I'm sorry. I just get _really_ bored when I'm all alone." She walked up to Dean and threw her arms around his waist. "I love you." "I love you too, Lex." Dean kissed the top of her head and Sam smiled at them.

The three of them were sitting at the kitchen table, talking about the deaths. "So this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow?" asked Alex. "Yep. He used to be friends with Peter Sweeney. What if he killed Peter?" asked Dean. "Peter's ghost would be furious. It's very possible," reasoned Sam. "Well, let's go see if Bill's ready to talk yet."

They got out of the Impala to see Bill headed out on the lake in his boat. They rushed to the dock, but it was too late. Bill's boat was flung into the air and he disappeared in the lake. "Damn it!" yelled Dean. Alex sighed and Sam ran his hands through his hair.

They went to the police station next and entered to see Andrea and Lucas there. Lucas saw them and ran over to Dean, tears streaming down his face. "Hey, buddy. It's okay." Dean crouched down to his level and Andrea walked over to them. "I'm taking him home now." She grabbed Lucas's hand and led him out of the police station. The chief led them into his office where they told their story. "So, you saw something attack Bill Carlton's boat?" asked the chief. "Yes, sir," said Dean. "Well, I called the Wildlife Department. They've never heard of any of you. So I suggest you put this town in your rearview mirror and never come back." "Yes, sir." The siblings quickly left the station and headed out of town.

Driving that night, Dean was stopped at an intersection. He took a right turn, heading back the way they had just come from. "Dean, the interstate is the other way," said Sam. "I don't think this job's over. Lucas looked really scared and he was crying," said Dean. "Um… who are you and what have you done with my brother?" asked Alex, smiling. Dean flipped her the bird in the rearview mirror and Sam laughed.

Dean pulled up to Andrea's house and they all got out. They climbed up the steps and Dean was ready to hit the doorbell when the door was pulled open. Lucas stood in the doorway, gasping. "Lucas, what's wrong?" asked Alex. Lucas ran back into the house and they followed him. He ran up the stairs and to the bathroom door. Water was coming out from under the closed door. Dean kicked it open and Sam rushed inside. Water was overflowing from the tub and Andrea was drowning in it. Sam reached in the water, grabbing Andrea. He pulled as hard as he could, the veins in his arms flexing from the effort. Dean held Lucas in the doorway, as he and Alex looked on, wide-eyed. Finally, Sam pulled Andrea out and she gasped for air. They fell on the floor and Alex ran to get Andrea some clothes.

Andrea was now sitting at the kitchen table, talking to Alex and nursing a cup of coffee. Dean and Sam were looking at photo albums. "Sam, look." Dean pushed the album Sam's way and pointed to a photo of three young boys. "It's the chief, Peter, and Bill." The boys looked at one another. Alex stood up from her chair and walked to the front door. "Lucas, what is it?" she asked. Alex followed him outside. Sam and Dean went after her with Andrea behind. Lucas led them to a spot and pointed at the ground. "I think we have to dig," said Alex. Lucas nodded and Andrea rushed back inside. She came back, handing each of them a shovel. "Andrea, stay inside with Lucas," said Dean.

Ten minutes later, Sam and Dean pulled a bike up from underground. "Peter's bike," said Alex. Suddenly, a gun was cocked beside Alex. "How did you know that was there?" asked Andrea's dad, the police chief. "You can't bury the truth, Jake," said Dean. Andrea came rushing outside. "Is any of this true, Dad?" Jake looked at his daughter. "It was an accident. We went swimming and wanted to play a joke on Peter. He was the smallest out of the three of us. We held him underwater for too long. He drowned and we let him go in the lake." "Okay. We need to get you all away from this lake," said Dean. Suddenly, Alex gasped. "Lucas, no!" They all turned to see Lucas by the water's edge. He was suddenly pulled under and they all ran toward the lake. Sam and Dean ran off the dock and dived into the lake. Sam came back up. "Alex, stay there with Andrea." He dove back under and Alex held onto Andrea, who was crying hysterically. Alex looked over to see Jake entering the water. "Jake, get away from there!" Jake looked at her and was suddenly pulled under. Andrea screamed. "Shh, it'll be okay," said Alex. Sam resurfaced and looked at them, shaking his head. Andrea cried and watched Dean resurface, holding an unconscious Lucas.

At the gas station the next morning, Sam and Dean loaded their stuff into the Impala. "Dean, we're not gonna save everyone," said Alex from the backseat. "Alex! Dean! Sam!" yelled a voice. They turned to look and saw Andrea with Lucas heading towards them. "We made you all lunch. Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself," said Andrea. Sam and Alex smiled and Dean took the plate from Lucas. He handed it to Alex in the backseat and looked at Andrea. Andrea smiled and kissed him. She pulled away quickly and smiled. Sam looked at Dean, smirking. "Sam, move your ass," said Dean, climbing in the car. Alex laughed and waved goodbye as they drove away.


	7. Chapter 7

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. _

**Chapter 7**

"Morning sunshine!" yelled Alex. She walked into the motel room with a Starbucks coffee cup in her hand and kicked Dean's motionless form that was still in bed. "Ugh, what time is it?" he asked. He popped his head up from his pillow and looked at Alex. "5:45." She sipped her coffee and smiled as Dean flopped his head back on the pillow, groaning. Sam entered the room, also holding a cup of coffee. "Hey Dean." Dean looked up at him. "Hey, did you get any sleep last night?" Alex's eyebrows came together in confusion and she glanced at her twin brother. "Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours." Sam looked away from them and sipped his coffee. "Liar. I woke up at three and you were watching infomercials," said Dean. He sat up and yawned. "Are you still having nightmares about Jess?" asked Alex, looking at Sam. He looked at her, sighing. "Yeah." Alex walked over to him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her waist. While they embraced, Dean's cell phone rang. He grabbed it off the nightstand and flipped it open, talking for a few moments. Once he was done, he threw the phone onto the bed and looked at his siblings. "We have to go see Dad's friend."

The siblings were with their Dad's friend, Jerry. "Okay, this is the cockpit voice recording for United Britannia Flight 2485." Jerry put in the CD and they all listened intently. "Mayday… 2485… failure…" The man on the recording stopped talking abruptly and a loud roaring sound appeared. "That's it. There are only seven survivors. The pilot, Chuck Lambert, is one of them. He feels like it's his fault," said Jerry, removing the CD. "Alright. We're gonna need passenger manifests, a list of survivors and is there any way we can take a look at wreckage?" asked Dean. "The other stuff, no problem. The wreckage is locked down in a warehouse by the NISB. I don't have clearance," said Jerry sadly. "No problem," said Dean.

"Fake Homeland Security badges? That's pretty illegal, even for you guys," said Alex. "Well, it's new. Nobody's seen it a thousand times," said Dean. Alex nodded in acceptance and flopped back on the backseat of the Impala, snapping her gum. "There was definitely EMF on the cockpit recording," said Alex. She blew a large bubble with her gum and Dean sighed. "Yeah. Which survivor do you wanna talk to first?" asked Dean, putting on his seatbelt and looking at Sam. "Max Jaffey. If anyone saw anything, he did." "Why do you say that?" asked Alex, popping her gum and smirking at Dean's annoyed face. "I spoke to his mother. She says he's in a mental hospital." Alex sighed and began to blow another bubble. "Alexandra Marie Winchester, if you blow another bubble, I will beat your ass." Dean looked at her, seriousness written on his face. Alex rolled her eyes and swallowed her gum, glaring at Dean. Dean smirked back at her through the rearview mirror and Alex flipped him off. Sam laughed.

Sam and Dean were at the mental hospital where Max Jaffey resided, talking to him about the crash. "I was already questioned by the Homeland Security," said Max. He was walking slowly in the courtyard of the hospital with Sam on one side of him and Dean on the other. "Well, we acquired some new information. Now, did you see anything weird?" asked Dean. Max paused for a second. "There was this man with black eyes. He opened the emergency exit, which is impossible." Dean and Sam exchanged glances.

The boys returned to the motel room. Alex was watching television while sucking on a lollipop. "Nothing was in the guy's house," said Dean. He sat on the edge of his bed. "You know, you need to get into that warehouse," said Alex. "Yeah, but we have to look the part," said Sam. "You'll have to go rent some suits." Alex laughed and the boys glared. "Here, have some of my sucker." She handed it to Dean, who licked it and gave it back. "By the way, the sucker is dick flavored," said Alex. Dean gagged and ran to the sink, spitting into it while Alex and Sam laughed.

Alex stood watch outside the warehouse as Sam and Dean pretended to be from Homeland Security. They entered the warehouse and began inspecting the wreckage of the plane. "Whoa, check out the EMF on the door handle," said Dean. Sam sauntered over to Dean and watched the EMF meter go all the way to the top. "What's on the handle?" asked Sam. He scraped some black gunk off the handle into a bag and stuffed it into his pocket. Sam's cell phone rang. "What, Alex?" His eyes widened as Alex spoke to him. "Shit. We're heading out." Sam stuck his phone in his pocket. "Sis says some actual Homeland Security guys just walked in. We've gotta move." Dean grabbed everything he needed and followed Sam out the doors, the alarms blaring as they ran to the Impala.

Sam, Dean, and Alex were with Jerry the next morning, inspecting the black gunk they had found on the wreckage. "Huh. This is sulfur." Jerry looked up at them from his microscope. "Are you sure?" asked Sam. "Yeah. Now, please excuse me." Jerry threw his gloves in the trash and walked out of his office, the door swinging shut behind him. Dean walked around the desk to the look through the microscope. "Demonic possession explains the sulfur," said Alex. "Yeah, but I've never seen a plane crashing demon."

Alex and Sam were in the motel room when Dean entered and began pacing. "Chuck Lambert is dead." Alex's mouth gaped open and Sam looked shocked. "What, when?" asked Sam. "40 minutes ago. A plane crash." "We should call Jerry," said Alex.

About 10 minutes later, the siblings were looking over everything they knew about the case. "These planes all go down 40 minutes in," said Sam. "If it went after Chuck, then it must be going after the survivors," offered Alex. Dean rifled through some papers and found what he was looking for. "Amanda Walker was a flight attendant. She has a flight tonight that leaves at eight tonight. I don't know if we'll make it." "Oh, we'll make it," said Sam. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door with Alex and Dean following closely.

The siblings were at the airport, Sam and Dean waiting for Alex to return. She was talking to Amanda, trying to convince her not to get on the plane. By the looks of it, Alex wasn't convincing Amanda. "Amanda's getting on that plane. I've tried everything I know," said Alex, walking up to her brothers. Sam ran his hands through his hair, tugging at it in frustration. "Dammit!" yelled Dean, throwing his hands up. "Okay. We're getting on that plane," said Sam. Alex looked at Dean, biting her lip. "We can't. I have a problem with flying," said Dean, panic on his face. "It's true. That's why he drives everywhere," said Alex. "Alright, then we'll go," said Sam, motioning to himself and Alex. "What? No, I'm not letting you two go by yourselves." Alex sighed. Sam nodded and went to the ticket counter. "C'mon, big brother. Be brave." Alex kissed Dean's cheek, took his hand, and led him to Sam.

They were sitting on the plane, Dean on the end, Alex in the middle, and Sam on Alex's other side. Dean was tapping his leg incessantly and the sound was annoying Alex. Sam was also annoyed and looked around Alex to glare at his brother. "What?" asked Dean. "Seriously, we haven't even taken off yet," said Sam. Dean sighed and Alex found a magazine in the pocket on the back of the airplane seat in front of her. She pulled it out and gave it to Dean, who began to flip through it. "Just try to relax," said Sam. "Just try to shut up," snapped Dean. Alex chuckled and she and Sam leaned back in their seats as the plane began to take off. A minute later, they looked at Dean in disbelief because he was humming. "You're humming Metallica?" asked Sam, shocked. "It calms me down," said Dean. "Look, Dean. You gotta stay focused. We have to do a full exorcism in 32 minutes," said Sam. "Yeah. Now, who is it possessing?" asked Alex, looking around the plane. "It's usually someone who's emotionally distressed," said Dean. "It is Amanda's first flight since the crash," said Alex. "Okay. She's in the back," said Sam. "I'll go talk to her and uh, check her mental state," said Dean. He unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up slowly. He began to walk down the aisle, but Sam's whisper yell stopped him. "You have to say the name of God in Latin. That's to see if she's possessed." "Right." He began walking again, but this time Alex stopped him. "What?" "You do know the name of God in Latin, don't you?" she asked. "Christo?" asked Dean. Sam and Alex nodded and Dean finally headed down the aisle without any trouble.

Dean walked to the room at the back of the plane, entering it to see Amanda fixing drinks that the passengers had ordered. "Hey there," said Dean, smiling at her. She looked up. "Hi. Can I help you?" asked Amanda. "Yeah, actually. I'm kind of a nervous flyer. Do you have any tips?" "Well, everyone is scared of something. Don't let it hold you back." She smiled at him and returned to her work. Dean began to walk away, but turned to her again. "Christo?" he asked. Amanda looked up at him, confusion etched on her face. "Christo," said Dean more firmly, but Amanda had no reaction. She just returned to fixing the drinks and Dean headed back to his seat.

Dean returned back to his siblings. "It's not Amanda." Alex expelled a loud breath. "Well, that narrows it down," said Sam sarcastically. He also expelled a loud breath. "Well, I'll take the EMF and walk down the aisle. That's gotta help," said Dean. Sam nodded and dug the device out of the bag at his feet. He handed it to Dean and Dean began to slowly walk down the aisle.

Ten minutes later, Dean returned to his brother and sister. "Anything?" asked Sam. "Nope." They sighed and suddenly, the EMF began beeping and flashing. They turned and saw the pilot of the plane leaving the restroom. He smiled at them and returned to the cockpit. "Okay. We have to use the back to exorcise the demon," said Sam. "I'll go explain to Amanda what's going on. Hopefully, she'll get him to come back there," said Alex. She quickly unfastened her seatbelt and walked to the back of the plane to talk to Amanda. "Okay. Let's wait for her to signal us," said Dean. Sam and he turned to look at the back of the plane. Two minutes later, Alex stepped out from the back and subtly nodded at them. "Okay, she'll stand watch outside the door with Amanda," said Sam. "Let's exorcise this thing," said Dean. Sam followed him to the back of the plane and they waited for the pilot to come back.

Amanda and Alex were guarding the door as Dean and Sam exorcised the demon from the pilot's body. "Are you related to those two?" asked Amanda. "Yeah. They're my brothers," replied Alex. Suddenly, the plane began to go down. "Dammit," said Alex, She opened the door to the back and saw Dean hanging onto part of the wall for dear life. "Sam! Finish it!" she yelled. She ran over to Dean. "Hold on, big brother." She took his hand and seconds later, the plane returned to normal. Dean sighed in relief and Sam walked up to them. He had their dad's journal in his hand and he hugged Alex to him, kissing her temple. "C'mon. Let's get to our seats."

The siblings were back on solid ground at the airport, talking to Amanda. "Thank you for saving the plane," said Amanda, smiling at them. "You are welcome. Thanks for understanding," said Dean. She nodded and they turned, Alex snuggling into Sam's side as they walked away. He put his arm around her waist and they walked into the night to the Impala.


	8. Chapter 8

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

**Chapter 8**

"Sam, wake up!" Sam jerked awake, sitting up quickly. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked at his surroundings. He was in the Impala with Alex and Dean. It was the middle of the day, sun streaming in the car windows. Sam looked at his brother. "I take it I was having a nightmare?" he asked. "Yeah," said Dean grimly. Sam nodded and looked out his window silently for a few minutes, the only sound being when Alex flipped the pages of her magazine. "So, are we there yet?" asked Sam after brooding for a few minutes. "Yep. Welcome to Toledo, Ohio," said Dean. He reached on the dashboard, grabbing a newspaper. He threw it in Sam's lap and pointed to the obituary that had brought them to Toledo. After a few minutes, Sam set the paper down. "What do you think really happened to this guy?" "That's what we're here to find out," said Dean. He pulled the car up to the curb in front of the morgue. Sam and Dean got out of the car and Alex climbed in the drivers seat, the keys already in the ignition. "Sis, go find a motel. We'll call when we're done." "Got it, bro. Stay safe." She drove away slowly and the boys walked up the steps to the morgue.

"Hi. We're the medical students here to take a look at Mr. Schumaker's corpse," said Dean to the man at the morgue's front desk. He stared them down. "Well, I was never given word to help you guys." "Look man, we…" started Dean, but the guy cut him off. "Look man, I'm not supposed to help you." The man shuffled papers around, not looking at them. Dean looked at Sam, who reached into his pockets and took out an $100 bill. He slid it across the desk to the man, who looked at Sam, eyebrows raised. He stuffed it into his pockets and stood up. "Gentlemen, follow me."

The boys followed the man to the back of the morgue. The man pulled out the body and Sam and Dean looked at it, showing no emotion. "The daughter found him, said his eyes were bleeding. Do you know what would cause that?" asked Sam, turning to look at the man. The corpse's eyes were missing and Dean was trying to find anything else unusual. The coroner rolled his eyes. "I don't know, maybe a stroke." "Okay. Do you think we could look at the police report?" asked Dean, finally turning away from the body. "Sure. Shell out some more money." The coroner grinned and Sam sighed. He pulled out another $100 bill and handed it to the man. "Follow me, boys."

After an hour in the morgue, Dean and Sam walked out the doors into the afternoon sun. They began walking down the steps, Sam pulling at his tie. "Maybe it's just some freak medical thing," he suggested. "When has it ever been just some freak medical thing?" snapped Dean. Sam sighed, knowing Dean was right. "Almost never. C'mon, let's call Alex. We need to talk to the daughter." Dean nodded as Sam pulled out his phone and dialed Alex's number.

Alex pulled the Impala into a parking spot in front of their motel room door. She turned off the car and hopped out, Sam and Dean right behind. They walked to the room door, Alex unlocking it with her key. They stepped inside and Dean shut the door behind him. "So, we need to talk to the daughter," said Sam, sitting on his bed. "Yeah, there's a memorial for Mr. Schumaker today at the house. The address is on the table." Alex nodded to the table and Dean picked up the slip of paper with the Schumakers address on it. He grinned and walked over to Alex, kissing the top of her head. "Good work, sis." Alex smiled.

"I feel underdressed," said Dean. They were at the Schumakers house to talk to the daughter of the deceased. Dean and Sam had on jeans and long sleeved shirts while Alex had thrown on a nice looking skirt and blouse. She rolled her eyes. "I told you, but you wouldn't listen." She smirked at them. "C'mon, we have to find the daughter. By the way, her name is Donna."

They entered the house and saw people milling around, eating in the kitchen and crying in the living room. All were dressed nicely and in black. Dean grabbed at the collar of his shirt awkwardly and Alex smiled at his nervousness. They walked into the living room and saw a twenty something girl with a Kleenex in her hand, dabbing at her tears. They walked over to her. "Donna?" asked Sam. The girl looked up at them. "Yes?" "I'm Sam. This is Alex and Dean. We worked with your father." "Yeah, I'm sorry for your loss. A stroke, wow," said Dean. "Well, it's unfortunate," said Donna. She began to tear up again and the girl next to her rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. "That's because it wasn't a stroke!" said the young girl on Donna's left side. Donna glared at the girl and she cowered into the cushions of the couch. "Wait, what do you mean?" asked Sam. His eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "It was my fault," whispered the young girl. She bit her lip and wouldn't look at Sam. Sam glanced at his siblings and crouched down to the girl's eye level. "Why would you say that?" The girl looked at him. "Because I said Bloody Mary three times in the bathroom mirror. She takes your eyes, that's what she does." "Lilly, don't say that," said Donna. She pulled Lilly into her side and hugged her close. "Well, your dad didn't say it, did he?" asked Alex. "No, I don't think so." Lilly looked down at the floor and Dean looked at Alex and Sam.

The Winchesters were in the kitchen, Dean eating some food and Alex looking at him in disgust. Sam stood next to her. "We have to get upstairs and look at that mirror," said Sam. Alex nodded and hit Dean on the arm, hard. "Ow," said Dean, his mouth full of little smoked sausages. "C'mon." Dean stuffed one more sausage in his mouth and followed his siblings upstairs.

Alex and Dean stood in the doorway of the bathroom, looking out in case anyone came upstairs. Sam was looking for any clues in the bathroom. Alex sighed and turned to Sam. Dean did the same. "I don't get it. People play this game all over the world. Why are they dying here?" asked Alex. "What are you doing up here?" All of them turned to the voice and saw Donna's friend standing in the doorway. "Uh, we had to go to the bathroom," said Dean and Alex rolled her eyes at his lame excuse. "Tell me the truth or I start screaming." The girl raised her eyebrows, daring them to call her bluff. "Okay. Something bad happened to Donna's dad and we're trying to stop it from happening again," explained Sam. The girl nodded hesitantly and Sam stood up, walking over to her. He handed her a slip of paper. "Here's my number. Call if you need us." He walked away, Alex and Dean right behind.

"There has to be a girl that died in front of a mirror," said Dean. The Winchesters were at the library, looking for the cause of the death. "We're looking for a girl named Mary that died in front of a mirror," said Sam, trying to narrow the search. "That will be annoying since every computer isn't working." Alex pointed to the row of computers and Sam and Dean turned to look. "Fuck," said Dean and Sam sighed.

Alex opened the motel room door and trudged inside, tired from the day at the library. Sam and Dean followed and Dean fell onto his bed in his clothes. He stared at his twin siblings. Alex was lying on her bed, staring at the TV and Sam was on the couch. "That was so exhausting," said Alex, closing her eyes. Within minutes, she had fallen asleep in her clothes. Dean chuckled and Sam smiled. "I'll tuck her in. Go to sleep, bro," said Sam. Dean gave him thumbs up and closed his eyes, falling asleep quickly.

Sam woke up violently. Sweat was dripping down his back. Alex and Dean looked at him from the table, Alex sipping a cup of coffee and Dean eating a breakfast sandwich from the motel buffet. "Why'd you let me fall asleep?" he asked, his voice hoarse from sleep. "Because we're awesome siblings," said Dean. "What did you dream about?" asked Alex, grabbing a piece of bacon off of Dean's plate. "Lollipops and candy canes," replied Sam. Dean glanced at Alex after he said this and Alex sighed. "Did you find anything new?" Sam sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing his face with his hand. "Absolutely nothing. No Mary's, at least," said Alex, eating the bacon she had stolen from Dean. Suddenly, Sam's cell phone and he grabbed it off the dresser next to the bed. He flipped it open and put it at his ear. "Hello?"

Dean pulled the car up to the curb at the park and he got out with Sam. They walked over to see Donna's friend, Charlie, sitting on a bench. She was crying and they walked over, sitting on either side of her. "And they found her on the bathroom floor. Her… her eyes were gone." Charlie began sobbing again. Sam sighed. "I'm sorry." Charlie looked at him, wiping her eyes with her Kleenex. "She said it. I heard her say it. But, she couldn't die because of that, right?" Charlie looked between them for reassurance and found none, causing her eyes to well up with tears. "We think something is happening here," said Sam. "And we're gonna stop it. But we need your help," said Dean. Charlie nodded. "Anything."

Charlie entered her friend Jill's room. Jill was the girl that had just died. Charlie quickly shut and locked Jill's bedroom door behind her. She dashed to the window, unlocking it and pushing it open. Alex, Dean and Sam climbed inside. "What'd you tell Jill's mom?" asked Sam. "I told her I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things." Sam nodded and helped his brother and sister. Dean shut the window and closed the curtains while Alex turned off the lights. The room was thrown into darkness and Charlie took deep breaths. "W-what are you guys looking for?" asked Charlie, trying to calm herself down. "We'll let you know when we do," said Dean, inspecting the room with the EMF. Sam had out his video camera and it was turned to night vision. He was inspecting the mirrors. Alex was standing with Charlie, helping her stay calm in the dark. "I just don't understand how Mary picks her victims. First one doesn't summon her. Second one does." "Yeah, well, I wanna know why Jill said it in the first place," said Dean, turning to look at Charlie. Charlie shrugged. "It was just a joke." "Hey, I've got something," said Sam. He set the camera in the sink and pulled the mirror from the wall. He tore the paper off the back of the mirror. He grabbed the camera and ran it over the back of the mirror, revealing a handprint and a name on the back. Dean looked at it questioningly. "Harry Briman?" asked Charlie, confusion evident in her voice. "Do you know who that is?" asked Alex. Charlie shook her head.

Alex and Charlie were sitting at the park bench again when Dean and Sam pulled up to the curb. They got out of the car and walked over to the girls. "So Harry Briman was an eight year old boy. Two years ago, he was killed in a hit and run accident. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. Nobody saw the plates or driver," said Sam. He stood in front of Charlie and Dean was standing next to him. "Oh my God," said Charlie. She looked at all of them. "Jill drove that car." Dean looked at Sam and Alex. "I think we need to go back to Donna's house."

At Donna's house, the bathroom mirror was on the floor and Sam was looking at it with the camera. Dean and Alex stood over him. "Linda Schmaker," read Alex and the siblings sighed.

"Why are you asking me all of this?" asked Donna. "We're sorry," said Sam. "Yeah. Linda was my mom. She overdosed on sleeping pills. It was an accident. Now, I think you should leave," said Donna. Sam tried to talk but Donna stood up. "Get out of my house!" She stormed up the stairs and seconds later, a door was slammed shut. Charlie looked at Sam, Alex and Dean. "Do you really think her dad could have killed her mom?" "Maybe," answered Sam.

The siblings were back at the motel, trying to solve the mystery of Mary. "You're doing a nationwide search?" asked Sam. Dean was on the laptop and he nodded. "Yep. Right now, any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me." "But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town," said Alex. "I am telling you, there's nothing local. I checked." Dean resumed his searching. "The way Mary is choosing her victims. There's a pattern," said Alex. Sam pulled up a chair next to Dean and Alex pulled one up on Dean's other side. "Both had secrets where people died," said Dean. Alex bit her lip and looked away, but neither one of her brothers noticed. "There's a lot of folklore about mirrors. They can see all your lies," said Sam. "So Mary sees your lies and punishes you for it," said Alex. "Yeah. Hey, take a look at this." Dean hit print and printed out a few pictures. He spread them out on the table and they all looked at them. Sam picked one up. "Her name's Mary Worthington. Unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana." Dean looked at Sam. "Let's go check this out." Sam nodded. "Lex, stay here and watch out for Donna and Charlie. Go to school with them," said Dean. He began throwing stuff into his duffel bag. "Great. I get to be babysitter." Alex rolled her eyes and sat on the edge of her bed. "We'll be back as soon as we can. You know the drill: salt the windows." Dean looked at her and she nodded. "Be back soon," said Sam. He kissed her forehead and followed Dean out the door.

"Mary Worthington. That one still gets me." Sam and Dean were in Indiana, talking to the detective that had worked on the case forty years ago. They were sitting on his couch as he answered their questions. "You boys reporters?" he asked. "Yes, sir. What exactly happened?" asked Dean. "Well, what do you know?" "We know that Mary was 19. We know she won some beauty pageants. And we know on March 29, forty years ago, someone broke into her home and murdered her," answered Sam. He looked at the old man. "You see, we wanna know what you think happened." The man smiled and stood up. He walked over to his desk and grabbed a picture. He handed it to them. "I'm not supposed to have this." Dean and Sam looked at the photo. "See this?" The man pointed to some letters in the picture and the boys nodded. "T.R.E. I think Mary was trying to spell out the name of her killer." Dean looked at the man. "Do you know who it was?" "No." The man pulled another picture from his desk of a man. "But there was a local man, a surgeon. Trevor Sampson. I think he cut her up good." "Why would he do that?" asked Sam. "Mary mentioned a man she was seeing. She always called him T. Her last entry, she was gonna tell T's wife of the affair." The man looked at them. "How do you know it was Sampson?" asked Dean. "It's hard to say, but the way her eyes were cut out was professional." "But you never proved it," stated Sam. "No prints, no witnesses. He was meticulous." The man sat down in a chair across from them. "He still alive?" asked Dean, putting the pictures on the coffee table. "Nope. If you ask me, Mary spent her last moments trying to expose this guy's secret, but she never could." The man sighed. "Where's she buried?" asked Dean. "She was cremated." "What about the mirror in the picture?" asked Sam. "It was returned to Mary's family a long time ago." "Do you have their names?"

Donna, Charlie and Alex walked into the bathroom at school. Donna began applying lip-gloss, looking in the mirror. "Why were you at my house the other day?" she asked Alex. "We were only trying to help. Look Donna, you have to believe me." "What? About Bloody Mary?" Donna rolled her eyes and returned to looking in the mirror. "Look, we know it sounds crazy," whispered Charlie. "Crazy doesn't even cover it. First, my sister and now you two?" asked Donna. "But the way your dad died. And Jill," said Charlie. "Okay then." Before Alex knew what was happening, Donna turned to the mirror, said "Bloody Mary" three times and turned to Charlie and Alex. "See, nothing happened." "Why would you do that?" asked Charlie. "Oh my God. There really is something wrong with you two." Donna walked out, leaving Alex and Charlie in her wake. "C'mon, let's get to class."

Alex sat in Biology, twirling her hair around her finger. She looked at the glass windows that looked out into the hallway and saw Bloody Mary looking into the classroom at her. "AAH!" She screamed and jumped out of her seat, causing the whole class to look at her. She looked at the floor as she ran out of the room.

Sam was in the passenger seat and Dean was driving. He hung up his phone. "That was Mary's brother. He said the mirror was in the family until he sold it… one week ago." Dean cursed. "Her spirit's tied up with that mirror somehow," said Sam. "How can she move through, like, a hundred different mirrors though?" asked Dean. "I have no idea." Sam's cell phone rang and he frowned at the caller ID before flipping it open and pressing it to his ear. "Alex?" He sat up straighter. "What's wrong, honey?" Dean punched the gas.

Alex was rocking back and forth on her bed. Her knees were to her chest and her head rested on them as she rocked. Sam and Dean covered the windows and mirrors. When he was finished, Sam sat next to her and put his arm around her. "You can open your eyes now." Alex looked up at him and nodded. "Listen, don't look at glass or anything that reflects," said Dean from the bathroom, where he was covering the mirror. "Yeah, but I can't keep that up forever." She looked at Sam, then at Dean. He was standing in the bathroom doorway. Tears filled her eyes. "I'm gonna die, aren't I?" "No," said Sam firmly. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear and wiped away her fallen tears. "Okay, sis. Tell us what happened." Dean sat on her other side and she laid her head on his shoulder. "We were in the bathroom and Donna said- " "That's not what we're talking about. Something happened, didn't it? A secret where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?" asked Dean. Alex removed her head from his shoulder and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Her lower lip trembled. Dean and Sam exchanged a look of worry. "Right after I left because Sam left, I had this boyfriend." Dean stiffened and both Sam and Dean had hard, serious looks on their faces. "I loved him, but he kind of scared me too, you know?" She looked down and when she looked back up, tears were falling freely down her face. "One night, we got into this fight and I broke up with him. He got upset and said that he needed me and that he loved me. He said, 'Alex, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself." Alex looked at both of her brothers. "And do you know what I said? I said go ahead and I left." She turned to Dean, still crying. "How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just didn't believe him, you know?" Sam looked at her sympathetically. "I should have." She buried her face in her arms and sobbed. Sam mouthed to Dean that he was going to get some food and slowly stood up. Alex looked at him. "Where are you going? You can't leave me." Sam sighed and grabbed her. He pulled her from the bed and held her. "We're gonna stop this, okay? I won't let anything happen to you." He kissed her temple "We're gonna go stop this. Just stay here." Dean hugged and kissed her too and he and Sam left, Alex sobbing in their wake.

"You know, Alex's boyfriend killed himself. It's not really her fault," said Dean, one hand on the steering wheel. "You know as well as I do that spirits don't see shades of gray, Dean. Alex had a secret where someone died. That's good enough for Mary." "I guess." Dean turned his attention to the road and it was silent for a few minutes. "You know, I've been thinking," said Sam, breaking the silence. "It might not be enough to just smash that mirror." "What do you mean?" asked Dean. "Well, Mary travels from mirror to mirror. You can't pin her down. Maybe we should try to pin her down. Summon her to her own mirror and then smash it." "How do you know that's gonna work?" "I don't." Sam looked at his brother. "Okay, but who is gonna summon her?" Sam looked straight ahead. "I will. She'll come after me." Dean sighed and pulled the car to a stop on the shoulder. "That's it." He turned to Sam. "This is about Jessica, isn't it?" Sam's jaw tightened, but he didn't look at Dean. "You think that's your dirty little secret, that you killed her somehow. Sam, this has got to stop. The nightmares, calling her name out in the middle of the night. It's gonna kill you! Now listen to me. It was not your fault. Hell, you might as well blame me. I mean, I dragged you away from her in the first place." Sam finally looked at him. "I don't blame you." Dean scoffed. "Well, you shouldn't blame yourself cause there's nothing you could've done." "I could've warned her." "About what? You didn't know it was gonna happen. I know all about it. It's not gonna work with Mary anyway." "No you don't." "Don't what?" asked Dean. "Know all about it. I haven't told you everything." "What are you talkin' about?" "Well, it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?" Sam looked at his brother. "I don't like it. It's not happening," said Dean. "Dean, Alex will die unless we do something about it. Now, we're doing this. You've got to let me do this." Dean looked at his brother for a few seconds and sighed. He started the car and pulled it back onto the road.

Dean turned off the headlights as he pulled into a parking space in front of the antique shop where the mirror was. He turned off the car and Sam got out, walking to the door. Dean followed him and Sam picked the lock, opening the door and letting Dean enter first. Sam walked in and sighed at the number of mirrors inside the store. "We better start looking," said Dean and Sam followed him with a flashlight as they walked around the store.

After a few minutes, Dean sighed because he had not found the mirror. "Maybe they already sold it." " I don't think so." Dean followed the sound of Sam's voice and stood next to Sam, looking at the mirror. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the picture, comparing the two. "That's definitely it. You sure about this?" asked Dean. Sam nodded and walked closer to the mirror, Dean following. Sam looked at Dean, who nodded. Sam sighed and said "Bloody Mary" three times. After he said it, Sam hefted the crowbar onto his shoulder and looked straight at the mirror. After a minute, he and Dean looked toward the front of the shop to see headlights shining into the shop. Sam looked at Dean. "Stay here. Be careful. Smash anything that moves," said Dean. He walked to the front of the shop.

"Hold it!" yelled a cop as he entered the antique store with his partner and saw Dean. Dean held up his hands. "Whoa fellas, false alarm. I tripped the system." "Who are you?" asked one of the cops. "I'm the boss's kid." He smiled and his teeth were bright against the night. The cops looked at one another. "You're Mr. Yamoshiro's kid?"

Sam stood in front of Mary's mirror, never looking away once. His eyebrow furrowed when he saw a shadow in the mirror cattycorner to Mary's. He turned and saw Mary in it. He smashed it with the crowbar and smashed the mirror next to it also. He turned back to Mary's mirror, his chest heaving from the adrenaline rush he had just had. "C'mon. Come into this one," he taunted. Sam's reflection suddenly began to smile evilly at him and Sam cocked his head to the side in confusion. Sam fell to his knees as his eyes began to bleed and the crowbar fell to the ground with a clang. He put his hand on his chest and breathed heavily. His reflection looked down at him, grinning. "It's your fault. You killed her." Sam looked up at his own reflection, blood dripping from his eyes onto his sweatshirt. "You killed Jessica." The reflection smiled and Sam let out a groan of pain.

"Well, like I said. I was adopted." Dean smiled at the officers. One was standing in front of him while the other had moved to stand behind him. Dean turned to the one standing behind him. "You know, I just don't have time for this right now." He punched one in the face, knocking him to the floor. As the other officer looked in horror at his partner, Dean kneed him in the groin, causing the man to fall to the floor in pain. He glanced at his handiwork before running to Sam.

"You never told her the truth. Who you really were," said Sam's evil reflection, still looking at Sam. Sam clutched his stomach in pain, his eyes still bleeding. "But it's more than that, isn't it? Those nightmares you've been having where Jessica dies, screaming and burning! You had them for days before she died. Didn't you? You were so desperate to be normal. You thought they were just dreams. How could you ignore them like that? How could you leave her alone to die?" Sam grimaced in pain as his reflection grinned. " You dreamt it would happen!" Suddenly, the mirror was smashed into pieces and the pieces went flying everywhere. Dean held the crowbar and he was ducked to avoid the shards of glass that were flying everywhere. Once they stopped, Dean threw the crowbar and knelt down next to Sam. "Sammy, Sammy!" Dean grabbed Sam's face between his hands. Sam looked up at him with blood all over his face. " It's Sam." Dean readjusted his grip on Sam's face, smearing some of the blood. "God, are you okay?" "Yeah." Dean looked at the frame of the mirror, and then turned his attention back to Sam. "C'mon." He helped Sam stand up and Sam put his arm around Dean's shoulder. They began walking away when they heard glass crunching. They looked at one another before turning to look behind them. They grimaced in pain, falling to their knees as their eyes began to bleed. Mary was standing up as straight as she could manage with her body being so mangled. She looked down at them, not saying a word. Dean saw a mirror next to him and grabbed it. He shoved it in front of his and Sam's faces and forced Mary to see her reflection. She paused as she saw herself. Her head cocked to the side and her reflection sneered at her. Mary's eyes began bleeding with her reflection. "You killed them. You killed all of them." She screamed as she disappeared into the shards of glass on the floor. Dean sighed, throwing the mirror onto the floor next to him. He stood up with Sam and looked around. "Hey Sam?" "What?" asked Sam, his voice tired and worn. " This has to be like, 70 years of bad luck."

Alex was huddled into a ball on the bed, her position unmoved from when Sam and Dean had left. Her sweatshirt hood was covering her eyes when her brothers entered the room. She flinched as the door slammed shut and began trembling. Dean walked up to her, kneeling down in front of her and touching her knee. "Shh, it's us. It's over." Alex removed her hood from her face and stared down at him. "Really?" She looked at Sam, who was leaning against the wall by her bed. He nodded and then she looked at Dean, who also nodded. "Thank God." She lay back on her bed and stretched out, sighing as her aching muscles could finally relax from her crouched position. Sam sat on her left side and Dean sat on her right. "I'm sorry you guys had to do that." "Alex, you're my twin sister. I would die for you." Sam leaned over her, kissed her forehead and stood up. "I'm gonna shower." He headed for the bathroom. "Yeah, I'm gonna get us some food and drinks." Alex watched her brothers for a few seconds. As Sam stepped in the doorway to the bathroom and Dean shrugged on his jacket, she sighed. "Big brother?" she tentatively asked. Sam turned to look at her and so did Dean. "Dean? Will you lay with me until I fall asleep like you used to do right after Sammy left?" Dean smiled sadly and looked at Sam, who had a pained expression on his face. Sam locked eyes with him and slightly nodded. Dean took off his jacket and kicked off his shoes. He lay on the bed with Alex, pulled her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her. His chin was resting on top of her head and her forehead was resting on his chest. She sighed contentedly and was asleep within minutes. Sam looked at them for a few minutes before turning into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.


	9. Chapter 9

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 9

Sam stood in the bathroom, a towel in his hand. He ran it through his shaggy hair and then threw it over the shower rod when he was finished. He walked over to his bed and sat on the edge of it, looking over at Alex and Dean. They were both asleep, Alex's head on Dean's chest. Dean had his arm around her protectively. Sam leaned over the edge of the bed and grabbed a duffel bag from the floor. The bag was open, causing a gun to fall to the floor with a loud clang. Sam cringed and glanced at his brother and sister. Dean's eyes shot open. He looked at Sam, then at Alex. He carefully and gently moved Alex's head onto a pillow and got up from the bed. He stretched his arms above his head and walked to the table, taking a seat. Sam sat down across from him. "Dean?" "What?" Dean rubbed sleep out of his eyes and yawned. "Uh, what did Alex mean when she asked you to lay down with her?" Sam looked up at Dean. Dean sighed and looked at his younger brother. "After you left, Alex felt betrayed. By all of us. The day you left, that night, I was up really late. As I was headed to bed, I passed by her room. I heard choking sobs." Sam looked at the ground, ashamed and upset but Dean continued. "I walked in and she was in the fetal position, crying her eyes out. I walked over to her bed and laid down next to her. She fought me off at first, but eventually she grew tired of fighting me. She kept asking me why you left, why you hated her enough to leave. I just held her until she fell asleep. That went on for three months, man, until she just up and left. She was a mess, Sammy, a God damn mess." Dean finished talking and looked at his little brother. Sam had tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea she took it that hard." "Sammy, you're my brother. I forgive you. Now, I'm gonna go get some food and when I get back, we'll head out." Dean stood up from the table. He shrugged on his jacket and put on his shoes. He waved to Sam and left. Sam sighed and down at the table.

Alex opened her eyes, blinking at the sunlight that was filtering in through the motel room windows. She stretched and looked beside her, but Dean wasn't there anymore. She sat up, pushing her hair behind her. She saw Sam sitting at the table, a cup of coffee in his hands. "Sammy, where's Dean?" Alex stood up and walked over to the table. She sat across from Sam and he looked at her. "He went to get breakfast. Alex, I'm sorry." Alex looked at him, her brow wrinkled in utter confusion. She reached across the table and grabbed the cup of coffee Sam was holding. She brought it to her lips, took a sip and set it in the middle of the table. "For what?" Sam sighed, still looking at her. "For leaving. For making you think that I hated you." Alex stood up and crouched in front of Sam. She put her hands on his knees. "Sammy, I forgave you a long time ago. I love you and I will never hate you. You're my brother." She smiled and he smiled back, beaming. He pulled her to his chest and hugged her tight. Alex wrapped her arms around his middle, breathing him in. "I love you too, sis." They were still hugging when Dean opened the door, two McDonald's bags in hand and half of a bagel already stuffed in his mouth. Alex laughed, separating herself from Sam. "Alright, let's go you two. We got people to save, chop chop." He walked back outside and Sam and Alex grabbed their stuff. Sam did one last check to make sure they had collected everything before he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Dean pulled the Impala into a gas station, pulling up to pump number eleven. He stopped the car, turning it off and pulling the keys out of the ignition. He set them on the dashboard and pulled out a map from the glove compartment. He got out of the car and spread the map out onto the hood of the car. "Alright, so. We stop here…" Dean pointed to a point on the map. "And get everything we need. Then we head south. We'll hit…" He looked over at his siblings, who were still in the car. Sam was doing something on his phone and Alex was flipping through a magazine, popping her gum. "Sam wears women's underwear," said Dean. Without looking up from what he was doing, Sam replied. "I'm listening. I'm just checking my e-mail." "E-mails from who?" asked Dean. "My friends from Stanford." Sam set his phone down on the dashboard. Dean grabbed the gas pump and stuck it into the gas tank. "You still keep in touch with your college buddies?" asked Alex. "Why not?" asked Sam. "What do you tell them?" asked Dean, leaning against the car. "I tell them I'm on a road trip with my brother and sister." "Oh, so you lie to them?" asked Alex, throwing her magazine across the backseat. "No, I just don't tell them… everything," said Sam. "Yeah, that's called lying," said Dean. Sam scoffed and grabbed his phone again, checking his e-mail. "Oh my God," whispered Sam. "What?" asked Dean, pulling the gas pump out of the tank. He replaced the tank and walked over to Sam's side. He put his hands on the roof of the car and leaned in to hear Sam. Alex put her hands on the back of Sam's seat, scooting to the edge of the backseat. "This girl, Rebecca Warren, says her brother Zack's been charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend." "Dude, what kind of people are you hanging out with?" asked Dean. "No, I know Zack. He's no killer," said Sam, defending his friend. He turned back to the e-mail and it was quiet for a few minutes. "They're in St. Louis. We're going." Dean sighed, letting go of the car and walking back to the driver's side. He climbed in the car and faced Sam. "Look, I'm sorry about your buddy, but this doesn't sound like our kind of problem." "They're my friends," said Sam. "St. Louis is 4,000 miles behind us, Sam." Dean and Sam stared at each other. Alex watched, amused. Finally, Dean sighed. He started the car and headed for St. Louis, Sam smiling.

Sam knocked on the door of Rebecca's house. It was a large white house with a wraparound porch and a tire swing hanging from the tree in the side yard. A young blonde woman opened the door and gasped when she saw Sam. "Oh my God, Sam." She hugged him and then stepped back, looking at Alex and Dean. "I got your e-mail," said Sam. "I didn't think you would come here," said Rebecca, looking back at Sam. Dean stepped in between them. "Hi. I'm Dean, the older brother." He held out his hand and Rebecca took it. She let go and then turned to Alex. "You must be Alex." "That would be me." Alex smiled and they shook hands. "Wow, you are just gorgeous," said Rebecca and Alex beamed. Alex let go of Rebecca's hand. "Well, we're here to help. Whatever we can do," said Sam. "Come in then," said Rebecca. She walked into the house and Sam followed, Alex and Dean behind him. Alex shut the front door. "Nice place," said Dean, looking at the grand staircase. "It's my parents." She walked farther into the house and into the kitchen. She walked behind the counter and Sam, Alex and Dean stood across from her. Sam leaned his elbows on the granite countertop. "So. Tell us what happened." "Right. Well, Zack came home and found Emily tied to a chair. She was beaten up and bloody, so he called 911. And the police… they showed up and arrested him." Rebecca had tears in her eyes. "But the thing is, the only way Zack could have killed Emily is if he was in two places at one time." Sam stood up straight at this detail and glanced at his siblings. "The police have a video and it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Emily was killed right after that. Now, I swear he was here with me until at least after midnight," finished Rebecca. She looked up at Sam. "You know, maybe we could see the crime scene, Zack's house," suggested Sam. "Why? What could you do?" "Well, me and Alex, not much. But Dean's a cop." Sam looked at Dean and Alex stifled a laugh. Dean looked at Rebecca, chuckling. "A detective, actually." Rebecca shook her head. "That's really nice of you, but I just don't know." Sam walked over to Rebecca, putting his hand over hers. "Bec, I know Zack didn't do this. Now, we have to prove he's innocent." Rebecca looked at him, nodding. She wiped the tears off of her face. "Okay, I'll go get the keys." She headed out of the room and Sam turned to his siblings. Dean gave him a thumbs-up. "She said I was gorgeous," said Alex. Sam rolled his eyes and Dean grabbed Alex, putting her into a headlock and ruffling her hair. "Don't let it go to your head, squirt."

The Impala pulled up outside of Zack's house. Dean, Alex, Sam and Rebecca got out, stepping on the sidewalk and ducking under the crime scene tape. "Are you sure this is okay?" asked Rebecca, watching as Dean unlocked the door. "Oh yeah. I'm an officer of the law." Dean pushed the door open and held out his hand with a flourish. "Ladies first." Rebecca walked in first, the rest of them walking in after her.

Alex and Dean entered the living room, surveying the damage. Sam and Rebecca stood behind them, Rebecca pulling her sweater tighter around herself at the chill in the house. "Can you tell us what the police said?" asked Sam. "There was no sign of a break in. They said Emily let her attacker in. The lawyers are already talking about a plea bargain." Rebecca broke down in sobs and Sam looked at her sadly. "Look, Bec. If Zack didn't do this, it means someone else did. Any idea who?" She shook her head, but then gasped. She stopped crying and looked at Sam. "There was something. About a week before. There were some stolen clothes." She watched Dean walk to the sliding glass porch door and look out it. A dog was out there, barking ferociously. Sam left her side and walked over to Alex. Rebecca walked over to Dean. "You know, that used to be the sweetest dog. He's changed." "Do you remember when he changed?" asked Dean. "I guess right around the murder." Dean nodded and turned to the kitchen where Alex and Sam stood. He walked over to them, leaving Rebecca by the window. "The neighbor's dog went psycho right around the murder," whispered Dean. "Dogs do have a sense of the paranormal," stated Alex. "Well, maybe Fido saw something," said Dean. "So you think maybe this is our kind of problem?" asked Sam, smirking. "Nah. But maybe we should check out the security tape just in case," said Dean. Rebecca began walking over to them and they all smiled politely as she approached. "So. The tape. Can you get your hands on it?" asked Dean. Rebecca looked at the tile floor. "I've already got it." Sam smirked and Dean chuckled. "Alright." Dean began heading out the door with Rebecca while Sam looked at a picture of him, Zack and Rebecca on the fridge. "C'mon, Sam. Let's go." Alex grabbed his arm and led him out the door.

Back at Rebecca's house, Sam was standing up by the TV as they security tape played. Rebecca, Alex and Dean sat on the couch. "Here he comes," said Rebecca. Sam glanced at the corner of the screen and his brow furrowed. "Wait, it's a little after ten. You said he appeared at ten thirty." Rebecca shrugged. "Our lawyer hired some video expert. He said the tapes weren't tampered with." "Hey, Bec. Can we have those beers now?" asked Sam. "Sure." Rebecca walked into the kitchen around the corner. Sam walked over to Alex and Dean on the couch. "Hey, uh. Maybe some sandwiches too?" called Sam. "Got it!" Sam smiled and turned back to his siblings. "What's up?" asked Alex. Sam grabbed the remote, rewinding the tape. He pointed to Zack's eyes, which were glowing. "Maybe it's just a camera flare," said Dean. "I've never seen one like that. You know, a lot of cultures believe a photograph is a glimpse into the soul. Maybe the dog saw this and freaked. Maybe this is a dark double of Zack's," said Sam. "That would explain his being in two places at once," said Alex.

Alex jerked awake as the car came to a stop. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, groaning as Dean opened his door, letting sunlight in. She sat up and pushed Dean's seat forward so she had room to get out. She climbed out and glared at Sam, who was on the other side of the car. "Alright, what are we doing here at five thirty in the fuckin' morning?" asked Dean, sipping from his Starbucks coffee cup. "The tape shows the killer going in, but not out," said Sam. "So he came out the back door," said Alex. She took a sip from her own Starbucks coffee cup, closing her eyes as the warm liquid splashed down her throat. Sam walked to the back of the building. "Then there should be a trail to follow," said Sam. "They think the killer never left," said Dean, frowning as he ran out of coffee. Alex laughed and stuck her tongue out. She sipped her own drink and sighed. Dean flipped her off and she laughed some more. He sat on the hood of the Impala. "Still don't know what we're doing here at five in the fuckin' morning," whispered Dean and Alex giggled. Sam crouched down at the side of the building and saw a splatter of blood. "Blood. Somebody came this way," said Sam, standing up and looking at Dean and Alex. Dean had managed to grab Alex's coffee cup out of her hands and was now sipping it while holding her back with one arm. Alex was hitting him repeatedly, but Dean was too strong. Sam laughed and walked back over to them. Dean had finished off Alex's coffee and she was pouting, her arms folded across her chest and her lower lip out. Sam stopped in front of her. "We'll get you another coffee." He kissed her forehead and Alex smiled, hopping off the hood of the car. Suddenly, an ambulance rushed by them, its lights and sirens on. Sam raised his eyebrows and Dean nodded, getting in the car.

Dean, Sam and Alex joined the crowd that was forming outside of the crime scene. Alex held a new coffee cup. "Hey, what happened?" asked Dean to a man in the crowd next to him. He looked at Dean before answering. "Guy tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her." "Really?" asked Sam, trying to sound surprised. "Yeah." The neighbor sighed and shook his head. "He seemed like such a nice guy." They all watched, as the suspect was loaded into the squad car. Sam looked at his siblings.

Sam was, once more, looking out back at the building a few blocks from Zack's house. He lifted the lid off a trash bin and found nothing. He looked behind and in front of the trash bin, but still, nothing. "Hey." Sam turned to the sound of his brother's voice. Dean and Alex walked up to him. "Remember how I said this wasn't our kind of problem?" "Yeah. What'd you find out?" asked Sam. "I just talked to the patrol officer. He said that the guy was driving home when his wife was attacked." "Two places at once," said Alex. "Exactly. The guy even saw himself in the house. Police say he's a nut job." Dean threw up his hands. "You think it could be a shape shifter then?" asked Sam. Dean shrugged and Alex nodded. "Every culture in the world has a shape shifter lore." "In all this shape shifter lore, can any of them fly?" asked Sam. He walked behind Dean, looking for any clues. "Not that I know of," said Dean. "Well, I picked up a trail here. Someone headed out of the building and ran to Zack's house," said Sam. "And the trail suddenly ends, right? It just disappears?" asked Alex. Sam nodded. "Well, there's another way to go." Sam and Alex turned to Dean, who was crouched in front of a sewage entrance. "Down."

Alex held the flashlight steady as Dean climbed into the sewer first. He dropped the last few feet and landed on his feet. Sam went next and then Alex climbed in, Sam catching her in a basket catch. He set her down and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Sam shone his flashlight down the sewer, seeing that it went pretty far down the street. "I bet this leads to Zack's house too." "The shape shifter could be using the sewer system to get around," said Alex. "You're right. Look at this." Dean crouched down, Sam right next to him. Alex stayed standing. Dean took out his pocketknife and poked a pile of stuff that was gooey and looked like skin. "You know, I just had a sick thought. Maybe when the shape shifter changes shape, maybe it sheds," said Dean. "Oh, that's sick," remarked Alex.

Climbing out of the sewer, the siblings walked to the Impala, Dean opening the trunk of the car. "No matter what kind of shape shifter it is, there's only one sure way to kill it." Dean loaded his gun with silver bullets. "Silver bullet to the heart," said Alex. Dean looked at her and smiled. "That's right." Sam was leaning against the car when his phone rang. He walked around to the front of the car and answered it. "This is Sam." "Where are you?" asked Rebecca, who was on the other end of the line. "Well, we're checking something out." "Look, Sam. Just stop because I really don't need your help anymore." "Wait, what are you talking about?" "I told the lawyers we went to the crime scene." Sam scoffed. "Why would you do that?" "I said we were with an officer. They checked it out. There is no Detective Dean Winchester." "Bec-" "You know, I don't understand why you would lie to me about something like that." Sam sighed. "We were just trying to help." "Oh, trying to help? Do you realize that was a sealed crime scene? We could've just ruined Zack's case." "Becca, I'm sorry." "No. Goodbye Sam!" She hung up and Sam did too. Dean shut the trunk and he walked around to the front of the car with Alex. "I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talking about. You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they'd be freaked," said Dean. Sam looked away, but Dean continued. "It's just, it'd be easier if-" "I was like you," said Sam. Dean nodded. "But I'll tell you one thing. This gig, it ain't without perks." Dean handed Sam a gun and Sam stuck it in the waistband of his jeans. "Sam, I'm sorry about Becca," said Alex. Sam smiled. "It's fine." He hugged her, his arms around her neck and hers around his middle.

Back in the sewer system once again, Dean led the way with Alex in the middle and Sam at the rear. "I think we're close to its lair," said Dean when they found a spot with gooey stuff that looked like skin everywhere. "Why do you say that?" asked Sam. "'Cause there's a puke inducing pile next to your face." Alex laughed as Sam jumped back, his face disgusted. "Ugh." Dean chuckled, but kept moving, shining his flashlight into a corner to reveal another pile. "Looks like he's lived here for a while." Sam shone the flashlight in Dean's direction and saw the shifter. "Dean!" yelled Alex. Dean ducked as Sam shot at it. It was running away, so Sam missed the shot. Alex pulled Dean up from the ground. "Get the son of a bitch!" yelled Dean and Sam took off running. "C'mon, bro." Alex chased after Sam and Dean was behind her.

Sam pulled himself out of the sewer, looking around for the shifter. He saw it nowhere. He tucked his gun back into his waistband and helped pull Alex out of the sewer. Dean pulled himself out last and replaced the lid of the sewer entrance. "Okay, let's split up," said Sam. Dean nodded and ran to the right. Alex took straight ahead and Sam ran to the left.

Dean ran down a dark alley, his gun in front of him. There was no movement at all so Dean kept on moving.

Alex walked down a sidewalk, a few people milling about window-shopping. She had her hands in her jacket pockets, ready to pull her gun out at any time. She didn't see the shifter so she kept walking.

Sam walked down a crowded sidewalk, his gun in his jacket pocket. Nothing appeared. "Hey," said Alex, walking up to him. Dean appeared from the other direction seconds later. Dean held his hands up in question. "Nothin'," said Sam and Alex shook her head. "Okay, let's head back to the car." Alex and Sam crossed the street before a large truck passed, but Dean couldn't make it in time. Waiting for the truck to pass by, Dean's eyes flashed white and he smiled.

"You think he found another way underground?" asked Sam as they approached the car. "Probably. You got the keys?" asked Dean. Sam paused in thought and Alex looked at him, confusion evident on her face. Sam turned to Dean. "Hey, didn't Dad once face a shape shifter in San Antonio?" "It turned out not to be a shifter, remember?" answered Dean. Sam nodded. "Right." He tossed Dean the keys and Dean caught them, opening the trunk. When he shut it, Sam had a gun trained on him. "Don't move. What have you done with him?" "Sam! What the hell are you doing?" yelled Alex. "Dude, chill. It's me." Dean smiled at them. "No, I don't think so. Where's my brother?" "Sammy, you're about to shoot him!" yelled Alex, her hands on her face. "You caught the keys with your left. Your shoulder was hurt when you fell in the sewer," said Sam. Alex looked at Dean, her head cocked to the side as she realized that what Sam said was true. "You're not my brother." The fake Dean, the shifter, quickly knocked out Sam and turned to Alex. Alex looked at Sam, lying on the ground, and then at Dean, who was smiling evilly. "Don't touch me!" She tried to run, but he quickly caught her. She scratched him and he recoiled from the sting. She stomped on his foot, but he was too fast. The shifter smirked before slamming Alex's head into the hood of the car, knocking her out.

Sam jolted awake in an unfamiliar place. He was tied to something and he began to struggle against the ropes. The shifter walked over and stood in front of Sam. He smirked and then slapped Sam across the face. Sam's head jerked to the side from the force. Once the pain wore off, Sam looked at the fake version of his brother. "Where is he?" "I wouldn't worry about him. I'd worry about you and your sister." "Where is my brother?" asked Sam. The shifter crouched down and got in Sam's face. "I'm your brother. See, deep down, I'm just jealous. You've got friends. Me? I know I'm a freak. And sooner or later, everyone's gonna leave me." The shifter stood up, leaving Sam's side. "What do you mean?" The shifter as Dean scoffed. "Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to and even he left." The shifter looked at Sam. "Left me with your sorry ass." He covered Sam with the sheet and Sam heard him leave the room.

Sam had managed to get the sheet off and he was now pulling at his ropes again. Sam stiffened when he heard a cough. "That better be you, Sam," said Dean. Sam smiled and laughed in relief. "Yeah, it's me. He went back looking like you though." "He's not stupid. He picked the handsome one." Dean laughed. "Hey, where's Lex?" Sam stopped struggling and looked around. "Shit, I don't know. God dammit." Sam returned to struggling, but Dean was free. He helped Sam get free and they stood up. "C'mon. We gotta find sis and then I have a feeling he's headed for Becky's."

Alex woke up on the cold, hard ground. Her head was pounding. She reached up and pressed her palm to her forehead. She removed her hand and saw blood on her palm. "Dammit." She tore off part of her shirt and held it to her head, looking around. "Sam? Dean?" She saw the Impala behind her and the keys were by the left rear tire. She grabbed them, stuffed them in her pocket and began walking down the street.

Alex was walking down the sidewalk when she stopped in front of a store with televisions in the display window. The news was on and a sketch of Dean's face was splashed across every television screen in the shop. "Fuck. That's not even a good picture," said Alex. "I bet Dean will be pissed." She stood there for a few minutes when she felt two people stand beside her. She turned to look at them and sighed in relief when she saw her brothers. "Oh, thank God." "Alex! We've been looking for you," said Sam. "Yeah, well. Dean's all over the news." Sam and Alex looked at the window again and saw the sketch of Dean's face splash across the screens. "That's not even a good picture of me!" complained Dean. Alex smirked. "C'mon, let's get outta here before someone recognizes you," said Sam, pulling on Dean's arm. Alex followed.

They stepped off of the sidewalk and turned a corner into an alley. "So, bro. Attempted murder. At least we know-" began Alex. "I didn't kill them!" yelled Dean. "We'll check on Bec in the morning. See if she's alright," said Sam. Alex nodded. "I'm gonna kick the crap out of that damn thing," snarled Dean. Sam stopped walking and stood in front of his brother. "Um, we have no weapons for that." Dean looked at Sam. "Look, the guy's walking around with my face. I want to find him." Alex looked at her brothers, rolling her eyes. "Hey, fellas? We have weapons." Sam and Dean looked at her. She pulled the keys out of her jeans pocket and dangled them in front of Dean's face. Dean chuckled and snagged the keys out of her hand. "That's my girl." He pulled her close and kissed her temple. "Alright, let's get to my car." Dean led the way, Sam and Alex following behind.

When they were a few feet away from the car, Dean stopped and sighed. "Aah. Something that went right." They began to walk forward out of the darkness, but quickly jumped back into the shadows when police cars pulled up and surrounded the Impala. Dean saw the fence behind them and began to climb up it. "C'mon, over the fence!" Alex followed him, climbing up. When she got to the top, she sat down and looked down at Sam. Dean was already on the other side of the fence, waiting for Alex to drop down. "Sam, let's go!" she yelled. "Look, they can't hold me. Meet me at Rebecca's!" Sam began walking out to the cops. "Sam!" yelled Alex. "Alex, we gotta go. C'mon," said Dean. He waited and Alex jumped into his waiting arms. He caught her and quickly set her down on her feet. They headed off toward a motel through the backyards of homes, jumping over fences along the way.

The next day, Dean and Alex headed back for the Impala on foot. It was exactly where they had left it the night before and Dean kissed the top of the car when they had gotten to it. "I love this car." Alex rolled her eyes and walked to the back of the car, opening the trunk. Dean walked around to the back of the car and reached inside the trunk, grabbing a gun for himself and for Alex. He handed her the gun. "Wait, what are we doing?" asked Alex. Dean slammed the trunk closed and tucked his gun in his waistband. "We're going after that thing. Now c'mon." Alex sighed, but stuck her gun in the waistband of her jeans and followed Dean.

In the sewer system again, Dean was leading the way with the flashlight. "This is so gross," said Alex. They passed more piles of gross skin looking stuff before entering the shifter's lair. There were chains and ropes all over the lair. "Whoa, look at this shit," said Alex. She picked up a huge metal chain from a table and turned it around in her hands. Suddenly, there was a loud thump and both Dean and Alex looked in the direction it had come from. Alex dropped the chain back on the table and walked with Dean over to the sheet that was covering whatever made the noise. Alex held up her gun as Dean pulled the sheet off to reveal Rebecca. Her eyes were frantic and scared as she looked at them. Her hair was matted to her forehead and dried blood was on her cheek. "Rebecca?" Rebecca nodded and Dean looked at Alex. "Sam," sighed Alex. Dean ran a hand over his face.

Sam was at Rebecca's house with the fake Rebecca. He was sitting on the couch, sipping at his beer. The fake Rebecca was standing in the kitchen. "Let's say this shape shifter is real. How do you stop it?" Rebecca grabbed another beer bottle from the fridge and walked over to Sam. She handed him a new bottle and he handed her his empty bottle. "A silver bullet to the heart," said Sam, bringing his lips to the bottle's opening and taking a swig of his beer. "You are crazy," said Rebecca. She hit Sam over the head with the empty beer bottle that she still held in her right hand. Glass went everywhere and Sam slumped to the floor, unconscious. Rebecca's eyes flashed white.

Alex untied Rebecca and Dean stood in front of her. "What happened?" asked Dean. "Um, I was walking home and someone hit me over the head." She started to cry and Dean looked at Alex. "What?" mouthed Alex. Dean pointed to Rebecca and then drew lines down his cheeks using his finger to indicate that he was crying. Alex huffed and stuck her tongue out at Dean. She crouched down next to Rebecca and put her arm around her. "It'll be okay. I promise." Rebecca nodded and stopped crying. She wiped the remaining tears off of her cheeks. "Can you walk?" asked Dean. Rebecca stood up, nodding. "Good. We gotta hurry. Sammy's probably in trouble. I mean, he went to see you." Rebecca walked ahead of them. "I can't believe you can't handle tears. You're such a pussy," said Alex, bumping Dean's shoulder with her own. "I can only handle your tears, Alex. I'm used to it by now cause you cry so damn much." Dean laughed at Alex's raised eyebrows. "I do not!" "Do too." "Whatever. I hate you, Dean Winchester." "Love you too, sis."

Sam woke up and found that his hands were tied behind his back. He looked at the shifter and saw that he had shifted back into Dean. "What are you gonna do to me?" asked Sam, trying to break free of the ropes. "I'm not gonna do anything." The shifter picked up a large butcher knife. It glinted in the moonlight. "I will be sorry to lose this skin though." He stuck the knife into the end of the kitchen table. Sam had managed to scoot his chair closer to the corner of an end table and he was trying to cut the ropes using the table's sharp corner. The shifter stepped in front of Sam and Sam kicked him in the shin, hard. The shifter fell to the ground and Sam managed to untie himself using the end table corner. Sam rushed to the kitchen, grabbing the butcher knife out of the table. The shifter rushed him, but Sam grabbed his arm and pinned it behind his back. The shifter managed to get out of Sam's grip. He elbowed Sam in the gut and shoved him into a bookcase. Sam fell to the ground, but he grabbed onto the edge of the pool table and pulled himself up off of the floor. Sam laid across the pool table trying to catch his breath and the shifter grabbed a pool stick, bringing it down to hit Sam. Sam rolled to the right and the shifter hit the table instead of Sam. Sam stood up and looked at his fake brother. The fake Dean threw the stick across the room and tackled Sam. They fell over the top of the couch and crashed into a coffee table, smashing it. The fake Dean grabbed Sam's throat and began strangling him, Sam still struggling to hit him. "Hey!" The shifter turned to see whom the voice belonged to and was shot in the head by Dean. Sam rolled to the left as the shifter fell to the ground, dead. Sam coughed and stood up slowly. "Sammy, are you alright?" asked Alex. Sam nodded and Dean walked over to him. Dean looked at the shifter, who still looked like him and then looked at Sam. Sam shrugged and Alex smiled.

The next morning, Dean had a map spread out on the hood of the Impala. He and Alex were huddled over it as Rebecca and Sam walked out of the house. "Thank you, Sam." She hugged him and kissed his cheek. Sam hugged her tightly before letting go. Rebecca waved to Alex and Dean and turned, entering the house and shutting the front door. Sam walked over to his brother and sister. "Let's head out." Sam opened his car door and got inside. Dean folded up the map and he and Alex got in the car.


	10. Chapter 10

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 10

"Hey darlin.' Care to dance?" Alex looked the boy over. He was definitely not old enough to be in a bar, so he must have had a fake I.D. He was muscular too, so he obviously worked out. "No, thanks," said Alex. She walked off the dance floor and walked over to the booth that Dean and Sam were occupying. She sat next to Sam and set down her drink. "Was that guy bothering you?" asked Dean, looking at the teenager that had spoken to Alex. "No, he just wanted to dance. Besides, he's probably only 18. Definitely not old enough to be in here." Alex took a sip of her drink and sighed when Sam and Dean wouldn't stop watching the kid that had talked to her. She patted her pockets, looking for her phone. "Shit, I forgot my phone in the car. Can I have the keys so I can go grab it?" Dean nodded and handed her the keys. She walked out the door, not noticing the two teenage boys that stealthily followed her a few minutes later.

Alex unlocked the car and pulled the door open. She stuck her head inside the car, searching for her phone when she was suddenly shoved into the backseat. "Hey!" She looked at her attacker and saw that it was the kid from the bar. "Get off of me." Alex tried to sit up, but the kid was straddling her legs. She punched him in the face and the kid grabbed his nose. "Ow! You fuckin' bitch!" The kid held her hands above her head and Alex struggled against his hold. The kid grinned and ripped open her shirt. Alex tried to kick him, but his weight was too heavy and she couldn't move her legs. Alex began to cry as the kid kissed down her neck. She prayed for Sam and Dean.

Dean looked around the bar, noticing that the kid from before was missing. "Hey, where's that kid?" Sam looked around too and couldn't find him. "You don't think…" began Dean and Sam's eyes widened. "C'mon." Sam slapped a few bills on the table and ran with Dean out the door.

Alex sobbed harder as the kid unsnapped her jeans. She closed her eyes and flashbacks from the party in high school came in frames behind her eyes. _Bryan laughing at her whimpering, Bryan's brother holding her down as Bryan climbed atop her…_The kid went to kiss Alex, but Alex turned her head. Suddenly, the kid's weight was gone. Alex opened her eyes and sat up. She tucked her knees to her chest and rested her arms on them. She sobbed into her arms. "Alex! Alex… oh Jesus," said Sam. He clambered into the backseat and took in her ripped shirt and unsnapped jeans. "Alex? Hey, look at me." Sam grabbed her chin gently and Alex looked into his eyes, her own blue ones filled to the brim with unshed tears. "Were you-" Sam swallowed before continuing. "Were you raped?" Sam silently prayed that she wasn't. Alex shook her head and Sam expelled a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He pulled her into his chest and she sobbed, his shirt being ruined due to her tears. "Shh, it's okay. I'm here now." He stroked her hair softly. He laid down on the backseat and Alex was lying atop him, her sobs slowly subsiding. Dean looked into the backseat. His knuckles were red with blood from attacking the boy that had tried to rape Alex and from attacking the one that was being the lookout. He took in Alex's appearance and glanced at Sam, his face stricken with fear. "Was she…?" He let his sentence trail off and Sam shook his head. Dean sighed in relief. "Dean, head to a motel. She needs some rest." Dean nodded and climbed into the car.

Alex woke up in a warm bed. Her head was on something that was moving up and down. She looked up and saw that her head was on Sam's chest. "Hey. Good morning," said Sam, smiling. "Did you lay with me all night?" Sam nodded. "Yep. I carried you in here and just watched you sleep." Alex sat up and looked around the room to see Dean sitting at the table, looking at her cautiously. "Hey sis. Want some food?" He held out a box of doughnuts, but Alex shook her head. She turned back to Sam and took a deep breath. "I was almost raped last night." Sam glanced at Dean before looking at Alex. "Yes. Do you wanna talk about it? You seemed to have some bad dreams. It was like he had actually… you know…" said Sam. Alex stiffened. "Lex? Did he do it?" asked Dean, rising out of his chair. "No, but it's happened before." Alex's voice cracked and Dean walked over to her, kneeling by the bed. "Well, I lost my virginity at 15, but it wasn't by choice." Dean cradled her face in his hands and Sam took both of her hands in his own. "I went to this party in high school. You guys were with Dad and I just wanted to be normal for one night, you know? Anyway, I was hanging out with this boy, Bryan, all night. He was in my English class and he was really nice. He suggested we go talk somewhere private. How could I have been so stupid?" sobbed Alex. Dean let go of her face and stood up, trying to reign in his anger. "So we went upstairs and he led me to some bedroom. And then he raped me. I was just crying and I tried to fight him off, but uh…" Alex looked at Dean and Sam before continuing. "Bryan had an older brother that was at the party too. He came in and held me down while Bryan… raped me," sobbed Alex. Dean walked over to the wall and punched it, leaving a huge gaping hole. Alex sobbed harder and looked at Sam. "Sammy, I'm sorry." Sam kissed the top of her head. "Don't you ever apologize for that. It was not your fault at all." Sam stood up and grabbed the Impala keys off the nightstand. He picked them up. "Dean." Dean turned and caught the keys with one hand. "Go cool down." Dean nodded and walked out the door. Sam climbed back into bed with Alex. She put her head on his chest and sobbed, Sam stroking her back.

Alex looked up when Dean opened the door. She glanced at Sam, who was lying beside her. He was sound asleep, his chest rising and falling as he breathed steadily. She slid out from under his arm and stood up. She walked over to Dean, who was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring off at nothing. She sat beside him. "Hey bro." Dean looked at her, his eyes misty. "I'm sorry." Alex smiled and took Dean's hand. "It wasn't your fault. I'm fine, honest." "I just wish I could've been there. You don't deserve that. I'm gonna hunt down those fuckers, I swear to God." "Dean, it's okay. Bryan was killed a few years back in a car accident anyway." Alex looked at Dean and kissed his cheek. "I'm tough. It only made me stronger. Now, c'mon. Let's go get some food." Alex squeezed his hand before letting go of it. She walked into the bathroom and Dean smiled.

Alex watched Sam as he stood at the pay phone. They were at a local café and Dean was browsing the Internet while sipping his coffee. Alex saw Sam slam the pay phone back on its hook and walk back over to them. He sat next to Dean. "Your latte's getting cold over here," said Dean. Sam glared at him. "Bite me." Alex smiled and Sam grabbed his coffee cup, taking a drink. "So, anything?" asked Alex. Sam shook his head. "I've done everything." "Well, I don't think Dad wants to be found," said Dean, his eyes never leaving the computer screen. Alex sighed and sipped her own coffee, looking at the people crossing the street. She saw a family of five crossing the street and she smiled, remembering her family before it was torn apart. "Hey, check this out." Alex turned her attention back to the table to see Dean turning the computer toward Sam. "Now I can't see." Alex stood up and moved to Sam and Dean's side of the table. She plopped down in Sam's lap and looked at the computer screen. "So… they found some guy's body," said Alex. "Keep reading," said Dean. "Oh, it says the killer was invisible," said Alex. Dean nodded. "Could be something interesting. Dad would check it out." "C'mon, Sammy," pleaded Alex. She turned around in Sam's lap and faced him. She stuck her lower lip out. Sam laughed. "Alright."

Dean pulled the car to a stop outside of a fraternity house. There were some boys outside working on a car. Dean, Alex and Sam stepped out of the car. The boys all looked up as they approached. "Nice wheels," said Dean, nodding to the car the boys had been working on. One of the boys looked at him funny, while the other two checked out Alex. Sam saw them looking at her and he threw his arm over her shoulder, giving the boys dirty looks. "We're your new fraternity brothers. We're new in town, looking for a place to stay," explained Dean. "Who is she?" asked one boy, jutting his chin in Alex's direction. "Uh…" Dean glanced at Sam for help with an answer. Sam sighed and glared at Dean before turning back to the boys to answer. "Um, she's my girlfriend." Dean stifled a laugh and Alex rolled her eyes, sighing.

The siblings walked up the stairs in the fraternity house and knocked on the room door of a guy who was painting himself purple. He turned to them. "Who are you?" "We're your new roommates," answered Dean. They guy's eyes twinkled as he looked at Alex. "Even her?" Sam glared at the kid and took Alex's hand, interlacing their fingers. "Nope." The boy's face fell. He turned back to his full-length mirror and tried to paint his back, but couldn't reach it himself. "Well, can you do my back? Big game today." Dean stepped back and pointed at Sam. "He's the artist." Sam looked at Dean, sighing. He released Alex's hand and grabbed the paintbrush from the kid. Dean walked farther into the room and sat down in a comfy chair. Alex sat on the chair's armrest. "So we heard one of the guys around here got killed last week," said Dean. "What happened?" asked Sam, painting the kid's back. "They're saying some psycho with a knife. Rich was a good guy." "Was Rich with anybody?" asked Alex. The kid glanced at her chest and Alex drew her jacket tighter around herself. "Yeah, Laurie Sorenson." "Who's she? You missed a spot," said Dean, pointing to the kid's lower back. Sam looked at Dean, glaring. Dean grinned. "Laurie's a freshmen. Super hot. She's also the Reverend's daughter." "Do you know which church?" asked Alex. "Sure. St Barnabus." Sam handed the kid back his paintbrush and his bucket of paint. "Thanks for your help," said Alex. "No problem. See you later, sweet thang." The kid winked at Alex and Sam glared at him. The kid stepped back a smidgen and Sam took Alex's hand.

The Winchesters entered the church while a service was being held. Dean was the last one in and the door slammed behind him. Everyone turned to look at them and Sam and Alex turned to glare at Dean. He shrugged and they continued forward. They sat down in the very last pew on the right side of the church, Alex sitting in the middle of her brothers. "Now, let us pray." Everyone bowed their heads except Dean. Alex elbowed him and he sighed, bowing his head.

After the service, Sam, Dean and Alex walked up to a young girl who they assumed was Laurie. "Are you Laurie?" asked Sam. The girl turned to them. She nodded. "My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean and my sister, Alex." Dean and Alex waved. "I saw you inside," said Laurie and Sam let out a little laugh. "Yeah, sorry about that. Hey, we heard about what happened and we're really sorry," said Dean. "Yeah, I kinda know what you're going through. I saw someone get hurt once. You don't forget," said Sam sympathetically. He looked up as the Reverend joined them. "Dad, this is Sam, Dean and Alex. They're new students." "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," said Dean, shaking the Reverend's hand. "Listen, uh, we're new in town…" Dean trailed off as he and Alex walked away from Sam and Laurie, the Reverend in tow. "Laurie, what do the police say?" "They don't have a lot to go on. I think they blame me for that." "What do you mean?" "I was so scared. I guess I was seeing things," said Laurie. Sam nodded.

"So, you believe her?" asked Dean. He scanned the books on the shelf at the library. "Yeah, I do," said Sam. "Yeah, I think she was hot too," said Dean. Alex scoffed. Sam looked at Dean. "No, Dean. There was something in her eyes. And, she saw a bloody body suspended over the car." They had stopped in the middle of a row of books. "Body suspended, that sounds like…" began Dean, his forehead furrowed in thought. "I know. The Hook Man legend," finished Sam. "You don't think we're dealing with the Hook Man, do you?" asked Alex. Sam shrugged. "Urban legends all have a source."

The librarian set a large box onto the table that Sam, Dean and Alex were sitting at. "Here you go. Arrest records back to 1851." She picked up another box from the floor and set it on the table also. She walked away and Dean blew dust off the top of one of the boxes. Dean groaned as he opened the box and saw tons of papers. Sam smirked. "Welcome to higher education."

After about an hour, Dean was standing by the table, Sam was sitting and Alex was sitting on the table. Dean sighed and threw his papers down in frustration on the table. "Hey, check this out," said Sam. Dean walked over to him and looked over his shoulder. "1862. A preacher named Jacob Caans was arrested for murder." Dean grabbed the papers and looked over them. "Huh, get this. The murder weapon was a silver hook and it all happened at the same place where that frat boy died." "Alright, let's check this out," said Sam.

The Impala came to a stop and they climbed out. Dean popped the trunk. "Here." He handed both Alex and Sam a sawed off shotgun. "I'm cold," whined Alex. She looked at Sam, her lower lip stuck out. Sam sighed and pulled his sweatshirt over his head, his shirt riding up with it. He held it out to her and she grabbed it, pulling it over her head. It was way too big on her, but she snuggled into it. She began to look at Dean, but Sam grabbed her arm. "Ah." He pointed to his cheek and Alex stood on her tiptoes, kissing his cheek. "Bullets won't work," said Sam. "I know. It's rock salt," said Dean. He slammed the trunk. "Lex, stay between us," said Dean. "I'm not a little girl, Dean." "I know, but you're still my little sister." He leaned down and kissed her forehead. She obliged, standing in between Sam and Dean. Dean was in front and Sam was in back. "Do you hear that?" asked Alex. Dean raised his gun. "Put down the gun! Now!" yelled a cop. He came out of the bushes, two other cops beside him. Dean, Alex and Sam set their guns down in the grass and put their hands up. "Shit," muttered Dean.

The next morning, Dean led the way out of the police station. "Saved your asses!" "What did you say?" asked Alex. "Told him that Sam was a dumb ass pledge and that you were Sam's girlfriend." "And he believed you?" asked Sam. "Well, you two look like dumb asses," said Dean, smirking. Alex smacked him upside the head and Dean winced, rubbing the spot that she had hit. Suddenly, a large group of officers ran out of the station and got in their cars, taking off. "We better follow them," said Sam.

Dean pulled the Impala around the back of the sorority house. He put it in park and Dean, Alex and Sam all got out. They peeked around the corner of the house to see cops and spectators all over the sorority house front lawn. They stood as close to the side of the house as they could get and looked at one another. "Why would the Hook Man come here?" asked Sam. "Maybe he's not hunting the scene of his crime. Maybe it's something else," said Dean. Suddenly, the back door of the house swung open and two girls walked out, talking to each other. The Winchesters quickly hung in the shadows as best they could and prayed the girls couldn't see them. Dean watched the girls walk the other way and Sam began climbing up the side of the house. Alex grabbed Sam's foot and tried to hoist him up, but she couldn't do it without Dean. "Um, hello? A little help?" Dean turned to her and grabbed Sam's other foot and together, he and Alex launched Sam onto the balcony above them. He opened a window while Alex and then Dean climbed up to join him. They all climbed in through the window, Dean shutting it silently behind him. They were in a closet and Sam opened the door, leading the way into the bedroom. They stepped into the bedroom and saw a girl's mutilated body lying on the bed, blood surrounding her and dripping onto the floor. Alex gagged and ran into the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet. Dean cringed at the sound and Sam winced. "Lex, you alright?" asked Dean. Alex gave him thumbs up and stood up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She flushed the toilet and pulled her hair back into a messy bun. She walked out and stood in between her brothers, looking at the body. "Ugh, I can't do this." She turned her face into Dean's chest. Dean stroked her hair as he looked around the room. He saw writing on the wall and he squinted to see what it said. "Aren't you glad you didn't turn on the light?" said Sam, also looking at the writing. It was written in the victim's blood and the blood had dripped, making the message hard to read. "Well, it's definitely a spirit. You can smell it," said Dean, his nose wrinkling. Sam sniffed and nodded. He looked at the message on the wall again and noticed a symbol below it. He cocked his head to the side. "Hey, does that look familiar to you?"

"Yep, it's the same symbol." Dean handed Sam some papers and Sam looked at them. They were leaning on the hood of the Impala. "Alright. Let's salt the dudes bones then," said Alex. "Okay, let's think about this. It's Jacob Caans' spirit doing this, but we don't know where he'll strike next or why," said Alex. Dean stepped away from the hood and walked to his side of the car, opening his door. "Well, I'm gonna guess your friend Laurie has something to do with this, Sam." Sam opened his door, letting Alex climb into the backseat first. He got in next and looked at Dean, confused.

That night, Dean, Sam and Alex were at a college party. "Dude, now I know why you went to college. This is awesome!" said Dean. He took a sip of his beer from the red plastic cup and smiled at the girl that passed him. "Well, this wasn't really my experience," said Sam, looking away from the girl that was checking him out. "Let me guess. Library, straight A's?" Sam nodded and Dean shook his head. "What a geek." He took another sip from his cup and looked around the room. "Anyway, I think I came up with something." Sam led Dean away from the crowd and into an empty hallway. He handed him a piece of paper. "There's a pattern. These men were all wanted for killings that they say happened by an invisible force." "What's the connection to Laurie?" asked Dean. "A man of religion," said Sam. "That would be Reverend Sorenson. I think you should keep an eye on Laurie tonight as well as her dad." "What about you and Alex?" "Alex and I are gonna go find the grave of Jacob Caans as soon as I find her." Dean stepped out of the hallway and back into the crowd, scanning the room for Alex. Sam followed him and saw her at the pool tables. He pointed her out to Dean. "She's at the pool tables." Dean looked where Sam was pointing and they watched as Alex placed the last ball in the corner pouch. She smiled at the four boys looking at the table, their mouths hanging open. She held out her hand and they each placed a twenty-dollar bill in her open palm. She closed her hand around the money and shoved it in her jean pocket, waving at the boys as they set their pool sticks on the table and walked away. Sam chuckled and Dean grinned. "Atta girl," said Dean. He walked over to Alex and Sam watched them leave.

"Dean, this sucks." Alex held the flashlight up and checked the name on the gravestone. She sighed when it wasn't unmarked. She walked with Dean to the next set of graves. "I know. Hopefully, we'll find it soon." Dean looked at another headstone and sighed. A gust of wind blew through the air and Alex shivered, rubbing her arms. "I'm cold." Dean took off his jacket and handed it to her. Alex slipped it on and it was way too big, but she snuggled into it. "Thanks." Dean nodded and continued looking for the grave. "Ah, here we go." Dean saw that the grave was unmarked and he threw his flashlight to the side, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. Alex handed him the shovel and Dean began digging, Alex providing the light. "Next time, I get to watch the cute girl's house," grumbled Dean, Alex laughed and Dean smiled. Suddenly, his shovel hit something hard and he saw the coffin. He rammed the shovel through the coffin's lid and tore it apart to reveal bones. "Hello preacher." Dean climbed out of the grave and stuck the shovel into the dirt beside the headstone.

Sam was sitting on the curb a few feet away from Laurie's front door when the lights turned off at Laurie's house. He heard someone approaching and turned to see Laurie. "I saw you from upstairs. What are you doing here?" Laurie stood directly in front of Sam. "I'm, uh, keeping an eye on your place," said Sam, looking sheepish. "I was worried about you." He looked up at her to see her reaction and she smiled. She sat down next to him on the curb. "I think you're sweet. Which is probably why you should run away from me as fast as you can," said Laurie. "Why would you say that?" asked Sam. "Because people around me keep dying." She looked down at the ground, averting his gaze. "I think I know how you feel," said Sam. Laurie looked at him, smiling.

"Lex, hand me the salt, matches and gasoline." Alex grabbed everything Dean had asked for and handed it to Dean. He jumped back into the grave and salted the bones. He poured gasoline on top of the salted bones and then lit a match. "Goodbye preacher." Dean threw the match on top of the bones and climbed out of the hole, standing by Alex and watching the bones burn.

"People won't talk to me anymore except for you," said Laurie. "My dad keeps telling me to pray and have faith." Laurie scoffed. "I heard you guys fighting before," said Sam, looking at her. "He's seeing a married woman. You know, he taught me that if you do something wrong, you get punished. I just don't know what to think." Laurie held in a sob and leaned closer to Sam, leaning her head on his shoulder. After a few minutes, she pulled her head off of his shoulder and looked in his eyes. She slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a kiss. Sam closed his eyes and pulled away from the kiss. He looked at the ground. "Laurie, I can't." "Is it that someone that you lost?" asked Laurie. Sam nodded, looking at her. "I'm sorry." "Laurie, it's time to come inside. Please." Sam and Laurie turned to look at Laurie's dad standing in the front doorway. Suddenly, the Hook Man appeared and drug the Reverend into the house. Sam acted quickly, grabbing his sawed-off from beside him and running into the house. He looked around the downstairs, but saw nothing. "No, please. No!" Sam hustled up the stairs and saw a door slam closed at the end of the hallway. Sam rushed down the hall and kicked the door in. He saw the Hook Man ready to strike, the Reverend lying on the ground. Sam aimed and shot at the spirit, causing it to disappear.

Sam was looking into the Reverend's hospital room through the window while he stood in the hallway. "We were just talking. Her dad came out and then he appeared." "The big man?" "Yes." "Had you seen him before?" asked the doctor, looking at Sam's face. Sam sighed and turned away from the window, facing the doctor. "No, sir." Sam and the doctor turned as there was a commotion at the end of the hallway. Two huge officers were holding Dean and Alex back from seeing Sam. "No, we're with him. Hey, brother!" yelled Dean, waving at Sam. "Let them through," called the doctor. The officers let go of Alex and Dean and they readjusted their clothing, glaring at the officers as they passed by them. Sam met them in the middle of the hallway. "You okay?" asked Dean, looking Sam up and down. "Yep." "What happened?" asked Alex, sipping coffee from a Starbucks cup. "Hook Man," said Sam. "You saw him?" asked Dean. "Dam right. Now why didn't you tow torch the bones?" "Um, what the fuck are you talking about? We did. Are you sure it's the spirit of Jacob Caans?" asked Dean. "It sure as hell looked like him," said Sam. "Well, I think the spirit is latching onto Laurie," said Alex, still sipping her coffee. Sam nodded. "Okay, but we burned those bones so why didn't that stop him?" asked Dean. "You must have missed something," said Sam. Sam reached out and grabbed Alex's coffee. Alex made a sound of protest, but Sam just ignored her, drinking the coffee. Dean chuckled. "Well, you dumbasses, did you get the hook?" asked Alex, her arms folded across her chest. She looked between Sam and Dean. "I mean, it _is _a part of him and it was the murder weapon. So, if you find the hook…" She raised her eyebrows, waiting for them to fill in the rest of the story. "You stop the Hook Man," said Sam and Dean in unison. Alex smiled in triumph.

Back at the library, the siblings were trying to find out where the hook was. Sam and Alex were stumped. "Here's something. All items shall be returned to the St. Barnabus Church," read Dean. "Wait, isn't that Laurie's church?" asked Alex. "Yeah, but if the hook were at the church, don't you think someone would've seen it? I mean, a blood stained, silver handled hook?" asked Sam. "Well, let's check the church records."

"Silver handled hook. Received, then reforged," read Alex. Sam shook his head, setting down the papers he had been holding. "They melted it down and made it into something else." "Fuck," muttered Dean, shutting his book.

They came to a stop outside of the church. "Anything silver gets thrown in," said Dean. "We'll have to break in," said Sam. "Is that a problem?" asked Dean, glancing at his brother. Sam shook his head and they got out of the car, heading for the church.

Alex collected everything she could from the church that was silver and threw it into her bag. She walked down to the basement where the fireplace was. She handed the bag to Dean. Sam handed his bag to Dean also. "I got everything that even looked silver," said Alex. She glanced at her brothers, who were looking up. She looked up too and heard a creaking noise from above them. Sam, Alex and Dean grabbed their guns and ran up the stairs. Dean carefully opened the door at the top of the stairs. He walked out first, Sam and Alex following. They saw Laurie sitting in a pew, crying quietly. Sam looked at his siblings. "Go," mouthed Dean. Sam headed up to Laurie and Alex and Dean walked back downstairs.

Sam hurried up the aisle quietly and stopped next to the pew Laurie was sitting in. "Laurie?" She looked up at her name and scooted to the end of the pew, closer to Sam. He knelt in front of her. "What are you doing here?" asked Laurie. He ignored her question and asked one of his own. "What is it?" Laurie sighed and began crying again. "I've been trying to understand all that's happening, why. I have and now I'm praying for forgiveness." Sam's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Forgiveness for what?" "I'm to blame for all this," sniffed Laurie, dabbing her eyes. "This isn't your fault," said Sam. "Yes, it is. I killed Rich and Taylor." "Laurie-" began Sam. "I see it now. They don't deserve to be punished. I do." A noise came from the back of the church then. Sam stood up slowly, Laurie standing up with him. He looked around, but no one was there. Sam grabbed Laurie's hand and pulled her out of the pew. "We need to go," said Sam. He pushed Laurie in front of him and they began walking toward the back of the church. He opened the door to the basement stairs, but the Hook Man was there. "Whoa!" Sam slammed the door shut just as the hook smashed through it. Laurie screamed and Sam took her hand, running towards another door. They rushed into a side room and as the door closed behind them, the Hook Man demolished it. Sam pushed Laurie behind him and she stood by the window, watching as Sam dodged blow after blow from the Hook Man. The Hook Man shoved Sam and Sam fell to the floor. The Hook Man walked towards Laurie, raising his hook. Laurie cowered, ready to be hit. "No!" yelled Sam, jumping in front of Laurie. He was nicked in the shoulder and Laurie was flung into another room. Sam ran into the room, cradling his arm to his chest. He reached out, trying to help Laurie up, but the spirit sent Sam flying into a bookcase. It fell on top of him and Sam crawled out from under it, standing behind the spirit. "Sam, drop!" yelled Dean. Sam fell to the floor as Dean shot at the Hook Man. The spirit disappeared and Dean and Alex rushed into the room. "I thought we got all the silver!" yelled Sam. "We did!" said Dean. "Maybe we missed something," said Sam, glancing around the room. Alex saw something glint in the moonlight and she looked at Laurie's necklace. "Where did you get that chain, Laurie?" asked Alex. Sam and Dean looked at it too. "My father gave it to me." Laurie looked between the three of them, frightened. "Is it silver?" asked Sam. "Yes!" Sam tore the necklace off of Laurie and looked up as they heard a scraping along the hallway wall. "Sam!" Dean threw Sam his shotgun and Sam threw Dean the necklace at the same time. Alex sat down next to Laurie, her shotgun in her lap. Sam stood up in front of them and shot at the scraping noise.

Dean raced toward the basement. He threw open the basement door and clambered down the stairs. He rushed to the fireplace and threw the necklace in. "C'mon, c'mon."

The Hook Man was now standing in front of Sam. Sam aimed his gun, but the Hook Man threw it aside. Sam fell to the floor next to Alex and they all began to scoot back, away from the Hook Man as he inched closer. As the Hook Man descended on them, his hook suddenly began to disappear. First went his hook, then his arm, followed by his whole body. Sam and Alex looked up as Dean raced into the room. He smiled at them weakly and Alex grinned.

"And you saw him. The man with the hook," stated the cop. "Yes. I'm telling you. We fought him off and he ran," said Dean. Dean looked at the officer, eyebrows raised. The cop sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "Alright, listen. You and your siblings-" "We're leaving now." Dean slid off the back of the car and walked to the Impala.

Sam looked up as Laurie approached the ambulance where he was getting his arm stitched up. "You gonna be okay?" she asked. Sam stood up, towering over her. "Yeah."

Dean opened his car door, climbing inside. He reached out his window and readjusted the mirror so that he could see Sam talking to Laurie. Alex laughed and turned, looking out the back window to see them.

"I'm still not sure what happened," said Laurie, squinting up at Sam. Sam looked down at her, sighing. His long hair hung over his brow and he swept it away with a brush of his hand. "But I do know you saved mine and my fathers lives. Thank you." Laurie smiled and Sam nodded.

Dean and Alex watched as Sam walked away from Laurie without kissing her. Alex sighed and turned to face the front of the car just as Sam opened his car door and slid inside. He rubbed his right shoulder and winced. Alex and Dean looked at him. "We could stay," offered Dean. Sam silently shook his head, not looking at them. Dean glanced at Laurie in the rearview mirror before pulling away, her figure growing smaller and smaller as they drove away.


	11. Chapter 11

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 11

Alex stepped into the motel room holding two bags of food from Sonic and a tray full of coffee. She shut the motel room door with her foot and walked over to the table, setting the bags of food and the tray of coffee down. She grabbed one cup of coffee and sipped it, sighing as the warmth hit her throat. She then realized that neither Sam nor Dean had gotten up to grab their food yet. She turned to see them sitting on one of the beds, not looking at her. "Whoa, what's going on? Usually, you two are knocking me down to get to the food." She walked over to them and sat down between them. Sam took her cup of coffee and set it on the nightstand beside him, Alex looking confused. "Lex, we've been thinking that maybe…" Dean trailed off and looked at Sam. Alex looked at Sam too, her forehead still scrunched together in confusion. Sam sighed and looked at the bedspread as he spoke. "Maybe you should go back home and stay safe." "What?" Alex stood up from the bed quickly and turned to face them. "We just don't think it's very safe," said Dean. "Nothing is safe for me anymore! My mom died in my nursery, I was raped in high school and I was almost killed by a vengeful spirit and a wendigo!" Alex pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration as her eyes filled with tears. "We just want you to be normal," said Dean. "I think it's a little too late for normal," said Alex. "Alex? Will you please do this for us?" pleaded Sam, his expression pained due to the tears he saw in her eyes. "Leave? You want me to leave?" Alex grabbed her duffel bag from under her bed and threw her clothes in it, Dean and Sam silent as they watched her. She slung the bag over her shoulder and looked at them, tears falling freely. "I don't want to hear from either one of you ever again. Just stay out of my life for good." She walked over to the door, wrenching it open. "Alex, wait. Let me give you some money to get home," said Dean. He pulled a large pile of bills out of his pocket and put it in Alex's palm, closing her fingers over it. "I love you little sister. This is only for the best." Dean kissed her forehead and Alex let a few more tears escape. "Well, I learned from the best how to leave. Right, Sam?" Sam winced at her remark. Alex walked out the door, slamming the door closed behind her. Sam flinched at the door slamming and he ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it in frustration. "That went fucking great," said Dean sarcastically.

The taxi pulled to a stop outside an apartment building in Lawrence, Kansas. Alex leaned over the console and placed a few twenty-dollar bills in the cab driver's open palm. "Thanks." She climbed out of the car, her bag in her hand. She watched the cab drive away and she sighed, looking up at her building. She wiped away a few tears that had escaped and pushed open the apartment building doors.

Alex stuck her key into her apartment door, turning the doorknob. The door opened and Alex pulled the key out of the door, sticking it into her pocket. She looked around the apartment, nothing changed from when she had left with Sam and Dean a long time ago. Mail was strewn on the counter, clothes on the floor. Alex threw her duffel bag onto the floor beside her bed and shut the apartment door, locking it. She fell onto her bed and glanced at the nightstand. A picture of Sam, Dean and herself was sitting on it. Alex was sandwiched in between Sam and Dean in the picture. Sam and Dean were kissing her cheek on either side and Alex was laughing. Alex looked at it before breaking down into sobs.

"Dean-" began Sam, glancing at his brother who hadn't moved from the bed since Alex had left three hours ago. "Not now, Sammy." Sam sighed and looked at his brother. "Dean, Alex will be fine. She'll be safe. We did the right thing. Now, let's find a job to keep us busy so we won't worry about her." Dean sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "You're right. Let's do it."

Alex wiped her nose as her sobs finally began to slow. She looked at the picture one last time before flipping it face down on the nightstand. She stood up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her mascara was all over her cheeks. "Okay, you can do this. Get yourself cleaned up and then go find a job." Alex walked into the bathroom after her pep talk to herself and grabbed her makeup, reapplying it.

Sam sat outside of a bar, looking down at the paper for mysterious deaths. Sam turned the page as Dean walked out of the bar, holding some cash he had acquired. "You know, we could get day jobs once in a while," said Sam. "The pay is crap." Dean began counting the money. "Yeah, but hustling pool? It's not very honest." Sam raised his eyebrows. "I'm not too bad at it, but Alex…" Dean trailed off, his face contorted in pain. "Anyway, there might be something in Oklahoma. A man supposedly died from mad cow disease." Sam set the paper down on the hood of the car in front of Dean. "So he ate a bad burger. Why is this our kind of thing?" "Mad cow takes months to damage your brain. This guy's took an hour." "Okay then. Oklahoma it is." Dean stuck the money in his jacket pocket and climbed in the car, Sam following.

Alex entered her apartment. She took off her jacket and threw it on the back of one of the dining room chairs in her kitchen. She smiled. "I got a job!" she yelled into the emptiness of her apartment. She pulled out her phone and scrolled down to Dean's number, ready to call him and tell him the good news. Her thumb hovered over the call button. Finally, she sighed and shut her phone, putting it back in her pocket. She peeled off her jeans and shirt and began looking through her drawers for pajamas. She opened a drawer in her dresser and found Sam and Dean's old clothes. She grabbed a pair of Dean's boxers and one of Sam's Stanford t-shirts, slipping them on. She rolled the boxers a few times since they were so big, but she left the shirt alone. She curled up onto her bed and inhaled Sam's scent through his shirt, crying herself to sleep.

Dean pulled the car to a stop outside of the gas company where the victim had worked. Sam and he got out and walked up to a man working. "Travis Reever?" asked Dean. The man looked at them. "Yes, that's me." "Are you the Travis that worked with Uncle Dusty?" asked Sam. "Dustin never mentioned nephews." "Really? Well, he sure mentioned you." Travis grinned. "We wanted to ask you what exactly happened out there," said Sam. "Uh, I'm not sure actually. He fell in the sinkhole and I went to get some rope. By the time I got back, he was gone." "What did you see?" "Just…nothing." "No wounds?" asked Sam. "He was bleeding from the eyes, ears and nose. That was it." "Do you think it could be this whole mad cow thing?" asked Dean. "I don't know." "Can you maybe tell us where this happened?" asked Sam. Travis nodded and headed into the building, Sam and Dean following.

Dean pulled into a suburb being built. They saw the caution tape and parked the car across the street from it. They ducked under the tape and found the sinkhole, looking down into it. "Looks like there's only room for one. You going?" asked Dean. "Dean, we have no idea what's down there." "Alright, I'll go if you're scared." Dean grabbed a hose from beside him and dragged it to the hole. "Flip the damn coin," said Sam. Dean chuckled, but reached into his pocket and grabbed a coin. He tossed it in the air, but Sam caught it on its way back down. "I'm going." He wrapped the hose around himself and handed the remaining part to Dean. "Don't drop me."

Back on the road, Dean was driving while Sam inspected a few dead insects he had found in the sinkhole. "So you found some beetles," said Dean. "In a hole, in the ground. Shocking, Sam." Sam sighed, looking at his brother. "There were no tunnels, no tracks. Some beetles do eat meat. Usually dead meat, but-" "How many did you find?" "Ten." Sam looked at the two beetles he had kept. "It would take a lot more than that to eat someone's brain," said Dean. Sam rolled his eyes. "Well, maybe there were more." "Sounds like a stretch to me." "We need more information." "And I know exactly where to start." Dean slowed the car and nodded at a sign that said BBQ. Dean parked in front of the house with all the other cars in front of it and climbed out, Sam behind him. Dean knocked on the front door and a middle-aged man answered the door. "Welcome!" "Is this the barbeque?" asked Dean. "Yes. I'm Larry, the developer here. And you are?" Dean shook Larry's hand and then Larry shook Sam's hand. "I'm Dean. This is Sam." "Good to meet you." Larry looked at them, still smiling. "So, you two are interested in Oasis Plains?" "Uh, yes, sir," lied Dean. "Well, we accept homeowners of any sexual orientation," said Larry. Sam stifled a laugh with a smile. "Oh, we're brothers," said Dean, his face surprised. "Our father's getting older and we're just looking for a place for him," said Sam. "Great. Seniors are welcome too. C'mon in." Larry stepped aside and Dean and Sam walked into the house.

Alex entered work the next morning, walking behind the counter of the diner. "Hey, you must be the new girl. I'm Betsy." A skinny brunette girl shook Alex's hand and Alex returned the gesture. "So, why are you in Kansas?" asked Betsy, starting the coffee pot. "Well, I grew up here actually. I just came back because… well, it's a long story." "I'll just wait to hear it at a different time. Anyway, if you have any questions, just ask me. I think you'll be just fine though, sugar." Betsy smiled at Alex before she made her way over to the first customers of the day. "I sure hope so," whispered Alex.

Larry led the way out to the huge backyard where people were mingling with one another, drinks in hand. "So, you said you're the developer?" asked Sam. "Yes. About a year ago, there was nothing here. And now…" Larry smiled and swept his hand across the backyard to demonstrate what was there now. "Actually, this is my house. The first family in Oasis Plains." A petite blonde woman walked up to Larry, kissing his cheek. Sam cringed, thinking of Alex since she was also small and blonde. Larry put his arm around the woman's waist. "This is my wife, Joni." Joni smiled and shook Sam and Dean's hands. "Joni, this is Sam and Dean," said Larry. He looked at the boys. "I'll be back. Honey, tell them how much you love the place." Larry gave them one last smile before he left, walking over to talk to a man in a business suit. "This is truly a great place to live," said Joni. Sam and Dean nodded and smiled at her as another woman approached. "Hi, I'm Linda Bloom, head of sales." Joni smiled and walked away. "I take it you two are interested in owning a home," said Linda, looking at the two of them. "Yes," said Sam. "Well, let me just say that we accept homeowners of any sexual orientation." Linda smiled at them while Dean chuckled under his breath and Sam scratched the back of his head in discomfort. "I'm gonna go talk to Larry. 'Kay, honey?" Dean walked away, smacking Sam on the ass as he left. Sam jumped and turned to glare at Dean, who just laughed. Sam turned back to Linda, forcing a smile.

Larry and Dean entered the house, looking around. "You can have carpet, hardwood or tile," said Larry, motioning to the floor. Dean nodded and looked around the place, noticing two jars of dead bugs on an end table by the couch. Larry looked at where Dean was looking and sighed. "My son. He's into insects. He's very inquisitive." "Huh," said Dean.

Sam barely listened to Linda as she droned on. He was looking around at the other occupants of the party subtly so that Linda wouldn't notice. "I mean, who can say no to a steam shower? I use mine every day!" Sam looked at Linda's face and forced a smile. "Sounds great." "You also have three different floors to choose from…" Linda kept talking, not noticing that a tarantula was crawling toward her hand that rested on the picnic table. Sam saw it and over Linda's shoulder to see a teenage boy watching the tarantula's progress intently. "Excuse me," said Sam. He gently moved Linda aside and picked up the tarantula. He walked over to the boy. "Is this yours?" Sam held out the hand that had the spider on it. "Are you gonna tell my dad?" asked the kid. "I dunno. Who's your dad?" "Larry usually skips me in the family introductions." The kid gently took the spider from Sam's palm and held it in his own. "Ouch. First name basis with the old man." Sam's face softened and he put his hand on the kid's shoulder. "Hang in there. It gets better, I promise." "When?" "Matthew?" Sam and the kid turned to see Larry and Dean walking towards them. "I'm so sorry about my son and his pet," said Larry when he had reached Sam and Matthew. "It's no bother," said Sam. "Well, excuse us." Larry grabbed Matthew by the elbow and dragged him across the lawn and into the house. Sam looked at Dean. "Remind you of somebody?" Dean looked at Larry and Matthew through the back window, then looked at Sam. "Dad?" asked Sam. "Dad never treated us like that," said Dean. Sam laughed. "You were perfect. Alex was his only little girl. He was all over my case." Dean went silent. "Anyway, how was your tour?" "Oh, excellent." Dean lowered his voice and leaned in closer to Sam. "Dustin's not the only strange death. A couple of surveyors dropped dead about a year ago. Severe allergic reaction to bee stings." "More bugs," stated Sam and Dean nodded, leaning away.

Alex walked up the stairs to her third floor apartment, looking through her mail as she walked. She suddenly ran into something hard and she fell to the floor, her mail going everywhere. "Oh, shit. I'm so sorry," said a deep male voice. Alex looked up, ready to tell the guy off, but stopped when she saw how cute he was. He had shaggy hair that fell to just above his eyebrows and it was a dirty blonde color. He was tall, probably a little over six feet and he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt with Poison on it. He was muscular, his biceps flexing as he collected her mail that had fallen on the floor. Alex licked her lips unknowingly and stood up slowly, the guy standing up with her. He handed her the mail she had dropped and Alex stuck it under her arm. She looked and saw that he had bright blue eyes and a chiseled jaw. "I'm really sorry about that," he said. "No, don't worry about it. I'm Alex." She stuck out her hand and the guy shook it. "I'm Kellan. I just moved in to 3B." He nodded toward the door he had just come out of. "Well, I live in 4B. Looks like we're neighbors," said Alex, smiling. Kellan looked her over and smiled. "That might not be a bad thing." Alex smiled bigger and suddenly realized she was still holding his hand. She quickly released it and looked down at the ground, Kellan smirking. "Well, I'm going out to meet some of my coworkers, but I guess I'll see you around?" said Kellan, an eyebrow raised in question. Alex nodded and began to walk toward her door backwards so she could still see him. "Yeah, I'll see you around." Alex gave a small wave of her fingers and Kellan smiled, turning and walking down the stairs while whistling. Alex unlocked her door and walked inside, smiling the whole time.

Sam was in the driver's seat of the Impala. Dean was relaxing in the passenger seat, looking out the window as they passed other houses. "I've heard of killer bees, but beetles? What is it that could make different bugs attack?" asked Dean. "Hauntings sometimes include bug manifestations," said Sam, looking at the road ahead. "I didn't see any evidence of ghost activity." "Yeah, me either." Sam sighed and hung his hand out the open window. "Maybe they're being controlled by something," offered Dean after a few beats of silence. "There are cases of psychic connection between animals and people." "Larry's kid. You think it's him?" "Anything is possible." Dean looked out his window again and hit Sam's arm after they passed a few more houses. "Pull over here." Sam obliged, pulling into the driveway of a house. He shut off the car and watched as Dean opened the garage door. "I wanna try the steam shower. C'mon." Sam sighed, but started the car and pulled into the garage. Dean waited until Sam had pulled the car in all the way before shutting the garage door and running inside the house.

The next morning, Sam walked down the hallway and banged on the bathroom door. He glanced down and saw steam seeping from under the door and he banged on it again. "Dean, a police call came in on the scanner. Some woman was found dead three blocks from here, c'mon." Dean whipped open the door, a towel wrapped around his head and waist. "That shower is awesome." Dean grinned and Sam rolled his eyes. "C'mon." Sam turned and walked back down the hallway, Dean shutting the bathroom door to change.

Dean pulled the Impala up to the victim's house. He parked it in the next-door neighbor's driveway and he and Sam climbed out, shielding themselves from the rain. They huddled under Dean's umbrella and walked up to Larry. "Hello. You're back early," said Larry. "We wanted to take another look at the neighborhood. What's going on?" asked Dean. Larry sighed, glancing behind him to see the EMT's zipping up a body bag. "You met Linda Bloom at the barbeque? The realtor?" Dean and Sam nodded, still looking at Larry. "She, uh, passed away last night." Sam raised his eyebrows in shock. "What happened?" asked Dean. "Still trying to find out. I'm sorry, this isn't a good time. Excuse me." Larry walked away from them and up to the front door of the house, leaving Sam and Dean on the sidewalk. "You know what we have to do right?" asked Dean, looking at Sam. "Yeah, get in that house. See if we got a bug problem."

The police finally pulled away from the crime scene and Dean and Sam climbed the fence. Dean opened a window on the side of the house, entering first. Sam followed and closed the window once they were inside. "Looks like the place," said Dean, following the blood trail on the carpet. It led him to the bathroom where he crouched down and picked up a towel. Three dead spiders fell out of it and Dean jumped back. "Spiders. From spider boy?" asked Dean, looking behind him at Sam who was standing in the doorway. "Matt. And maybe."

Alex walked over to her last table. The customer had just walked in. Alex was the last worker there, Betsy having left a half hour earlier, and she just wanted to go home. She approached the table and looked at the occupant of the booth. "Well, if it isn't my neighbor," said Kellan, smiling up at her. Alex smiled at him and sat across from him in the booth. "How did you find me here?" "I didn't. I just came in for some coffee and you just happened to be my waitress." "Do you still want that coffee?" asked Alex. "Yeah..." Alex quickly stood up to go make some coffee, but Kellan grabbed her wrist, stopping her. She looked down at where he was touching her, feeling the warmth of his skin on hers. "But I want to have it when you're not working." "Like, on a date?" asked Alex, her teeth attaching to her bottom lip to bite it. Kellan watched her bite her lip for a few minutes until Alex cleared her throat to get his attention. Kellan shook his head and looked back into her eyes. "Yeah. Like a date." Alex smiled. "Okay. When?" "Uh, tomorrow? At like, seven?" "Sounds good. Pick me up at eight?" asked Alex. Kellan laughed at her confidence in changing the time, but nodded. "Sure." "See you then," said Alex. Kellan stood up and let go of her wrist, Alex suddenly missing his warmth. "Right. See you later then." Kellan walked outside into the pouring rain and Alex watched him cross the street. She sighed and locked the diner door, beginning to clean the place up.

Sam and Dean watched Matt hop off of his bus the next afternoon and walk away from the neighborhood. "Isn't his house behind us?" asked Dean, watching as Matt disappeared behind the neighborhood. Sam nodded. "Where's he going?" Sam climbed out of the car, Dean following his lead as they slowly and quietly followed Matt.

They followed Matt to an open, wooded area. "Hey, Matt. Remember me?" asked Sam. Matt slowly turned to them, his eyes trained on the praying mantis he held on his hand. "What are you doing out here?" asked Matt. "We wanna talk to you," said Dean. "You're not here to buy a house, are you?" Matt looked between them. Dean avoided the question. "You sure know a lot about insects. Do you know what happened to Linda, the realtor?" Matt looked at Dean. "I heard she died this morning." "That's right. Spider bites." "Matt, you tried to scare her with a spider," said Sam softly. Matt laughed. "You think I had something to do with that? That tarantula was a joke. How do you explain the gas company guy?" "You know about that?" asked Sam. "There's something going on here," said Matt. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and let the praying mantis back onto a small branch. "Let me show you something." He walked further into the woods, Sam and Dean following.

"So if you know about all this bug stuff, why not tell your dad?" asked Sam. "I've tried, but Larry doesn't listen to me." "Why not?" "He's too disappointed in his freak son." "I hear ya," said Sam, shoving a branch out of his face. "You do?" asked Dean, looking at Sam. Sam ignored Dean. "Matt, how old are you?" "16." " In two years, you'll be able to get out of that house and away from your dad." "What kind of advice is that? He should stay with his family," argued Dean, stepping over a large tree branch on the ground. Suddenly, they came to a clearing. "I've been keeping track of insect population for part of a class," said Matt. "What's been happening?" asked Sam. "A lot. It's like they're congregating here." "Why?" asked Dean. "I don't know." Sam looked around and noticed that the ground was darker in a certain place. "What's that?" Matt shrugged and Dean crouched down to inspect it. Sam and Matt looked over his shoulder. Dean stepped on the dark patch of ground and it fell into the earth. He grabbed a stick and poked around in the hole that was now there. He hit something hard. "There's something down there." Dean rolled up his sleeves and reached into the hole, digging around and bringing up a decomposed human skull.

Dean pulled into a parking space at the local university. Sam set his hoodie sweatshirt over the top of the box and walked with Dean toward the college. "So the question is, why bugs?" asked Sam. "How could you tell Matt to just ditch his family like that?" Sam sighed. "I know what the kid's going through." "How about telling him to respect his old man?" Sam turned to Dean. "This isn't about his old man, is it? You think I didn't respect Dad." "Forget I brought it up," said Dean, walking forward again. Sam caught up to him. "I respected him. No matter what I did, it was never good enough. Dean, you know what most dads are when their kid gets a full ride? Proud." "I remember that fight." Sam sighed, deciding his brother was no help. They walked in silence for a few steps. "He used to swing by Stanford whenever he could. Alex even went with him sometimes," said Dean. "What?" asked Sam. "C'mon. We're gonna be late." Dean jogged up the steps to the doors and Sam sighed.

"You two are students?" asked the anthropologist that Sam and Dean were meeting with at the university. Sam nodded and the professor looked into the box. "This is quite an interesting find you made." He sat back in his chair and looked at Sam and Dean. "I'd say they're 170 years old. They suggest Native American." "Were there any tribes on the land?" asked Sam. "Not according to history. But, the relocation of tribes was quite common then." "Are there any local legends?" "There's a tribe about sixty miles from here. One of them might know the truth."

Sam and Dean walked into a diner and saw an older, Native American man sitting in a booth. They walked over to him. "Have you heard of Oasis Plains? If so, what can you tell us about the history there?" asked Sam. "Why do you want to know?" "Something bad is going on there. We think it might have something to do with some old bones we found there." "Native Americans lived there 200 years ago. One day, an American cowboy came to relocate them. They were resistant. That night, the cowboy murdered. The next day, he came again and again. On the sixth night, he came one last time and by day, everyone was dead. They say, as the chief lay dying, he said that no white man would take over his land again. Nature would rise to protect it."

Alex heard a knock on her apartment door and glanced at the clock. She smirked when she saw that it read exactly eight o'clock. She ran and opened the door, grabbing onto Kellan's shoulder to balance herself as she slipped on her shoe. Once the shoe was on, she let go of his shoulder and looked up at him. He was looking at her intently and Alex cocked her head to the side, confused. "Do I look okay? I mean, I can change…" She turned and began stepping back into her apartment, but Kellan grabbed her hand and pulled her into him. Her hands rested on his chest as she looked up at him. "No, you look perfect. And beautiful." He began to lean his head toward hers, but Alex pulled away and stepped around him, shutting her door. "Let's go get some coffee."

Alex sat down at a booth in the back of the coffee shop, Kellan sitting across from her. He opened a sugar packet and dumped it into his coffee, Alex wrinkling her nose. Kellan noticed and smiled. "You don't like sugar in your coffee?" "Nope." Alex sipped her black coffee. "Mmm, delicious." Kellan laughed and Alex smiled. "So, tell me about you," said Kellan, leaning back and putting his arm on the back of the booth. "Okay, well, I have two brothers. One is older and the other is my twin. We're, uh, not on speaking terms currently." "Well, what about your parents?" "Um, my mom died when I was six months old and my dad is, um… traveling the country," lied Alex. "Interesting. Why don't you talk to your brothers?" "I don't really wanna talk about it. It happened just recently and it's still a pretty gaping wound." Alex looked down at the table and Kellan lifted her chin with his hand, making her look at him. "I understand. I'll know all about it in due time, I hope." Alex smiled at him and Kellan smiled back warmly.

Dean sped toward Larry's house, Sam talking to Matt on the phone. "Matt, you have to get your family out of that house right now." "What? Why?" "Something's coming." "More bugs?" "Yeah, a lot more." "What am I supposed to tell my dad?" "Tell him you have a sharp pain in your right side and need to go to the hospital." "Yeah, okay." Sam hung up, throwing his phone in his seat and Dean stepped on the accelerator.

Dean threw the car into park in Larry's driveway. "Dammit, they're still here. C'mon." Sam and Dean got out of the car and walked up to the front door, Larry opening it looking livid. "Get off my property or I'm calling the cops." "Dad, they're only trying to help," said Matt from behind Larry. "Sir, you need to get your family and go," said Sam, looking at Larry. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you're crazy." "Dad, they're right. Why won't you listen to me?" yelled Matt. "People have died here. Do you wanna take that risk with your family?" asked Dean. "Wait." Sam held up a hand to silence everyone. A faint buzzing could be heard and it was getting closer. "What the hell?" Larry turned and saw bugs hitting the streetlights. Matt pointed and a large formation of all kinds of bugs could be seen in the moonlight as they approached the house. "Alright, everyone in the house," said Dean. Larry and Matt entered the house, Sam and Dean right behind them.

Sam slammed the door shut behind them. "Honey, what's that noise?" asked Joni, looking at Larry. "I need towels," said Dean. Larry ran into the kitchen, grabbing towels from a drawer. He ran back to the foyer and handed them to Dean. Dean stuffed one under the front door and stood up. Suddenly, the electricity went out. "I think we need to get upstairs," said Sam. Dean walked into the kitchen and grabbed a can of bug spray off of the counter. He got back into the foyer as bugs began swarming into the house through the fireplace. Dean grabbed his lighter and sprayed the bug spray, setting it on fire as they headed up to the attic.

"What's that?" asked Joni, pointing to the wood above their heads in the attic. The wood was moving. "Termites," said Matt. "Okay. Everyone, get back," said Dean, pushing the family behind him and Sam. They all watched as the termites created a hole in the roof. Dean covered it up as Sam walked over to cover the next one that had been created. When he was done, he stepped in front of the family, using himself as a shield. "Fuck," muttered Dean as the bug spray ran out. He threw it across the room and ran over to stand in front of the family with Sam. They cowered, ready for the bugs, but suddenly, it was dawn. The termites and the other bugs disappeared as quickly as they had come and Sam looked at Dean in relief.

Sam walked over to Matt by the trash bins, seeing that he was throwing away his bug collection. "What's this?" asked Sam. "I don't know. They kinda weird me out now." Sam laughed and clapped Matt on the back.

"Yeah, I should hope so."

Sam sat on the hood of the car with Dean, waving as Matt, Larry and Joni pulled away and drove off. "I wanna find Dad," said Sam. "Yeah, me too." "I wanna apologize to him." Dean looked at Sam. "We'll find him. Let's hit the road." Dean climbed into the car and Sam followed.

"I had a really great time tonight," said Alex, looking up at Kellan. Alex was leaning against her apartment door, her back to it. Kellan stood in front of her, one of his hands above her head resting on the door. His other hand reached out and stroked her cheek. "Me too." Alex looked into his eyes as his head lowered to hers. She tilted her head to give him better access and he placed a kiss on her lips gently. After a few seconds, Alex opened her lips and Kellan slid his tongue inside, their tongues immediately battling for dominance. Alex grabbed his hair and pulled on it, causing him to groan into her mouth. Alex smiled as she pulled away, her hands falling from his hair. She kissed him one last time before opening her apartment door. She stepped inside and turned to him. "I'll see you around then?" Kellan smiled and leaned down to her, kissing her gently. "Absolutely," he said against her lips. Alex smiled and pushed him away. "I need to go to sleep. I do have to work tomorrow, you know." Kellan rolled his eyes, but stepped into the hallway. "I do too. Goodnight, Alex." He stuck his hands in his jeans pockets and walked down the hall to his apartment. Alex watched him unlock his door and enter his own apartment before she shut and locked her door.


	12. Chapter 12

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 12

_A woman at the window, screaming. She was banging on the window glass, screaming for help in the middle of the night. A large tree loomed beside her house. The night was dark and moonless. _

Alex woke with a start, her dream seeming so real. She reached over to her nightstand and snapped on the bedside lamp. She climbed out of bed and shivered at the cold. She grabbed a sweatshirt from the floor by her bed and threw it on. It was one of Dean's old hoodies and it swallowed her up. Alex walked to her closet and yanked the door open. She grabbed a box from the top shelf and pulled it down. She opened it and searched through it for the picture she wanted. She finally found it and held it up. The picture was of Dean standing by the huge old tree that had been in their front lawn in their old house in Kansas. "That was the tree from my dream," whispered Alex to herself. She threw the picture back in the box and set the box on her dresser. She climbed back into bed, turning the light off and snuggling into her covers, Dean's sweatshirt still on her body.

Sam quickly sat up in his bed, sweaty and not well rested. He had dreamt of a woman screaming at the window in their old house. He looked over at Dean, who was dead asleep and snoring loudly. Sam shook it off, convincing himself that it was just a dream and went back to sleep.

Sam sat on his bed, looking at pictures he had drawn in a notebook. The pictures were all of the same tree from his dream the night before. "So I found a few candidates for our next gig," said Dean. "Cattle mutilations in West Texas, fisherman's crew disappeared… Hey!" Sam jerked his head up at his brother. "Am I boring you?" asked Dean. "No, I'm listening." Sam looked back at his notebook that was resting on his lap, flipping through the pictures. "A man shot himself in the head three times. Any of these things blowing up your skirt, pal?" asked Dean, taking a drink from his coffee cup. Sam cocked his head to the side as he looked at one of his drawings. "I've seen this." "Seen what?" asked Dean. Sam grabbed his dad's journal from the foot of the bed and set it on his lap, opening it. He flipped through it quickly, settling on a page that had the same tree from his drawings on it. The tree was in a family photo of Dean, Sam and Alex as they stood in front of their old house in Lawrence, Kansas. "Dean, we have to go back home." Sam tore the photo out of the journal and walked over to Dean. "This photo was taken at our old house, right?" Dean looked at the picture, squinting to see it better. "Yeah. Why?" "They rebuilt the house, right?" "Yes, Sam. Why does it matter?" Sam sat across from Dean at the table. "I think the people that live in our old house might be in danger." "Why would you think that?" asked Dean. "I have those nightmares and sometimes, they come true." Sam stood up and grabbed his duffel bag, setting it on the bed. He grabbed clothes from the motel room dresser and began putting them into the bag. "Come again?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised and leaning forward in his chair. He rested his elbows on his knees. "Dean, I dreamt about Jessica's death and didn't do anything about it." "Sammy, I swore I would never go back there." Sam looked at Dean sadly, halting his packing for a moment. "We have to check this out." Dean ran his hand over his face and sighed. "I know we do."

Dean hit Sam's arm as they entered Lawrence. Sam jerked awake, stretching his arms and yawning. "We're here," said Dean, nodding to the familiar sites. "Hey, the diner. You wanna go in and eat?" asked Sam, looking at the familiar place where they had spent many a night as kids. "Yeah, let's do it." Dean parked the car in front of the little diner and they walked inside, sitting in a booth in the back.

"Kellan, I have to go to work," whined Alex as Kellan kept kissing down her neck. "Can't you miss just one time? Call in sick. Please?" begged Kellan, looking up at Alex with his bottom lip out. Alex laughed, kissing his pouty lip. "Nope, I'm covering for Diane. I have to go in this time." Alex stood up from the couch and straightened her shirt. She glanced in the living room mirror and gasped when she saw a hickey on her neck. She touched it and whirled around to face Kellan, who was grinning. "I can't believe you! I have to go to work!" Kellan stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist, looking down at her upset face. "I'm sorry. I got carried away. Will I see you after work?" "I guess so. But I really have to go now." She stood on her tiptoes, giving him a quick peck on the lips and stepped out of his hold on her waist, grabbing her jacket from beside the door on her way out. "Bye, see you later!"

Alex entered the diner through the back door, shaking the rain off her jacket as she hung it up. She set it on the hook and smiled at the cook. "Hey, Bob. Sorry I'm late." Bob smirked and motioned to the hickey on her neck with his spatula. "I understand." He winked at her and Alex laughed, walking past him to get to the front of the diner. She pushed open the kitchen doors and walked out front, greeting Betsy. "Hey, Betsy." "Hey, Alex. Nice hickey." Alex put her hand over her neck to hide the hickey and Betsy laughed. Alex grabbed her notepad from under the counter and surveyed the diner. It wasn't very busy, just a few people in some booths in the back. "There's some serious eye candy in your section. Booth in the very back," said Betsy. Alex smirked. "I'm totally serious. Super delicious. Go check it out." "Whatever." Alex walked out from behind the counter and walked to the booth that Betsy was raving about. She approached the booth, looking at the occupants. Her smile faded and she froze. "Hi. I'd like…" Dean looked up and saw Alex. "Alex?" Sam looked up too and looked shocked. "Oh my God, Alex." Alex took two steps back before she turned around and ran to the counter. She threw her notepad on it and looked at Betsy. "I have to get out of here. Tell Diane I'm sorry." Betsy watched Alex rush back to the kitchen. She turned back around to see Sam and Dean in front of her. "Well, what can I do for you boys?" "Uh, we need to know where Alex lives. Right now," said Dean. "Um, I'm not sure-" "Look, she's our sister and we need to find her. Please," said Sam. "Okay." Betsy wrote down Alex's address on a slip of paper and handed it to Sam. "Thank you. So much." Sam and Dean quickly left the restaurant, heading for Alex's apartment.

Alex rushed into her apartment, frantic. Kellan was sitting on her couch, a magazine in his hands. He threw it on her coffee table and stood up in one fluid motion, running over to her. "Baby, what's wrong?" He held her face in his hands as Alex let her tears spill over. "M-my brothers were at t-the diner," sobbed Alex. Kellan sighed and pulled Alex into his chest. "Shh, it's okay." Alex cried for a few minutes into his muscular chest. She pulled away eventually and looked up at Kellan. She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. Alex quickly opened his lips with her tongue and kissed him passionately, her hands going to his hair. Kellan pulled away, grabbing Alex's wrists so that she couldn't move further. "Alex, what are you doing?" "I wanna forget about them. I need you to help me forget. Please." Alex looked up at him through her lashes, biting her bottom lip. Kellan groaned and bent down to capture her lips with his own, pulling her bottom lip from her teeth with his mouth. Alex moaned into his mouth and stood up on her tiptoes. Kellan grabbed her legs as she wrapped them around his waist and carried her into the kitchen. His arm swept across the counter, knocking her mail to the counter. Alex kissed and sucked down his neck as he did this, causing him to growl. He set her on the counter once it was cleared. She reattached her lips to his own and reached for the hem of his shirt. She grabbed it and pulled it over his head, their lips separating for a second so that she could pull his shirt off. Alex grabbed her own shirt, pulling it over her head. She was left in her black lace bra and Kellan looked at her hungrily. Alex threw her head back as Kellan kissed her cleavage, her eyes closing. Her legs were still wrapped around his waist, her knees on his hips and her ankles were crossed as they rested on his lower back. He kissed his way back up to her mouth and Alex attached her lips to his greedily. Her hands went between their bodies and began working on his belt buckle. She had gotten it undone and was working on his jeans zipper when Kellan grabbed her hands in his own, stopping her. He gently kissed her before he pulled away and looked at her. "I don't think we should do this." "You don't want me?" asked Alex, looking down. Kellan grabbed her chin and pulled her face up to his. "No, I do want you. But doing this because you're upset about your brothers isn't the right time." Alex sighed, but nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry." Kellan let go of her chin and smiled. He kissed the top of her head. "Don't be sorry. It's okay." Alex smiled and leaned forward, kissing him gently.

"That girl Betsy said this was Alex's apartment," said Dean, pointing at the door that was marked 4B. Sam nodded and knocked on the door. His hand fell to his side as they waited for the door to open. "Dude, why isn't she answering?" asked Dean. Sam shrugged and crouched down. He lifted up the mat outside her door and found a spare key. He stood up, showing the key to Dean. Dean nodded and Sam inserted the key into the door. He turned the knob and the door opened. They quietly walked inside, looking around. Sam pocketed the key. "Alex?" called Dean. They heard a sigh from the kitchen and they began walking that way.

Alex sighed as Kellan pulled away from her. "I better go, babe. I've gotta work tomorrow." Alex smiled and Kellan pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling at her. He leaned in, kissing her again. "What the hell?" said Dean. Kellan pulled away from Alex and looked at Sam and Dean. "Are these…?" asked Kellan, trailing off as he looked at Alex. Alex nodded and looked at him. "Sorry." Kellan smiled and grabbed his shirt from the counter. He slipped it on, his muscles flexing as he did. Alex looked at his biceps and bit her lip. Kellan noticed and smirked. "I'll see you later." He placed a quick kiss on her lips and walked over to Sam and Dean. Their arms were crossed across their chests and they were glaring at him. "You, uh, forgot your belt," said Sam. Kellan looked down and buckled his belt. "Thanks, man." Sam gave him a sarcastic smile and Kellan pushed past him, leaving the apartment. Sam and Dean looked at Alex as she threw on her shirt. "What the fuck do you two want?" snapped Alex. She bent down, picking up her mail from the floor. "Well, I don't wanna see that douche ever again," said Dean. Alex glared at him. "I can't believe you were making out with that guy," said Sam. "Well, I have nothing else to do. Besides, he's not a douche." She entered her living room and sat on the couch, looking at them as they stood in front of her. "Alex, we want you to forgive us," said Sam. "Oh, you want me to be with you now? I finally begin to find some semblance of normal and you want me to drop everything and come with you? Right," scoffed Alex. "Please. We're sorry," said Dean. "You told me to leave. My whole family left me. I just want my dad and my brothers back," said Alex, her eyes filling up with tears. "Shit, I'm sorry," said Dean. He sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug. Sam sat on her other side and hugged her when Dean was finished. "So, is there a job here then?" asked Alex. "Yep. There's a woman living in our old house. We think she could be in trouble," said Sam. Alex nodded and looked at Dean, who was studying her intently. "Is that my shirt?" asked Dean, pointing to the concert tee that Alex was wearing. Alex looked down at it and nodded. "I wear your clothes to bed every night. They, uh, smelled like you and that's the only way I could sleep peacefully." Dean smiled. "Well, put some clothes on and we'll head to the old house." He and Sam walked to the door and Alex quickly changed into some jeans, a t-shirt, and Sam's old Stanford hoodie that was way too big on her. "Hey, that's mine!" said Sam, watching as Alex locked her door. "Yeah and it's warm too." She stuck out her tongue and headed for the stairs, Dean laughing and Sam smiling as they followed her.

Dean stopped the car across the street from their childhood home. He put it into park and glanced at Sam and Alex, who were looking at the house sadly. "You two gonna be alright?" "I'll get back to you on that," said Sam and Alex nodded in agreement. Dean stepped out of the car, squinting as the sun hit his face. Sam and Alex joined him on the driver's side of the car and they walked up to the doorstep. Sam knocked on the door and Alex held her breath, waiting for someone to answer.

"Yes?" said a blonde woman as she answered the door. Alex released her breath, but frowned as she realized that this was the woman from her nightmare. "Hi, I'm Sam Winchester. These are my siblings, Dean and Alex. We used to live here. We just wanted to see the old place." "You know, I think I found some of your old photos the other night," said the woman. "You did?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised. The woman smiled and stepped aside, letting them into the house.

They followed her into the kitchen. "This is my son, Ricky." The woman pointed to a toddler in his playpen. "And this is Sari. Sari, this is Sam, Dean and Alex. They used to live here." Sari waved at the three of them and Alex smiled gently at her. "How do you like the house?" asked Sam, looking at the woman. "Oh, well, this place has its issues." "What do you mean?" asked Alex. "There's flickering lights, rats in the basement, and the sink is backed up." The woman smiled at them. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain." "No, it's okay. Have you actually seen the rats?" asked Dean. "No, just heard scratching." Sari stopped doing her homework and glanced up at her mom. "Mom?" The woman bent down to Sari and Alex looked at her brothers. "Ask them about my closet," whispered Sari. "Baby, there's nothing in your closet." The woman straightened up and looked at the Winchesters. "Right?" "Right, of course not," encouraged Sam. Sari sighed and put her pencil down on top of her worksheet. "But there was something in my bedroom. And it was on fire."

"A woman on fire," said Sam, walking back to the Impala with his siblings. "And that woman, Jenny, was in your dreams?" asked Dean. Sam nodded and Alex bit her lip, saying nothing about her own dream. "Wait, you're having weird dreams?" asked Alex, keeping the focus on Sam. "Yeah. Are you?" asked Sam. Alex shook her head and Dean sighed in relief. "Do you think the thing in the house killed Mom and Jessica?" asked Sam. "I don't know!" yelled Dean. "Well, whatever it is, those people are in danger. They need to be out of that house," said Alex, her hands in her sweatshirt pocket. "How do we get them out, genius? Do you have a story?" snapped Dean. Alex flinched at his words and walked to the back of the car, leaving Sam and Dean by the driver's side door. "Dean, don't take your frustration out on her. We just got her back, please don't lose her again," said Sam. Dean nodded and ran a hand over his face. "Go apologize. I'll be in the car." Sam walked to the passenger side and opened the door, climbing in and looking at Dean. "Go," he mouthed and Dean walked to the back of the car where Alex was leaning against the trunk, staring off into the distance. Dean stood next to her and looked at her. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just didn't wanna come back here and it's getting to me." Alex sighed and looked at her brother. "It's okay. But don't do it again or I'll seriously hurt you." Dean laughed and pulled her into his arms for a hug. She wrapped her arms around his torso and Dean kissed the top of her head.

Dean pulled the pump from the stand and stuck it into the gas tank of the Impala. It began to fill with gas and Alex sniffed the air, sighing as the smell of gasoline filled her nose. "Aah, I love the smell of gasoline. And tires." She was hanging out the driver's side window, her upper body all the way out of the car and she was looking at Dean. "You are one weird chick, you know that?" asked Dean. "Whatever. You still love me." Dean smiled. "That I do, little sis. That I do. Anyway, if this were any other job, what would we do?" "We dig into the house's history," said Alex. "So, how much do you actually remember, Dean?" asked Sam, leaning against the hood of the car, his arms folded across his chest. "About that night? Not much. I remember the fire and the heat. Then I carried you two out the door." Sam's forehead wrinkled. "You did?" asked Alex and Sam at the same time. Dean smiled at their twin thing and looked between them as he spoke. "Yeah. You never knew that?" They shook their heads. "Well, you both know the rest. Mom was on the ceiling." "Did Dad ever have a theory?" asked Sam. "If he did, he kept it to himself." He pulled the gas pump from the car and closed the cap. He set the pump back on the stand and sat next to Sam on the hood of the car. Alex continued to lean her upper body out of the window. "Well, we have to figure out what's going on now and what happened then," said Alex. "Yeah. We'll talk to Dad's friends, neighbors," said Sam. He turned to them. "Does this feel like just another job to you?" "I'll be right back, bathroom," said Dean. Sam and Alex watched him walk away until he turned the corner. Alex then looked at Sam, shaking her head. "No."

Dean looked behind him to make sure that Sam and Alex were still at the car. He turned the corner and pulled out his phone. He dialed a number on it, listening to it ring and ring. It went to a voicemail. "This is John Winchester. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean." The message beeped and Dean began to talk. "Dad, I know I've left you messages before. I don't even know if you get them, but I'm with Alex and Sam and we're in Lawrence. There's something in our old house and I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not." Dean's eyes filled with tears and his voice wavered. "Dad, I don't know what to do. If you could get here, please. I need your help, Dad." Dean flipped his phone shut and stuck it back in his pocket, wiping away his unshed tears with the back of his hand. He took a deep breath and began to walk to his siblings.

Dean parked the car outside the car repair shop and they all climbed out, walking up to the mechanic that was looking at them. "So you used to own this garage with John Winchester, huh?" asked Dean. "Yeah, a long time ago. It's been at least 20 years since John disappeared." The man wiped his greasy hands on a somewhat clean towel and then threw it to the side. "Well, we're reopening some of our old cases on the force. John's disappearance is one of them," said Dean. "Uh huh. What do you wanna know about him?" "Whatever sticks out in your mind," said Sam. He looked around the garage, watching another mechanic work on a car, rebuilding the engine. Alex nudged him as the man began talking and Sam paid attention to him. "He was stubborn." The man smiled at a memory only he could see before continuing. "He hated to lose, no matter what it was at. And he loved Mary. He doted on those kids." Alex looked at Dean, who had zoned out and she took control of the conversation. "But that was before the fire." The man nodded solemnly. "Did he ever talk about that night?" asked Sam. "Nah, I think he was in shock." "Right. But he did eventually?" asked Alex. She gently nudged Dean's elbow and he snapped back to the conversation. "Uh, he said something killed Mary." "What did it?" asked Dean. "Nothing did it. It was an accident. I told him to get some help. So he started to go see this palm reader in town, I don't know her name." "Okay. Well, thanks for your time." Alex waved to him as they walked away.

Sam and Dean were sitting on the back of the car, Sam looking through the phone book at the pay phone. "There are a few palm readers in town. The mysterious Mr. Fortisky, uh, Missouri Mosley." Sam flipped the page, looking for more names. "Wait. Missouri Mosley? That's a psychic?" asked Dean. Sam flipped back to the page. "Yep. Sure is." Dean grabbed his dad's journal from beside him on the trunk and opened it. "She's mentioned in here." He flipped to a dog-eared page and held it out to Alex. She read the page, Sam coming over and reading it over her shoulder. "I went to Missouri today. I learned the truth," read Alex. "Huh. I always thought he meant the state," said Sam. "Me too," said Dean. Sam tore the page out of the phonebook with the address on it and climbed in the car.

The Winchesters were at Missouri's house. They were sitting in chairs like in waiting rooms, waiting to see Missouri. Dean threw down the magazine he had been flipping through and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees and putting his face in his hands. Alex rubbed circles on his back to soothe him. Sam fidgeted, shifting in his chair. Alex inspected her nails on the hand that wasn't rubbing Dean's back. "Well, you three. C'mon! I ain't got all day!" yelled Missouri from the next room. They stood up and walked through the beads hanging in the doorway, entering a medium sized living room. "Well, let me look at you." Missouri smiled as she looked at them. "You boys sure grew up handsome. And sweetheart, you are just gorgeous." Alex smiled. "You were one goofy looking kid, too," said Missouri, pointing at Dean. His smile faded and Sam chuckled. Missouri took Sam's hand and looked at his face. "Sam, I'm sorry about your girlfriend." "And your father…" Dean snapped his head over to look at Missouri. "He's missing." "How did you know all of that?" asked Sam. "Honey, you were thinking it just now." Sam's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "Where is our dad? Is he okay?" asked Dean. "I don't know." "You don't know? You're supposed to be a psychic, right?" "Boy, do you think I'm a magician? I can't just pull facts out of thin air." Dean blanched and Alex giggled. Missouri sat down in her flowered armchair and motioned for them to join her. Dean looked at Sam, who was smirking, and they both followed Alex to the couch, sitting on either side of her. "Boy, you put your foot on my coffee table and I'll whack you with a spoon," warned Missouri, her gaze on Dean's foot. "I didn't do anything," said Dean. "Oh, you were thinking about it." Dean scoffed and leaned back on the sofa, throwing his arm across the back of the couch while Alex and Sam grinned. "So when did you first meet our dad?" asked Alex. "He came for a reading a few days after the fire. I told him what was out in the dark." "What about the fire?" asked Dean. " Do you know about what killed our mom?" asked Sam. "A little. Your dad took me to the house hoping I could sense the echoes of this thing." "What was it?" whispered Alex, not sure she wanted to hear the answer. "I don't know, but it was evil." "We think something's back in hour house," said Sam. "Well, I've been keeping an eye on the place. It's been quiet. No freak accidents, no deaths. Why is it acting up now?" "We don't know," said Dean.

Alex knocked on the front door of their old house. Jenny answered, looking frantic and she had Ricky perched on her hip. "What are you doing here?" "Hey, Jenny. This is our good friend, Missouri," said Sam. Missouri smiled warmly at Jenny. "You know, this isn't a good time," said Jenny. She turned away from them, beginning to shut the door, but Dean propped his foot in front of it. "Listen, Jenny. It's important. Ow!" Dean rubbed the back of his head where Missouri had smacked him. "Leave the poor girl alone." She turned to Jenny. "Forgive this boy. He means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed. Now, you think there's something in this house that wants to hurt your family. Am I mistaken?" Jenny forced a smile upon her panicked face. "Who are you?" she asked Missouri. "We're people who can help," said Alex. Jenny looked at all of them and sighed, stepping aside and letting them inside.

Missouri walked up the staircase, entering a room painted powder blue with the siblings right behind her. "There's some dark energy and this room should be the center of it," said Missouri, looking around the room. "Why?" asked Sam. Without looking at them, Missouri answered. "This used to be your and Alex's nursery. This is where it all began." Dean, Alex and Sam looked up at the ceiling. Alex scooted closer to Sam's side and he pulled her close, keeping his arm around her shoulders. Dean took the EMF out of his pocket and Missouri walked around the room. "Well, I don't know if y'all should be disappointed or relieved," began Missouri. The EMF began beeping frantically and they all looked at Missouri. "This isn't the think that took your mom." "Are you sure?" asked Alex. Missouri nodded. "How do you know?" asked Sam. "It's not the same energy I felt last time I was here." She stopped in front of the closet. "What is it?" asked Dean. Missouri pulled the door open and walked into the middle of the closet. ""Not it. Them." Alex gasped and curled into Sam, putting her face into his chest. "They're here because of what happened to your family." She walked out of the closet and stepped in front of Sam and Alex, who still had her head resting on Sam's chest, but was looking at Missouri. "All those years ago, a real evil came to you." Sam's arm tightened around Alex's shoulders and Alex reached up, tangling her fingers with his and squeezing them in reassurance. "That kind of evil leaves wounds that sometimes get infected." Sam shook his head, not understanding her. "We don't understand," said Alex. "This house has attracted a poltergeist that won't rest until Jenny is dead." "You said there was more than one spirit," said Sam, still holding onto Alex's hand. He also still had his arm around her shoulders. "There is. I just can't make out the second one." "Well, one thing is for sure. No one is dying in this house ever again," said Dean. "Okay. How do we stop whatever is here?" asked Sam. Missouri looked at them. "Follow me." She stepped out of the room and began walking down the stairs. Dean followed and Sam let go of Alex, following them. Alex pulled at his hand, which she was still holding and she pulled him back to her, hugging him. "Sam, we're in this together. Don't forget that," said Alex, her voice muffled against Sam's chest. Sam nodded as his cheek rested against the top of her head. "I know." He pulled away and kissed her forehead. "C'mon. Let's go help Dean and Missouri."

Dean sat at the kitchen table, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was filling small bags with some sort of powder that Missouri had concocted. Alex was sitting next to Dean and Sam was standing behind her chair, his hands on the head of her chair. "What is this stuff anyway?" asked Dean. "Some special roots and crossroad dirt," answered Missouri, filling her own bag. "What are we supposed to do with it?" asked Sam. "We're gonna put them in the walls on each floor of the house," answered Missouri. "And this will destroy the spirits?" asked Alex, watching Dean fill another bag, his arms flexing as he filled the bag. "It should purify the house completely." Alex watched as Dean held up one of the roots that he was putting in the bags. He sniffed it and then he licked it. He gagged and threw the root on the table. Alex giggled and Dean smiled.

After Jenny and her kids had left the house, Sam, Dean, Alex and Missouri split up to insert the bags into the walls of the house. Sam entered the office on the third floor. He began tapping at the wall to find the right place to insert the bag. He was tapping and didn't notice as a cord to a lamp on the desk unplugged itself from the electrical outlet. It began slithering over to Sam silently.

Dean and Alex were inserting bags into the kitchen walls. Dean began tapping on the wall and Alex watched him. Neither one of them noticed as a drawer opened by itself as Dean began tearing a hole into the wall with a hatchet. "Dean, do you hear anything?" asked Alex. They both turned around and quickly ducked to the ground as a large butcher knife flew at them. It flew over their heads and stuck itself into a cabinet door. Dean crawled forward and grabbed the kitchen table, flinging it over to use as a shield. He grabbed Alex and wrapped his body around hers as more knives flew at them. The knives got stuck into the table that Dean had just flung over and Dean sighed in relief.

Sam heard the desk lamp fall as the cord wrapped around his neck. It began strangling him and Sam tried to pull it off, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, Dean and Alex ran into the room. "Sam!" yelled Alex. Dean grabbed at the cord and tried to pull it off of Sam's neck, but it would not budge at all. He kept trying to pull it away. Sam began making strangled sounds as Alex ran over to the wall, kicking it. A hole appeared as she kicked and once the hole was large enough, she grabbed the bag and threw it in the wall. There was a white flash of light and the cord disappeared from around Sam's neck. Sam gulped in large amounts of air and Alex sat on the floor, exhausted.

After getting the bags into the wall, they all congregated in the kitchen. "You sure this is over?" asked Sam. "I'm sure. Why?" "Never mind." They turned to see Jenny and Sari enter the kitchen, Ricky on Jenny's hip. "What happened?" asked Jenny as she surveyed the kitchen. "Sorry. We'll pay for all of this," said Alex. "Oh, don't worry. Dean's gonna clean up this mess," said Missouri. Jenny smiled and walked up the stairs with Sari and Ricky. Missouri turned to Dean, cutting him off as he began to open his mouth in protest. "Get the mop. And don't cuss at me."

That night, the Impala was sitting across the street from Jenny's house, Sam, Dean and Alex watching for any sort of movement. Alex was in the backseat, looking out the window and popping her gum. Dean and Sam were looking out Dean's window at Jenny's bedroom window. "Okay. So tell me again why we're doing this?" asked Dean. "I don't know. I still have a bad feeling," said Sam, his eyes never leaving the window. Dean rolled his eyes and set his head on the headrest. "I could be sleeping in a bed right now." He closed his eyes. Sam squinted and saw Jenny banging on her window, screaming. "Dean!" yelled Alex, kicking the back of his chair. Dean shot up and clambered out of the car with his siblings. "You two grab the kids. I'll get Jenny," said Dean. They ran to the doorstep and Dean kicked down the front door. They rushed up the stairs, separating at the top of the stairs.

"Jenny?" called Dean as he stood outside Jenny's bedroom door. "Dean! I can't open the door." Jenny began struggling with the doorknob, Dean seeing it turn from his side of the door as she struggled. "Get back!" Jenny moved away from the door and Dean kicked it open. He ran inside, grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room. "Wait, my kids!" "Sam and Alex have them Let's go!" Dean ran down the stairs, pulling Jenny along with him.

Alex ran to Ricky's room. He was standing in his crib, crying and she rushed into the room, picking him up. "Shh, you're okay." She made her way out of his room and ran to the top of the steps. She saw Dean and Jenny at the front door and she sighed, knowing Sam was still in the house. "Dammit." She ran down the hall to Sari's room, Ricky's hands fisting in her shirt. She stopped next to Sam in the doorway of the room. They were shocked at the figure that was standing in the middle of the room, engulfed in flames. "Help!" cried Sari, tears streaming down her face as she sat in her bed. Sam quickly ran into the room, hovering close to the walls. He grabbed Sari from her bed and ran out of the room. He ran with Alex down the stairs, each of them holding a kid.

At the bottom of the stairs, Sam and Alex set Sari and Ricky down on their feet. Sam crouched down to Sari's eye level. "Sari, take your brother outside as fast as you can and don't look back." Suddenly, Alex was yanked into the darkness of the house by an unseen force. Sam was yanked into the shadows as well and Sari screamed.

Sari grabbed Ricky's hand and ran out the front door, meeting Dean and her mom outside on the front lawn. "Are you okay, baby?" asked Jenny, picking up Ricky and setting him on her hip. "Sari, where are Sam and Alex?" asked Dean, looking frantic. "They're inside. Something's got them." Dean looked up at the front door just as it slammed shut.

Dean ran to the trunk of the Impala, opening it. He grabbed a shotgun and an ax, running to the front door. He tried to kick the door down, but it didn't even buckle when he kicked it. "C'mon."

Sam's back hit the living room wall with a thud. He began to catch his breath, but the unseen force flung him into the coffee table and it shattered under his weight. "Sam!" screamed Alex. She was stuck to the wall, the spirit not allowing her to move.

Dean swung the ax at the front door as Jenny and her kids looked on. Sari was huddled into her mom's side and Jenny had a hand on Sari's back, rubbing it. Ricky's head was on Jenny's shoulder as he watched Dean try to break down the door.

Sam groaned as he stood up from the floor, swiping the stuff off the front of his jacket. Alex watched him stand up and was suddenly flung into the kitchen, screaming. "Fuck," muttered Sam, looking around the room. He was then swept into the air and thrown against the kitchen wall next to Alex. They both tried to get away, but they were stuck.

Dean swung the ax at the door with everything he had in him, causing a large chunk of the door to fall to the ground. He sighed, but kept going.

Alex's eyes went wide with fear as she saw the same figure from Sari's room walking towards them. It was still engulfed in flames and Sam's eyes were wide as he watched it get closer, still struggling to get away.

Dean swung the ax a final time and threw it to the side, climbing through the large hole he had created. He grabbed his gun from his waistband and began walking around the house, trying to find his siblings. They weren't in the living room, so Dean walked to the kitchen. There, he saw Sam and Alex stuck on the wall, their eyes wide as they looked at the figure in front of them. Dean raised his gun, aiming at the figure. "Don't!" yelled Sam. "What? Why?" asked Dean, his gun still raised. "Because I know who it is. "I do too. I can see her now," said Alex. Suddenly, the flames disappeared and the figure was Mary Winchester. Dean lowered the gun. "Mom?" he whispered. She smiled and turned to look at him. "Dean." She turned back to Sam and Alex, Dean's eyes following her every movement. Sam smiled and Alex's eyes welled with tears. "Sam. Alex. I'm sorry." "For what?" asked Sam. Mary didn't answer. Instead, she looked up at the ceiling. "You get outta my house." She put her head back down, smiled at each of her kids, and disappeared into a wall of flames. Sam and Alex were released from the wall, falling to the floor. They stood up, Sam wincing as he did. Dean looked around frantically for his mother, but she was nowhere to be found. "It's over now," said Sam. Alex stepped next to him and together with Dean, they left their childhood home.

The next morning, Dean was leaning against his car door, Jenny walking over to him. She handed him a stack of pictures when she was in front of him and Dean flipped through them. He saw some of him and his dad, some of him and his siblings. He stopped on the picture of all five of them, Dean, Alex, Sam, John and Mary. He smiled, remembering how they had gotten Sam to stop crying just long enough to take the picture. Jenny looked at the picture he was holding and smiled. "I saw that one when I was looking through them. That's my favorite." Dean looked at her. "Thanks for these." "No problem." She turned and began walking back to the front porch, Dean opening his car door and setting the pictures on Sam's seat.

Sam and Alex were sitting on the front steps of Jenny's house, Missouri doing a quick run-through of the house. Alex watched as Sari and Ricky ran to their mom as she crossed the front lawn. She hugged them both to her chest and Alex sighed wistfully. Sam followed her line of sight and saw the family whom they had saved. He put his arm around Alex and she leaned her head on his shoulder. He moved her hair aside and kissed her temple. "Well, there's no spirits in there anymore," said Missouri as she stepped out of the house and onto the front porch. She sat down next to Alex on the steps. "Not even our mom?" asked Sam. Missouri shook her head. "What happened then?" asked Alex. "The energies cancelled each other out. Your mom destroyed herself going after the thing." "Why would she do that?" "To protect her babies," said Missouri, smiling as Alex snuggled into Sam's side. She stood up from the steps and patted Alex's hand that rested on Sam's knee. "Y'all ready?" called Dean from the Impala. "Yep," said Sam. He and Alex stood up, walking past Missouri to get to the car. They climbed inside and Alex watched Jenny and her kids as they pulled away.

Missouri entered her apartment and walked into her kitchen. She set her purse on the counter. "Sam has such powerful abilities. Alex does too, but she won't tell her brothers. Now, why they can't sense their own father… I have no idea," said Missouri as she walked into her living room, looking at John Winchester on her couch. His elbows were resting on his knees like Dean always did. He had a five o'clock shadow and there were dark circles under his eyes like he hadn't slept in weeks. "Do you really think Mary's spirit saved my kids?" asked John. Missouri nodded. "I do." John sighed, rubbing his left hand over his face. He looked at his wedding band, twisting it around his finger. Missouri sighed. "John, I could just slap you. Why don't you go talk to your children?" John shook his head. "I don't want to. You have no idea I much I wanna see 'em. But I can't. Not yet." He looked at Missouri. "Not until I know the truth."

"Alex, please open the door," called Kellan. After no one answered, he sighed and rested his forehead on the apartment door. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "Are you looking for Alex?" asked a voice from the end of the hall. Kellan whirled around and saw Betsy standing at the end of the hall. He began walking towards her. "Yeah. Where is she?" "Uh, she was working with me at the diner the other day. These two guys came in and said they were her brothers. She just took off with them and I haven't seen her since." "Oh. Well, that sucks." "Yeah." Betsy patted Kellan's shoulder in comfort. "Sorry, hun. I know you two had some sort of thing. Anyway, I've gotta do my laundry." Betsy hefted the laundry basket full of clothes onto her hip and began walking down the stairs. "See you around, sugar." Kellan gave a slight wave of his fingers and walked back to his own apartment. Once he was inside, he sat on his couch, leaning his head back. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello?" answered a woman's voice. "Mom?" Kellan took in a deep breath before talking again. "I'm coming home."


	13. Chapter 13

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 13

Alex flopped down on one of the motel room beds. She glanced at Dean, who was sitting at the table flipping through their dad's journal. One arm was resting on the table, holding his cheek while the other flipped the pages. Alex curled onto her right side, looking at Sam on the other side of the bed. He was on his cell phone. "Last we heard, our dad was in California. Okay. Well, call us if you need anything. Thanks." Sam hung up and threw his Blackberry on the bed next to Alex. Dean stopped flipping through the journal and looked at Sam. "Caleb hasn't heard from him?" "Nope." Sam fell back on the bed, his head hitting a pillow. Dean looked back at the journal. "What about the journal? Any leads in there?" asked Alex. Dean shook his head. "Maybe we should call the feds," said Sam, propping his arm beneath his head so that he could see Dean. "Dad would be pissed," said Dean. "I really don't care anymore." Sam sighed as Dean's phone rang, cutting off the conversation. Dean got up and moved to his bed, throwing clothes out of the way in search of the phone. "Where the hell is my cell phone?" "You know, Dad could be dead for all we know." said Sam. Dean straightened up, looking at Sam and Alex gasped. "Don't say that," said Dean, letting his phone ring while he stared at Sam. Sam threw his hands up in defeat and Dean looked at him for a second longer before continuing to search for his cell phone. Sam turned, laying on his left side and looking at Alex. He put his hand under his pillows, propping up his side to see her better. Alex smiled at him and mirrored his position. They listened as Dean found his phone and opened it to look at the text message he had gotten. "I don't believe it." He sat on the edge of his bed and Sam sat up, looking at him. Alex looked at him over Sam's body. "It's coordinates."

Dean opened the laptop on the table, clicking on the Internet and going to a search engine. "You think Dad sent us coordinates?" asked Sam. Alex looked at Dean. She was still curled up on the bed. Sam was standing in the middle of the room, pacing occasionally. "Well, he had before," said Dean. "The man can barely work a toaster, Dean," said Alex. "Sam, this is good news. It means he's alive," said Dean. "Was there a number on the caller ID?" "Nah, it said unknown." Dean leaned in closer to the screen. "Where do the coordinates lead?" asked Alex, yawning. She turned over onto her other side and closed her eyes. "That's what's interesting. Rockford, Illinois." Alex wrinkled her forehead, her eyes still closed. "How's that interesting?" "C'mere and look." Dean pushed the laptop toward Sam. "I'm tired. Sammy, can you read it to me?" whined Alex from the bed. "Yeah. Uh, this cop shoots his wife, then himself. Earlier, he and his partner responded to a call at the Roosevelt Asylum." Dean grabbed the journal from beside his elbow and opened it. "Dad marked the same asylum in his journal. I think this is where he wants us to go." "So Dad wants us to work a job," said Sam slowly. "Maybe we'll meet up with him," said Dean, his voice hopeful. Alex sighed, knowing this would lead to an argument between her brothers. She ran a hand through her blonde locks and sat up, one leg bent and one straight out on the bed. She rested her elbow on her bent knee and pushed her hand through her hair, leaving it there as she watched her brothers. "Maybe we won't," said Sam. "Who cares?" Dean closed the laptop and walked over to his bed. "This doesn't strike you as weird? The coordinates?" "Sam! Dad's telling us to go somewhere. We're going." Dean walked into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him. A few minutes later, they heard the shower start. Sam sighed, getting up from the table. He sat on the edge of the bed and Alex touched his back comfortingly. "He just needs to chill out. It'll be fine. But, I do think we're gonna have to do this job." Sam ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I know."

At a bar the next night, Alex and Sam were playing pool. They were in Illinois and Dean was looking for the dead cop's partner. He watched as two guys approached the pool table wanting to play against Sam and Alex. He chuckled, knowing Alex was going to hustle them. He glanced around the bar and saw a man sitting alone at a table nursing a Bud Light. Dean walked over to him, standing in the man's line of vision. "You're Daniel, right? A cop?" The man nodded and Dean sat in the seat across from him. "I'm from the Chicago Tribune. Mind if I ask you a few questions about your partner?" "Yeah, I mind." "I just wanna get the story in your own words." "A week ago, my partner was sitting in that chair and now he's dead." Dean sighed. "I'm sorry. I need to know what happened," pushed Dean, his smile fading.

Sam watched as one of the men he and Alex were playing pool against lined up his shot. Alex leaned over the pool table, her tank top not hiding anything. She leaned forward and the man looked at her cleavage, gulping. He shook his head and took the shot, missing by a mile. Alex smiled, standing up straight and walking around the table to take her final shot to win. She passed by the men to get to the pool ball and smirked, making sure her back touched them as she passed. Sam grinned, knowing they had the game in the bag and looked to see how Dean was doing. He saw Dean looking frustrated and he set down his pool stick, walking over to Dean.

Dean was pleading with Daniel to tell the story when he was suddenly pulled out of his chair. Dean turned to yell at the intruder, but stopped when he saw that it was Sam. "Hey man, he's an officer. Why don't you show him respect?" yelled Sam. Dean looked at Sam, winking, before leaving the bar. "You didn't have to do that," said Daniel. "Yeah, I did actually." Sam looked at the door that Dean had just left through. "That guy's a serious jerk. Let me buy you a beer, huh?" Sam turned to the bar that was next to them and held up two fingers. The bartender nodded. Sam took the chair that Dean had just vacated and smiled.

Alex watched Dean leave and she saw Sam sit in front of Daniel at the table. She held out her palm for the money the two men owed her. They put a few twenties in her hand and walked away, their heads hung low. Alex smiled, putting the money in her back pocket. She set her pool stick down on the felt and walked out the door, the cool night air hitting her face. She walked over to Dean at the Impala and leaned against the hood of the car next to him. They watched as Sam emerged from the bar. "You shoved me kinda hard in there, buddy boy," said Dean as Sam reached them. "I had to sell it, didn't I? That's method acting." Sam walked around to the passenger side and Alex turned so that she could still see him. "Huh?" asked Dean. Sam and Alex rolled their eyes. "Never mind." "Okay. What'd you find out?" asked Dean. Sam rested his forearms on the top of the car, looking at his siblings. "Walter Kelly was a good cop. He and his wife had a few fights, but it was mostly smooth sailing. They were even talking about having kids." "Okay. So either Kelly had crazy ready to bust out or something helped him," theorized Dean. "Right. What did he tell you about the asylum?" asked Alex. Sam gave her a curve of a smile. "A lot." Alex groaned, knowing his half smirk anywhere. "God, I hate going to crazy places!" Dean laughed. "Sorry, sis. It's part of the gig. Now, hop in." Alex sighed, but got in the car, sulking the whole way there.

Alex watched as Sam climbed over the large fence at the asylum. He landed on the other side gracefully and Dean climbed over next, looking just as graceful. They looked at her through the fence. "Alex, c'mon," said Sam. "Guys, there are Keep Out signs all over the place. I'm just gonna wait out here until you get back." She began biting her lip, eyeing the fence. "Alex, please? We don't want anyone to know we're here," pleaded Sam. She shook her head. "Alexandra Marie Winchester, climb over the fence right now," demanded Dean. "Ugh, fine." Alex began scaling the fence and she got to the top, looking down at her brothers who were looking up at her. She began climbing down the fence, losing her grip with only a few feet left to go until she stepped onto the ground. She let go and fell flat on her ass, hard. She glared at Dean, who was stifling a laugh. "I hate you." She stood up, wiping her butt off. She walked forward to the steps and her brothers followed.

Sam opened the asylum door and held it open for Alex and Dean. He entered behind them and they slowly began to walk through the building, sunlight filtering in through the dust-covered windows. "So the cops chased the kids here," said Sam, looking down to see a rat scamper into a dark room. He looked up again and saw that Dean and Alex had stopped and were looking up at the sign above the entryway. "South Wing, huh?" asked Alex. "Wait a second…" Dean opened their dad's journal and flipped to the page with the old newspaper clipping about the asylum paper clipped to it. He skimmed over it. "1972. Three kids broke into the South Wing. Only one survived. He says one of his friends went crazy and started lightin' up the place." Alex glanced at the sign before looking back at Dean and Sam. "The South Wing is the heart of whatever's goin' on" said Sam. "Yeah, but why aren't there a ton more deaths?" asked Dean, slipping the journal back into his duffel bag. Sam walked forward, looking at the old double doors. He noticed a broken chain hanging from one of the doors. "Looks like the doors are usually chained." "Could've been chained up for years," said Alex. "It was to keep people out," said Sam. "Or to keep something in," said Dean. He walked forward to join Sam and Alex followed. Sam pushed one of the doors forward. It creaked, but it opened. He cocked an eyebrow at Dean and Alex and walked forward.

The light streaming in through the huge window lit the way down the hallway. "Let me know if you see any dead people, Haley Joel," said Dean, glancing around the hallway as he walked. Alex let out a strangled chuckle and began biting her lip. "Dude, enough," said Sam. Dean chuckled. "I'm serious. Ghosts are attracted to that ESP thing you got goin' on." "It's not ESP. I just have strange vibes sometimes." "Whatever, dude." Dean glanced down at the EMF meter that was in his hand. "Got anything?" asked Alex. "Nope. It doesn't mean nobody's home though. Hey Sam, who do you think is a hotter psychic? Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt, or you?" Alex hit Dean on the shoulder and he laughed.

Sam turned a corner and they entered a large room that had all sorts of scary looking devices everywhere. Alex shuddered and Dean whistled. "Man. Electroshock, lobotomies. They did some twisted stuff to these people." "So what do you think? Ghosts possessing people?" asked Alex. "Maybe it's more like Amityville," said Sam, making a disgusted face at one large and sharp device. "Yeah. Spirits drivin' them insane," said Dean. Sam sighed and faced his brother. "Dean. When are we gonna talk about it?" Dean looked at Sam, confused. "Talk about what?" "About the fact that Dad's not here." Alex looked down, scuffing the floor with her shoe, knowing this would turn into a heated debate between Sam and Dean. "Uh… never." "I'm being serious, man." "Me too. He sent us here because he wants us here." Alex bit her lip, still scuffing the ground. "It doesn't matter what he wants." "See, that attitude right there? That's why I always got the extra cookie." "Dad could be hurt. I mean, this is our family we're talking about." Dean sighed and rolled his neck, getting the kinks out of it. "I understand that, Sam, but he's given us an order." Sam gave up, looking away and Dean walked around the room. Alex walked over to Sam and put her hand on his back. "Sorry. You know how he is." "I know. I'm just hoping that one of these days I'll get through to him." "Well, good luck." "We gotta find out more about the South Wing. See if something happened there," said Dean, looking at them. Sam and Alex nodded and they followed Dean out of the room.

Sam sat on an uncomfortable leather couch, flipping aimlessly through an old gossip magazine. He stopped on the article about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, beginning to read it. "What am I doing?" He threw the magazine on the table and leaned against the couch. A man entered the room and Sam looked up. "Are you Sam Winchester?" Sam nodded. "Come on in." Sam stood up and followed the man.

The man motioned for Sam to sit in a chair as he made his way around the desk to sit in his office chair. Sam sat down, shifting to get comfortable. Sam glanced at the man's office walls and noticed a plaque. He squinted and saw that it said Dr. James Ellicot. "Dr. Ellicot?" The man turned to Sam. "Ellicot, that name. Wasn't there a Dr. Sanford Ellicot?" "My father was Chief of Staff at the old asylum." Sam leaned back in his chair, his arms on the armrests. "Wasn't there an incident there? In the, uh, South Wing or something?" "Sam, we're here to talk about you," said the doctor gently. "Oh, uh, right. Yeah." "So how are things?" "Um, things are good, Doctor." "Good. What 'cha been doin'?" "Um, I've been on a road trip with my brother and sister." "Was that fun?" Sam smiled sarcastically. "Loads. We met a lot of interesting people." Dr. Ellicot nodded his head in understanding. Sam continued when the doctor didn't say anything. "We did some interesting things. Uh, you know? What exactly happened in the South Wing? I forget…" Sam trailed off, his face scrunched up in confusion. "If you're from around here, you know all about the Roosevelt Riot." "The Riot? I'm just curious-" "Sam, let's cut the bull. Shall we?" Dr. Ellicot set down his clipboard. "You're avoiding the subject." "Uh, what subject?" asked Sam. "You. No, I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you all about the Riot if you tell me something about yourself. How do you feel about road tripping with your siblings?" Sam smiled.

Alex sat outside the psychiatric office with Dean. They were sitting on a wooden bench, watching the people that passed by on the sidewalk. Alex bit her lip, thinking about Dean's comments in the asylum about Sam. She knew that she had to tell him about her own nightmare about Jenny in their old house. She turned to him. "Dean, I-" Alex stopped talking as Dean stood up to meet Sam. "Dude, you were in there forever." "Yeah, sorry. Anyway, the South Wing is where they house the psychotics, the insane. One night in 1964, they rioted. Attacked staff, each other." "So the patients took over the asylum?" asked Dean. "Apparently." "Any deaths?" "Some patients, some staff. Some bodies weren't even recovered, including Ellicot." "Alright. Let's check out the hospital tonight." Dean and Sam began walking to the car, Alex following behind them.

Sam led the way on the hospital that night, Alex standing in between him and Dean. Sam had the flashlight, Dean had the EMF meter, and Alex had a video camera that was trained to night vision. "Alright. Keep an eye out for anything weird," whispered Dean and they walked forward cautiously.

They turned down a hallway, the EMF omitting noises as soon as they entered the hallway. "Getting readings?" asked Sam, shining the flashlight in every corner to make sure no one was there. "Yeah, big time," said Dean, his eyes on the EMF. Alex held the video camera, recording everything. Dean glanced at her screen and then turned back to his own device. "We've got to find those unrecovered bodies and burn 'em," said Alex. Suddenly, all three of them turned to look behind them, thinking they had heard a noise. Sam shone the light everywhere, but saw nothing. They turned back around together and kept walking.

They entered a semi-dark room, Sam now holding the video camera. Alex held the flashlight. Sam began looking in one corner of the room, seeing nothing. Alex and Dean were in the middle of the room, their backs turned to Sam. Sam turned around, the camera in his left hand. He jumped back, dropping the camera as a woman's ghost reached her hand out to him. "Dean! Alex!" They turned, Alex screaming at the sight of the ghost. Dean grabbed his shotgun from his bag that was on the ground and aimed at the ghost. He shot at her head and she disappeared. Dean still held onto the gun, looking around the room to make sure she was really gone. Alex ran to Sam, bending down and grabbing the video camera. She handed it to him. "That was weird," said Sam. "Yeah, you're tellin' me," said Dean. He kept his gun in his hand and walked out of the room. Alex and Sam followed him. "No, Dean. It was weird that she didn't attack me." Dean stopped abruptly and Alex and Sam stopped talking as Dean held up his hand to silence them. They heard some sort of whimpering in the room next to them and they filed inside it, looking for the source of the noises. Dean held the gun up and Alex walked forward with the flashlight. She pushed some large cardboard boxes out of the way to reveal a human girl. She looked terrified as she looked up at Alex. Dean lowered the gun. "We're not gonna hurt you," said Alex. Dean and Sam flanked Alex's either side. The girl slowly stood up, her panic-filled eyes never leaving Alex's face. "What's your name?" asked Dean. "Catherine. Cat." "Okay. I'm Dean. This is Sam and that's Alex." "What are you doing here?" asked Sam. "My boyfriend Gavin…" The girl trailed off, sniffling. "Is he here?" asked Dean. "Uh, somewhere. H-he said it would be fun to see g-ghosts. I thought it was just… you know… pretend." Cat wrapped her jacket tighter around herself and wiped her eyes before continuing. "I've seen things. I heard Gavin scream-" "Alright, Cat? Sam and Alex are gonna get you outta here and then we'll find your boyfriend," interrupted Dean. "No. I'm not gonna leave without Gavin," Alex rolled her eyes. "Look, this isn't a joke. It's dangerous," said Alex. "That's why I've gotta find him," said Cat, looking at Alex firmly. "Alright. I guess we'll find him. Let's go," said Dean. He led the way out of the room.

Dean, Alex, Sam, and Cat had split up to look for Gavin. Dean and Cat were walking down a hallway, looking for any sign of him. "Gavin!" called Cat. Dean stopped walking and turned to her. "Next time you watch a horror movie, pay attention. When someone says a place is haunted, don't go in." Dean stared at her for a second before turning back around and walking forward, Cat following behind silently.

Sam and Alex walked down a hallway looking for Gavin. They turned a corner and headed for a room at the end of the hall. "Sammy, I have to tell you something." Sam stopped and looked at Alex. "Is everything okay?" Alex bit her lip, looking down. "Sam, I-" "Hello?" called a voice from the room a few feet away from Alex and Sam. Sam looked at Alex. "I'll tell you later. C'mon." Alex walked into the room to see a teenage boy standing in the middle of the room, disoriented. "Are you Gavin?" asked Sam. The boy nodded, wary of them. "We're here to get you out. I'm Sam, this is my sister, Alex. We found your girlfriend." "Is she alright?" "She's just worried about you. Are you okay?" asked Alex. "Um, I think so. I was running and I fell. But I just stood back up and was fine." "What were you running from?" asked Sam. "This girl. Her face…" Gavin trailed off, shivering in disgust. "Did she hurt you?" asked Alex. "No. She… kissed me." "But, she didn't psychically hurt you?" asked Sam. Gavin's voice rose. "Dude! She kissed me!" "Well, it could've been worse. Now, do you remember anything else?" "Um, she tried to whisper something in my ear." "What?" asked Sam. "I don't know. I ran like hell." Alex sighed.

Dean's flashlight flickered and then went out as he and Cat walked down the hall. He shook it and beat it against his open palm, but nothing happened. "Son of a bitch." He stuffed the flashlight in his pocket and grabbed his lighter. "Ow. You're hurting my arm," whispered Cat. Dean's eyebrows rose and he turned to her. "What are you talkin' about? I'm not touching you." Cat looked at Dean's hand, which held nothing except a lighter, and screamed. She was suddenly yanked into the room beside Dean and the door slammed shut. Dean pulled on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. "Cat!" He banged on the door, but Cat just continued screaming.

Dean continued pulling on the door handle while Cat whimpered and banged on it from the other side. "Cat, hang on!" Cat walked away from the door backwards and farther into the dark room. She didn't see the figure in the room with her.

Dean grabbed a crowbar from behind him on the floor and began hitting it on the door handle. The door began creaking, meaning he was making progress. "What's going on?" asked Sam as he, Alex, and Gavin ran up to Dean. "Help me!" screamed Cat from behind the door. "It's not gonna hurt you. Calm down," said Sam through the door. "Listen to the spirit," said Alex.

Cat listened to Sam and Alex's advice and gulped as she faced the ghost in the room with her. The ghost slowly walked closer to Cat.

Dean stopped banging on the door with the crowbar as they waited outside the door with bated breath. "Cat?" called Gavin after a few minutes of waiting. There was no answer. "I hope you're right about this," said Dean, looking at Sam. "Yeah. Me too." The door suddenly unlocked itself and Cat stood in the doorway. Dean pulled her out into the hall where Gavin grabbed her and hugged her. Dean, Alex, and Sam entered the room, looking for the ghost. They found nothing, so they walked back into the hallway to see Cat looking at them with Gavin standing directly behind her. "137," she said. "I'm sorry?" asked Dean. "It whispered in my ear 137." "Room number," said Sam and Alex at the same time. Dean nodded, crouching down and searching through his duffel bag. Sam and Alex crouched down next to him. "So if these spirits aren't trying to hurt anyone, what do they want?" whispered Alex. "That's what we're gonna find out," said Dean. They all stood up at the same time and faced the couple. "You ready to leave this place?" asked Dean. Cat nodded excitedly. Dean turned to Alex and Sam. "Get 'em outta here. I'm gonna go find room 137." He clicked the flashlight on and headed off into the dark hallway.

Sam held the flashlight as he and Alex led Gavin and Cat down a hallway to get out of the asylum. "How do you know about this ghost stuff?" asked Cat, snuggled into Gavin's side and Gavin's arm around her. "It's, uh, kind of our job," said Sam. "Why would anyone want a job like that?" asked Gavin. "We had a crappy guidance counselor," said Alex. She smiled at the joke with Sam and Cat nodded. "And Dean? He's your boss?" she asked. "Hell no," said Sam.

Dean shoved against the room door with his shoulder and the door swung open. Dean smiled to himself at his success and entered room 137. The room was disgusting and dirty, grime covering the windows. Dean coughed at all of the dust swirling around in the air. "Ugh, gross." He noticed a desk sitting in the corner and he walked over to it. He flipped through some old papers that were sitting on it, but found nothing useful.

Sam pulled on the door handle of the main door, but the door didn't move. He pulled harder, but still nothing. Alex sighed. Sam turned to Alex, Cat, and Gavin. "We have a small problem." "Let's kick it down," suggested Cat. Sam glanced back at the door. "It won't work," said Alex. "Well, how are we supposed to get out?" asked Gavin. He grabbed Cat's hand and she squeezed it in comfort. "We aren't supposed to get out," realized Sam. "There's something in here that won't let us out," explained Alex to Cat and Gavin as they looked at Sam, confused. "Those patients," whispered Cat. "No. Somethin' else," said Sam.

Dean knelt next to the trashcan in room 137. He held the flashlight in one hand as he dug through the trash with the other hand. He tossed a drawing aside along with an old empty box. He sighed when he got to the bottom and had found nothing. He smacked the trashcan and it flew backwards, hitting something hard. Dean looked behind it to see a cupboard. He opened the cupboard door and it fell off of its hinges. He threw the door on the floor beside him and pulled out an old, tattered briefcase from inside the cupboard. He stood up and set the briefcase on a table, opening it. Inside was a small journal. Dean smiled. "This is why I get paid the big bucks," he said as a joke to himself. He opened the journal and saw the words, "Patient's Journal" on the very first page. He flipped through the rest of the book and glimpsed images of people, saws, and other gruesome instruments. He sat down in a chair beside the desk and began to read the journal.

Alex bit her nails as she waited for Sam to return. He was looking for another way out of the asylum. Alex winced as she pulled on a nail too hard. She removed her finger from her mouth and saw that her nail bed was bleeding. Sam came running up to her then and she put her hand behind her back. "I looked everywhere. There's no other way out." Sam caught his breath and noticed that Alex had one hand behind her back. "Alex, what did you do?" "Oh, nothing." Sam sighed and reached behind Alex, grabbing her hand. He brought it in front of her and looked at her nail, which was still bleeding pretty profusely. "Dammit, Alex. I thought you stopped biting your nails." He reached into the pocket of his hoodie sweatshirt and pulled out a Band-Aid. He unwrapped it and stuck it on Alex's finger. "Thanks. Now, what the hell do we do since there's no other way out?" Sam began to answer, but was cut off by the sound of his cell phone ringing. "Hey, Dean." Sam's eyebrows rose as Dean spoke to him. "Okay. Where are you?" Sam listened for a few more seconds before hanging up and slipping the phone back into his pocket. He tossed Alex the duffel bag he had been holding and Alex caught it, her eyes wide. Gavin and Cat watched them. "Sammy…" "Alex, I need you to keep them safe, please. Now, if you see something-" "Shoot," finished Alex. Sam nodded and handed her the shotgun. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "I'll be back soon, I promise." He ran off down the hallway, Alex standing in front of Gavin and Cat with the shotgun.

Sam ran down a hallway, looking for Dean. He looked everywhere. "Dean!" When no one responded, he continued down the hallway, turning and shining the flashlight behind him when he heard a noise. He walked back down the hallway and entered a room marked Caution. He shone the light all over the room, looking for Dean. When he shone the light in one corner, it began to flicker rapidly. Sam looked into it, seeing nothing unusual. He tapped it against his palm, but nothing happened. He sighed, sticking the flashlight in his back pocket. When he turned his head to make sure that the flashlight had made it into his pocket, he noticed that a door behind him had been opened. He slowly entered the room, checking behind the door to make sure no one was hiding there. "Dean?" Sam saw movement behind a grimy curtain and he walked over to it. He quickly yanked the curtain back, but saw nothing. He turned back around and a ghost was standing in front of him. The ghost grabbed the sides of Sam's head and began sending electric shockwaves into Sam's brain. Sam groaned in pain.

Alex was sitting against the wall while Gavin paced in front of her and Cat stood against the wall beside her. "Hey, Gavin?" called Cat. Gavin walked up to Cat, standing in front of her. "If we make it out of here, we're so breaking up," said Cat. Alex laughed, but stopped suddenly when she heard noises. She stood up quickly and cocked the gun in the direction of the noises. Cat and Gavin stood behind her. Someone came around the corner and Alex shot the gun. "Don't shoot, it's me!" yelled Dean. "Shit! Sorry!" said Alex, leaning the gun against the wall and walking up to Dean. They hugged and then Dean looked around. "What are you still doing here? Where's Sam?" Alex tilted her head in confusion, looking at Dean. "He went to the basement. You called him," said Cat. Alex began to chew on her nails as she realized that something was very wrong. Dean noticed and gently pulled her hand away from her mouth, holding it in his own palm. "I didn't call him." "Well, his phone rang and he said it was you," stated Gavin, holding Cat's hand in his own. "Basement, huh?" asked Dean. Gavin and Cat nodded. "Okay. Alex, watch them and watch yourself." Dean squeezed her hand before letting it go and taking off to look for Sam.

Dean rounded a corner that led into a dark hallway. "Sammy?" He shone his flashlight into every corner, but saw no sign of Sam. "Sam? You down here?" Dean turned to look behind him. When he turned back around, Sam was standing in front of him and Dean jumped. "Man, answer me when I call you!" scolded Dean. He looked Sam over, making sure there were no scratches on him. "You alright?" he asked, looking at Sam's face. "Yeah, I'm fine," answered Sam in a monotone voice. "You know I didn't call you, right?" "Yeah, I think something lured me down here." "It was Dr. Ellicot. Listen, I think that's what the spirits have been trying to tell us." "How do you know it was him?" asked Sam. "I found his journal. He'd been experimenting on his patients. Awful stuff," said Dean, shuddering at his thoughts. "So the patients were rioting against Ellicot," stated Sam. "Yeah. Now, c'mon. We gotta find his bones and torch 'em." Dean pushed past Sam and headed down the hallway. Sam stayed where he was, watching Dean. "How? The police never found his body," said Sam. Dean turned to look at his brother. "He had some hidden procedure room down here." Dean turned and entered a room. Sam followed him. He looked at Dean. "I told you I looked earlier. There's no hidden room." Dean smirked. "That's why it's hidden." Suddenly, Dean looked around as he began hearing a sound like the wind whistling. "You hear that?" "What?" asked Sam. Dean looked down at the floor. "There's a door here," said Dean. He crouched down to inspect the wall and Sam cocked his shotgun at Dean's back. "Dean." Dean turned and saw Sam with the gun aimed at his back. Sam wiped his nose with the back of his hand. It had dripped blood. "Step back from the door," said Sam. Dean stood up and looked at Sam. "Sam, put the gun down." Sam smirked. "Is that an order?" "No, it's more of a friendly request." "Ellicot did somethin' to you, didn't he?" asked Dean. Sam's nose continued to drip blood. "Just shut your mouth!" yelled Sam. "Sam, the gun's filled with rock salt. It's not gonna kill me." Suddenly, Sam shot Dean. Dean went flying through the air, falling through the wall and landing flat on his back. "But it'll hurt like hell," said Sam, wiping his nose with his sleeve.

Dean coughed, still lying on his back and looked around. Sam stood over him. "We gotta burn Ellicot's bones and then you'll be back to normal," said Dean, rolling over onto his stomach. He pushed himself up off of the floor and stood up. Sam smiled. "I am normal. I mean, why are we even here? Cause you always do what Dad says without question?" Dean groaned. "Are you that desperate for his approval?" asked Sam. Dean rolled his eyes. "This isn't you talking, Sam." "That's the difference between us. I have a mind of my own." Dean looked at Sam. "So are you gonna kill me?" Dean pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket. "Real bullets work a hell of a lot better than rock salt." Dean held out the gun and Sam grabbed it, throwing his shotgun to the floor. He aimed the gun at Dean's head. "Pull the trigger! Do it!" yelled Dean. Sam pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. Dean ran towards him and punched Sam in the jaw. Sam fell to the ground at the impact of Dean running at him and looked up at his brother. Dean punched Sam again and again, eventually knocking him out. "Sorry, Sammy." Dean grabbed the flashlight from beside Sam's head and headed for the hidden room.

Dean entered the room, walking over to a grimy, old curtain. He pulled it back, but no one was behind it. He checked every corner of the room and found a white cabinet in one corner. He crouched down to the cabinet doors and saw that there were several dark hairs sticking out of them. He pulled the doors open and gagged when he smelt the decaying body. "That's just gross." He set the shotgun and flashlight on the ground beside him while he threw salt on the body. He didn't notice when his flashlight began to flicker. Dean threw the salt container back into his duffel bag beside him and grabbed a canister of gasoline from the duffel. He poured gasoline all over the body and gagged at the smell. His flashlight went out and Dean was thrown across the room. Dr. Ellicot's ghost grabbed the sides of Dean's head and began to send shockwaves into his Dean's brain. Dean moaned as pain shot through his body. He reached out and grabbed his lighter from his duffel bag with his fingertips, throwing it onto the body. Ellicot let go of Dean when his body was set on fire. Dean crawled away from Ellicot's grasp and watched as Ellicot's ghost disintegrated into ash. Dean stood up and looked at Sam in the other room. Sam was lightly touching his jaw, wincing. Dean walked over to him, helping him up.

Alex pushed the asylum's main door open and it opened easily, sun streaming in. She ushered Cat and Gavin outside and she followed them. They stopped by the Impala, Alex leaning against it. She stared at the door, waiting for Sam and Dean to walk out. After a few minutes, Sam and Dean emerged from the asylum, blinking in the bright sunlight. When they were a few feet away from the car, Alex ran up to them. She threw her arms around Sam's neck and Sam hugged her tight. Alex hugged Dean next. "Thanks. For everything," said Cat as Alex and Dean separated. Alex smiled at her. "No problem," said Dean. The siblings watched as Cat and Gavin got in their car, driving away. "Hey, Dean?" asked Sam. Dean looked at him and Alex did too. "I'm sorry, man. I said some awful things back there." Alex looked confused, but Dean simple nodded. He threw his duffel bag in the Impala's trunk and slammed it closed. He got in the driver's seat and Alex and Sam got in the car.


	14. Chapter 14

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 14

Dean opened the motel room door, letting Alex and Sam enter first. Dean shut the door behind him and locked it. Alex threw her stuff at the foot of the bed and collapsed onto it. Sam laid next to her and Dean laid on his bed. "I'm so tired!" whined Alex. Sam nodded in agreement and Dean laughed. "Yeah, me too. I'm gonna take a shower though," said Dean. He stood up and entered the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him.

Dean opened the bathroom door and smiled when he saw Sam and Alex already asleep. Alex was curled into Sam's side and Sam's arm was around her. Their shoes had been kicked off, but they were still wearing their clothes from the day. Dean walked over to Alex and kissed her forehead. Alex moved and scooted closer to Sam. Dean chuckled and laid on his bed, falling asleep quickly.

Alex stirred as she heard a loud ringing noise. She opened her eyes and turned away from Sam, pulling his arm away from her body. She glanced at Dean on the other bed. He was sleeping peacefully, his arm thrown over his naked chest. She looked at Sam, who was facing her and one arm was beside his head on the pillow. Both of her brothers were unfazed by the shrilly-ringing cell phone on the nightstand. "Dean," called Alex. She groaned when she realized he wasn't going to wake up easily. Alex grabbed his cell phone, glancing at the caller ID. She didn't recognize the number, but she flipped the phone open and answered anyway. "Hello?" The person on the other end spoke and Alex shot up in bed. She hit Sam in the face and he opened his eyes. "Daddy?" Sam's eyes widened as he realized Alex was talking to their father. He grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at Dean, hitting him in the face. Dean sat up, glaring at Sam. Sam pointed to Alex on the phone and mouthed Dad. Dean's eyes widened. "Are you hurt?" asked Alex. "I'm fine," answered John from the other end of the phone. "Dad, we've been lookin' for you everywhere. We didn't know where you were or if you were okay." "Honey, I'm alright. What about you and your brothers?" Alex looked at Sam, who was looking at her. "We're fine. Daddy, where are you?" asked Alex, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. "Sorry, sweetie. I can't tell you that." "What? Why not?" Alex's tears spilled over. "Is that Dad?" asked Dean. "Look, I know this is hard for you to understand. You just… You're gonna have to trust me on this," said John to Alex. Alex gasped. "Oh my God. You're after it, aren't you? The thing that killed Mom." "Yeah. It's a demon, Alex." "A demon? You know for sure?" "I do. Listen, Alex. Tell Sammy I know what happened to his girlfriend." Alex turned to Sam as Dean threw on a shirt. "He knows what happened to Jessica," whispered Alex. "Alex, tell him I would've done anything to protect him from it." "He would've done anything to protect you from it," whispered Alex to Sam. Sam nodded sadly and Alex held the phone back to her ear. "You know where it is?" "Yeah, I think I'm finally closing in on it." "Let us help." "You can't." "Why not?" Dean reached over to Alex, his palm open. "Give me the phone." Alex ignored Dean. "Alex, that's why I'm callin'. You have to stop looking for me. Now, write down these names." "Names? Daddy, talk to me!" cried Alex. "Alex, we don't have time for this. This is bigger than you think. They're everywhere. This conversation isn't even safe." "No way," said Alex, shaking her head. "Take down these names. Sweetie, please," urged John. Alex broke down in sobs and handed the phone to Dean. "Dad, it's me. Where are you?" Dean paused for a few seconds, listening to his father. "Yes, sir. I got a pen. What are the names?" Dean began writing the names down on the motel stationary and Alex turned into Sam's chest, crying.

Sam was driving the Impala, his grip tight on the steering wheel. Dean was staring out the window in the passenger seat and Alex was lying down in the backseat. "So the names Dad gave us are all couples?" asked Sam. "Three different couples all went missing," answered Dean. "And they're all from different states and towns?" "Yep. Each couple took a road trip, but were never heard from again. They always disappear the second week of April in the same Indiana town." "Dean, this is the second week of April," said Sam. Dean nodded. Sam turned his head and glanced in the backseat to see that Alex was asleep, her eyes puffy from crying earlier. He turned his attention back to the conversation he and Dean were having and the road in front of him. "Dad is sending us to Indiana to prevent another couple from vanishing?" asked Sam. "Bingo," said Dean, looking at a map with the light of his cell phone. "Can you imagine puttin' together a pattern like this? Man's a master," said Dean. Sam sighed, pulling the car over to the shoulder and taking the key out of the ignition. Alex opened her eyes and yawned. She sat up in the backseat, looking at Sam. "What are you doing?" "We're not going to Indiana," said Sam. "We're not?" asked Dean. "No, we're not. We're going to California. Dad called from a pay phone. Sacramento area code." Dean shook his head. "Sam…" "We need to be there if he's closing in on the demon that killed Mom and Jess. We gotta help," argued Sam. "Dad doesn't want our help," said Dean. "I don't care." "He's given us an order." "I don't care. We don't have to do what he says." "Sam, Dad gives us jobs to save lives. It's important." "I understand. But this is one week, Dean, to get answers. To get revenge." "Look, I know how you feel," said Dean. "Do you? How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?" asked Sam. Alex watched her brothers argue, biting her lip and knowing that the argument wouldn't end well. "Dad said it wasn't safe for any of us. He obviously knows something we don't so if he says to stay away, we stay away," said Dean. "You know, I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man. You don't even question him." "Yeah, it's called being a good son!" yelled Dean. Sam looked at Dean for a second before opening his car door and getting out. He slammed the door shut and Alex watched through the window as Sam walked to the back of the car. Dean sighed, holding his head in his hands. Alex climbed over the center console and stepped on the driver's seat. She opened the door and got out, running to the back of the car. "Sammy, stop!" Alex heard Dean get out of the car and she felt him stand beside her. "You're a selfish bastard, you know that?" said Dean. Sam ignored him, opening the trunk and throwing his backpack on his shoulders. "Well, this selfish bastard is going to California." Sam closed the trunk and began to walk down the road, away from Alex and Dean by the car. "C'mon. You're not serious?" asked Dean. "I am serious," called Sam. "We will leave your ass, you hear me?" Sam turned to see Dean in the distance. "That's what I want you to do." "Goodbye, Sam," said Dean. He walked the short distance to the driver's side door and got in the car. "Sam, please don't do this," begged Alex. She ran to Sam and hugged him tight. "Alex. You're my twin, but I need to do this. I'm sorry." Sam kissed the top of her head. He hugged her a little bit longer before letting her go and continuing down the road. Alex watched him walk away until he was just a speck in the distance. She trudged back to the car, tears rolling down her face. She got in and Dean looked at her sadly, putting his hand on her knee. She put her hand on top of his and leaned her head against the window, her tears subsiding slowly. Dean glanced at her every few seconds until she was asleep, their hands still placed on her knee.

The rain was slowly coming down as Dean pulled into a little town, parking the car on the curb. He pulled the key out of the ignition and unbuckled his seatbelt. He stuck the key in his pocket and looked at his little sister, who was still asleep. His hand was still on her knee and her hand was on top of his hand. He took his cell phone out of his pocket using his free hand and scrolled down to Sam's number. He hit options and almost clicked delete. He decided against it and shut his phone, putting it back in his pocket. He swept Alex's hair from her face. "Alex? Sweetheart, you have to get up." Dean watched as she opened her eyes and yawned, looking at him. "Are we in Indiana already?" Dean nodded. "Yeah. We have to get out and investigate now." Alex nodded. "So is our cover story that we're a couple then? Since couples are disappearing?" Dean smirked. "Absolutely." Alex stepped out of the car, meeting Dean at the back of the car. Dean put his arm across her shoulders and they walked up to a place called Scotty's Café. A man was sitting on a wooden bench right outside the door of the café and he looked at them as they approached. "Let me guess. Scotty?" asked Dean. The man looked at the sign, then at Dean. "Yep. That's me." "Hi. I'm John Bonum." Alex hid a smile at Dean's choice of name. "Isn't that the drummer for the Led Zeppelin?" Alex's smile faded and Dean smiled in discomfort. "Wow. Classic rock fan." "What can I do for you, John?" asked Scotty. Dean removed his arm from Alex's shoulders and reached into his jacket pocket. He handed the few pages to Scotty. "I was wondering if you've seen these two." Dean stuck his hands in his pockets as Scotty looked at the pages and Alex stuck to Dean's side. "Nope. Who are they?" "Friends of ours. They came to our wedding," lied Alex. She grabbed Dean's hand and intertwined their fingers, beaming up at Dean. Dean smiled at Scotty and Alex kissed Dean's cheek. "They went missing about a year ago," said Dean, his smile fading into a serious look. "Sorry. We don't get many strangers here," said Scotty, handing the papers back to Alex. Alex stuck them in her back pocket and Scotty looked at them. "So you two are married, huh?" "Yeah. Have been for almost a year," said Dean. Alex nodded, smiling. "Well, that's great." Scotty still didn't smile and Dean smirked. "Scotty, you've got a smile that lights up a room." Alex laughed, but stopped when she saw that Scotty hadn't smiled at all. "We'll see you around then," said Dean. He led Alex away from Scotty's Café and Scotty and they got into the car, driving away.

Sam was standing on the side of a road. He turned to his left and saw a girl sitting on her three bags. She had headphones in and hadn't noticed him yet. "Hey," called Sam. She didn't hear him so Sam walked over to her. He tapped her on the shoulder and she jumped. She pulled her headphones out and stood up, looking at Sam. "You scared the hell outta me." "I'm sorry. I just thought you might need help," said Sam. "I'm good. Thanks." She stuck her I-pod in her pocket. "So… where you headed?" asked Sam. "No offense, but I'm not telling you." "Why not?" "You could be some freak. You _are_ hitchhiking." "So are you," said Sam, motioning to her bags. She smiled at him as a van pulled over to them. "Need a ride?" asked the driver. "Yeah," said Sam and the girl at the same time. "Just her." Sam scoffed and watched as the girl gathered her bags and got in the van. She leaned out the window and looked at Sam. "You trust shady van guy and not me?" "Definitely." The girl put her head back in the van and the van pulled away, leaving Sam alone on the side of the road.

The bell chimed over the door as Dean and Alex entered the local general store. The woman behind the counter smiled at them as they entered. "Hi. Can I help you?" she asked. "We hope so. See, we're looking for our friends," said Alex. She handed the woman the pictures of the missing couple. The woman looked at the papers. "Don't remember them." She handed the papers back to Alex. "Sorry, honey." Alex smiled weakly at the woman. "Wait. Maybe my husband will know them. Hold on." The woman walked up a set of stairs and disappeared. A minute or so later, she came back down with a man in tow. "I hear you have some pictures for me to look at," said the man. Alex handed him the pictures. "I'm sorry, but I don't recognize them." Alex took back the pictures and held them in her hands. A young teenage girl came down the stairs holding some cardboard boxes. "Did the guy have a tattoo?" asked the girl. She set the boxes down on a nearby table and walked over to Alex and Dean. "Yes, he did," said Alex. The girl turned and looked at her uncle, the older man. "Remember? They were just married." "You're right. They stopped for gas," said the older woman. "Do you remember anything else?" asked Dean. "They're some of our oldest friends. You see, they attended our wedding awhile back," lied Alex. "And we really want to find them," said Dean, adding to Alex's lie. "They left town. Got on the interstate," said the man. He pointed Dean and Alex in the same direction.

Alex was sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala as Dean drove down a curvy road. Suddenly, the EMF meter that was lying on top of the duffel bag on the backseat went crazy, emitting noises and lighting up. Alex reached into the backseat and grabbed the EMF. Dean pulled the car over on the shoulder and Alex handed him the machine. He looked at it. "The only thing around here is that apple orchard," said Alex, pointing behind Dean's head. Dean looked out his window and saw the orchard. It seemed pretty dark and gloomy for an orchard. "Well, let's check it out," said Dean. He and Alex got out of the car and walked into the orchard. Mist was swirling all around them and Alex stuck close to Dean's side. They got in the middle of the orchard and saw a scarecrow. It was high up on a wooden pole and it had a grim face. Straw was sticking out of its shirt and pants from when he had been stuffed. Alex and Dean looked at the scarecrow in disgust. "Dude, you fugly," said Dean. Alex laughed and noticed that a knife was in the scarecrow's right hand. Dean looked too and climbed up the ladder that was beside the scarecrow. He looked at the knife and then noticed a small mark on the scarecrow's arm. He pushed up the scarecrow's sleeve and saw a tattoo on the scarecrow's arm. "Hey, where are those pictures?" Alex looked confused, but reached into her back pocket. She handed Dean the photos of the missing couple and Dean looked at the missing man's photo. "Scarecrow has the same tattoo," said Dean as he handed back the pictures. Alex stuck them in her pocket and looked at the scarecrow's arm. "Fuck."

Dean pulled the Impala up to a gas pump at the gas station that was attached to the local general store. He and Alex got out and stood by the gas tank as the young teenage girl they had met before in the general store came out to help them. "You're back," she said as she unhooked the gas pump and held it in her hand, looking at Alex. "Never left," said Alex. "Still looking for your friends then?" "Mind fillin' the car up, Emily?" asked Dean, becoming tired of the questions. Emily smiled and stuck the gas hose into the gas tank. "So are you from here?" asked Alex. "I came here when I was three. I lost my parents in a car accident. My aunt and uncle took me in." "Nice people," said Dean. "Everybody's nice here." "So it's the perfect little town?" asked Alex. "Well, it's the boonies. But I love it. It's like we're blessed." Alex nodded. "Hey, you ever been out to the orchard?" asked Dean. "Yeah. The scarecrow creeps me out." Emily shivered and Alex sat on the trunk of the car. "Whose is it?" "I dunno. It's just always been there." Emily removed the gas pump from the car and stuck it back where it belonged. Dean noticed an SUV across the way at the general store and nodded to it. "That your aunt and uncle's?" Emily turned to look at the car. "Customer. Havin' car troubles." Alex looked at Dean. "It's not a couple, is it?" Emily nodded. Alex sighed quietly.

Sam stood at the counter in the bus station, talking to the woman behind it. His hands were gripping the edge of the counter in frustration. "Sorry. The Sacramento bus doesn't run again until tomorrow. At 5:05 PM," said the woman behind the counter. "Tomorrow? There's gotta be another way," said Sam. "There is. By car." Sam scoffed at the woman as she stared him down coldly. He bent down and picked up his duffel bag, walking away from the counter. He reached into his pocket and scrolled down to Dean's number in his contacts. His thumb hovered over the green call button. Right before he hit the call button, he saw the girl he had met on the side of the road earlier. She waved to him with a slight wave of her fingers and Sam slid his phone back into his pocket. "Hey. What happened to your ride?" The girl sighed. "You were right. That guy was shady. All hands." Sam chuckled and looked outside through the bus station window. Rain was coming down in sheets and the girl followed his gaze out the window. "What's a matter?" "Just tryin' to get to California," said Sam. He turned his gaze back to her. She stood up and walked over to stand beside him. "Me too. You know, next bus isn't until tomorrow. I'm Meg." She held out her hand and Sam took it, shaking it before letting it go. "I'm Sam."

Dean and Alex walked into Scotty's Café, the bell chiming as they entered. "I'm getting sick of these fucking bells," whispered Dean. Alex smirked and they watched from the front door as Scotty handed the couple that owned the SUV two pieces of apple pie. Scotty looked up at them, his permanent scowl in place. "Hey, Scotty," said Dean. Dean grabbed Alex's hand and led her to a table that was next to the other couple as Scotty walked behind the front counter. Dean sat across from Alex at the table and they looked at the table. "How you doin'?" asked Dean. The couple looked at him and smiled. "We're fine. Road trip," answered the girl. "Us too." "I'm sure they want to eat in peace," said Scotty as he refilled the couple's drinks. "Just a little friendly conversation. Can we get some coffee?" asked Alex. Scotty glared at her, but returned to the counter and began brewing a pot of coffee. "So what brings you to town?" asked Dean. The girl shrugged. "We stopped for gas and the guy at the gas station saved our lives." "Yeah, we had no idea one of our brake lines was leaking. He's fixin' it for us," said the boy. "Nice people," said Alex. The boy nodded and turned back to eating his pie. "How long until you're up and runnin'?" asked Dean. "Sundown." Dean leaned in closer to them. "I know a thing or tow about cars. I can have you up and runnin' in an hour. No charge." "Thanks, but I think we'd rather have a mechanic do it," said the girl. Dean smiled and leaned away from the couple. "It's just that these roads aren't real safe at night," intervened Alex. The couple looked at them. "We're tryin' to eat, okay?" said the boy. He and his wife returned to their pieces of pie and Alex looked at Dean, biting her lip. They looked at the door when they heard the bell chime and saw that the Sheriff had entered. Scotty walked over to the Sheriff and they began to whisper, occasionally glancing at Dean and Alex. Dean grabbed the car keys out of his pocket and slid them across the tabletop to Alex's palm. "You drive. Alright?" Alex nodded and put the keys in her pocket as the Sheriff walked over to their table. "We're gonna ask you to leave town. We'll follow you to the city limits and then we'll come back. C'mon." Alex and Dean got up and followed the Sheriff out the door.

Sam and Meg were sitting at a table in the bus station. Each had a beer in front of them and Sam sat across from Meg at the table. "Are you on vacation?" asked Sam. Meg sighed and looked down at her beer bottle. "No. I, uh, had to get away from my family." "Why?" "I love my parents, don't get me wrong. They wanted what's best for me, not what I wanted. I had to do what they told me. So, I went on my own way." Sam looked down at his beer bottle in thought. "I'm sorry," said Meg. Sam looked at her. "No, it's okay. I know how you feel, actually. Remember the brother and sister I mentioned before? It's kind of the same deal." "That's why you're not with them anymore?" asked Meg. Sam nodded. Meg picked up her beer and held it in the air. "To us. Living our own lives." Sam held his beer up to Meg's bottle and they clinked their drinks before taking a swig.

Alex drove back into the small Indiana town a few hours after the cops had run them out. She stopped the car in front of the orchard and got out with Dean. Dean grabbed a shotgun from the trunk and Alex waited by the car as he rushed into the orchard. A few minutes later, the couple from the café came running out of the orchard, Dean right behind them. They stood by Alex and Dean stood in front of them, his shotgun over his chest. "What the hell was that?" asked the boy. "Don't ask," replied Dean, his eyes never leaving the orchard.

Sam glanced at Meg as he held the phone to his ear and listened to Dean tell about what he and Alex had seen the past couple of days. She was sleeping on the bus station floor, using one of her bags as a pillow and the other bags were beside her body. "So the scarecrow came off its cross?" asked Sam. "Yep." "It didn't kill the couple, did it?" "Nah. We _can_ cope without you, you know." Sam sighed, smiling. "It must be a spirit animating it." "It's more than a spirit. It's a Pagan god." "What makes you say that?" "The annual cycle of its killings. And the way the locals treat them. Fatten 'em up like a Christmas turkey." "The last meal. Sacrificial victims." "Yeah, to appease some Pagan god." "The god possesses a scarecrow…" "The scarecrow takes its sacrifice and for another year, disease doesn't spread and crops don't wilt." "Do you know what god you're dealin' with?" "No, not yet." "Well, when you figure out what it is, you can figure out how to kill it." "I know. We're on our way to a local community college to talk to a professor since we don't have geek boy to help us." "If you're hinting that you need my help, just ask." "I'm not hintin' anything," said Dean. Alex looked at him and rolled her eyes. She grabbed the phone out of Dean's hand and put it to her ear. "Sammy, Dean's sorry." Dean glared at her. Sam laughed through the phone. "Yeah, I'm sorry too." "He also says you were right. You gotta live your own life." "Are you serious, Alex?" "Yeah. I'm agreeing with him. You've always known what you want. You stand up to Daddy and you always have. Anyway, we admire that about you. We're proud of you." "Alex, I don't know what to say." Alex handed the phone back to Dean. "Sam, take care of yourself." "I will." "Call me if you find Dad." "Okay. Bye, Dean." Dean hung up the phone and threw it on the dashboard of the car. Alex smiled at him and he smiled at her.

Sam hung up his phone and set it in front of him on the table. Meg stood up and walked over to him, sitting across from him. "Who was that?" "My brother and sister." "What'd they say?" Sam took a deep breath and looked at her. "Goodbye."

"It's not everyday I get questions about pagan gods," said the professor that Alex and Dean were talking to. "Yeah, well. Call it a hobby," said Dean. "You said you were interested in local lore?" asked the professor. He sat down across the desk from Alex and Dean. Alex nodded. "Indiana isn't really known for its pagan worship." "What if it's imported? Wasn't this area settled by immigrants? Like, by Burkitsville?" asked Dean. "Yes. Northern Europe." "What can you tell us about those pagan gods?" "There are hundreds of gods and goddesses." "We're looking for a certain one. That lives in an orchard," said Alex. The professor stood up and grabbed a huge book from his bookshelf. He set it on the desk. "A woods god." He flipped to a certain page and Dean read it. "Practices human sacrifice. One male, one female." "It says it uses a specific tree for power," said Alex. "What would happen if the certain tree was torched?" asked Dean, looking at the professor. "These are just legends, kids." "Right, of course. Thank you for your time," said Dean. He shook the professor's hand and walked in front of Alex to the door. Dean opened the door and Alex screamed as the Sheriff hit Dean in the face, knocking him out. She looked from the Sheriff to the professor, who looked at her sadly. The Sheriff entered the room and shut the door behind him, walking toward Alex. Alex sighed and closed her eyes. When she felt the Sheriff close in, she whirled around and kicked him in the stomach. He fell to the ground and grabbed his stomach. The professor looked at him on the ground and Alex took advantage of the distraction. She ran to the window and opened it. A fire escape was below the window and she stepped onto it, running down the steps. She ran to the car and threw open the driver's door, sticking the keys in the ignition and pulling away from the curb, tires squealing.

Dean looked up, as the cellar door was open, causing sunlight to come into the dark room. He prayed to God it wasn't Alex coming down the stairs. He closed his eyes and opened them when he heard the person reach the floor. He opened his eyes and saw Emily crying in front of him. Her uncle let her arm go and walked back up the steps. "Why are you doing this?" asked Emily. "For the common good," replied her aunt from the doorway. She shut the cellar door and Dean and Emily were thrust back into darkness.

"Hey. Our bus came in," said Meg. She turned to Sam, who was sitting at a table alone. He shook his head. "You better catch it. I gotta go." He stood up and threw his backpack on his shoulders, grabbing his duffel bag and holding it tightly in his right hand. "Where are you going?" "Burkitsville," said Sam. He turned and began to walk away, but Meg grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her. "Sam, wait!" "Look, I've been trying to call my brother for the last three hours. I keep getting his voicemail." "Maybe his phone's turned off." "That's just not like him. Meg, I think he might be in trouble." "What kind of trouble?" Sam began to answer her, but his phone rang. "Hold on." He looked at the caller ID and sighed in relief when he saw that it was Alex. He hit the answer button and held the phone to his ear. " Hello?" Sam's brow furrowed as he listen to Alex sob through the phone. "Alex? What's wrong?"

Alex pulled the car to the side of the road and pulled out her phone. She dialed Sam's number and held the phone to her ear, waiting. "Hello?' said Sam's deep, reassuring voice. Alex began to tear up when she heard his voice. "S-Sam…" "Alex? What's wrong?" "Um, Dean and I went to see that professor, right? And, uh, it was all a set up. See, we told them when we first got to town that we were a married couple and they bought it so they were gonna kidnap us to use for their ritual. They got Dean, but I nailed the Sheriff right in the stomach and ran away. Sammy, I need your help," sobbed Alex. "Okay. Alex, I'm on my way. Hold on, alright?" "Okay." Alex hung up and sat in the car, sobbing.

Sam hung up the phone and looked at Meg. "I've really gotta go. I'm sorry." "Wait, you're running back to them because they won't answer their phones?" Sam sighed. "I have to go. They're my family." He turned and left Meg behind him in the bus station.

Dean and Emily were locked in the dark cellar, Emily crying. Dean was sitting on an overturned bucket he had found and Emily was pacing in front of him as she cried. "I don't understand. They're gonna kill us?" "We're sacrifices," said Dean. He got up and stood in front of her. "You really didn't know anything about this, did you?" "About the scarecrow god?" asked Emily. Dean nodded and Emily shook her head. "I just can't believe this." "You better start believin'. I'm gonna need your help," said Dean. Emily nodded. "Okay." "Good. Now, we can destroy the scarecrow, but we gotta find a certain tree." Dean sat back down on his bucket and Emily sat on the ground next to him. "What tree?" she asked. "Maybe you can help me with that. It'll be very old. The locals would treat it with respect," explained Dean. "There's this one apple tree. The immigrants brought it over with them. They call it The First Tree." "Is it in the orchard?" asked Dean. "Yeah, but I don't know where." Suddenly, light poured into the room and Dean shielded his eyes with his hand. He and Emily looked up to see Emily's aunt and uncle standing in the cellar doorway along with the Sheriff and Scotty. "It's time," said Emily's aunt in a monotone voice. Dean helped Emily up the steps and he followed. They were pushed in between the adults and led to the orchard, Emily pleading with her aunt and uncle the whole way.

"How much blood is on your hands?" asked Dean as the Sheriff tied Dean and Emily to a large apple tree in the orchard. Night was falling and mist was swirling. "We don't kill them," said the Sheriff. He stood up when he finished tying the rope and looked at Dean. "Yeah, but you cover it up. How many cars have you hidden?" "Uncle Harley? Please," said Emily as the Sheriff glared at Dean. Harley sighed and looked away from Emily's heartbroken face. "I'm sorry, Em. I wish it wasn't you. But his-" Harley pointed to Dean, "wife got away somehow." "Yeah. She's an awesome girl. And she's my sister, you fuckers." Dean smiled and the Sheriff hit him in the face with the butt of his gun. Dean's head snapped to the side and he glared at the Sheriff as he turned his head. Emily's aunt looked at Emily. "Try and understand. There's just no other choice." "But I'm your family," cried Emily. "Sweetheart, that's what sacrifice means," said her uncle. They gave her one last glance before turning and leaving the orchard with the Sheriff and Scotty. "I hope your apple pie is freakin' worth it!" yelled Dean after them. When they were out of sight, Dean began to struggle against the ropes. "So what's the plan?" asked Emily, struggling as well. "I'm workin' on it," said Dean.

The crickets were chirping as night fell upon Emily and Dean in the orchard. "You don't have a plan, do you?" asked Emily. "I'm workin' on it!" yelled Dean. Emily sighed and stopped struggling. A few minutes later, they heard footsteps. "Oh my God, Oh my God," chanted Emily, scared. "Dean?" called Sam as he stepped into view. "Oh, I take everything back I said. I'm so glad to see you. Is Alex with you?" asked Dean. "I'm here, bro." Alex walked up beside Sam, a shotgun in her hands. "Thank God. Sam, how'd you get here?" Alex's face broke into a huge grin and Sam looked sheepish, looking at the ground as he spoke. "I, uh, stole a car." Dean laughed. "That's my boy. Keep an eye on that scarecrow." Alex looked at Dean, her face panic stricken as Sam asked, "What scarecrow?"

Alex, Sam, Dean and Emily were running through the apple orchard, watching for the scarecrow. "We have to find that tree and burn it," said Alex. "We'll do that in the morning. Let's just get outta here," said Dean. They saw the edge of the orchard and pushed forward. They stuttered to a stop when they saw the Sheriff, Scotty, and Emily's aunt and uncle standing on the outskirts of the orchard. "Please. Let us go," pleaded Emily. "It'll be over quickly, I promise," said her uncle. "Emily, you have to let him take you," said her aunt. Suddenly, Emily and her aunt screamed as they saw her uncle being dragged into the orchard, a knife through his chest. The scarecrow then grabbed Emily's aunt and drug her and Emily's uncle deep into the apple orchard, their screams fading away. "C'mon, let's go!" said Dean. He grabbed Emily's elbow and drug her with him as he followed Alex and Sam out of the orchard.

The next morning, Alex, Sam, Emily, and Dean were standing in front of The First Tree. Dean walked around it, pouring gasoline all around the trunk of the tree. When he finished, he joined the other three and pulled a match out of his pocket. "Let me," said Emily. Dean looked at her and handed her the match. "You know the whole town's gonna die," stated Dean. "Good," said Emily. She walked forward, the match in her fingers and threw it onto the gasoline, the tree going up in flames.

Alex and Sam sat on the trunk of the car as Dean stood beside it. They looked at Emily as she stood in front of them, a bus ticket in her hand and a duffel in her other hand. "Thanks for everything." "It's our job," said Dean. "Well, thanks." Emily looked behind her as the bus pulled up. "I better go. Bye." She waved to them and turned, walking away and getting on the bus. "Think she'll be alright?" asked Alex, watching the bus pull away. "I hope so," said Dean. He walked to the front of the car, Alex and Sam following. "So. Can I drop you off somewhere?" asked Dean, as he looked at Sam. "No I think you're stuck with me." "What made you change your mind?" "Family. I can't leave you guys again. We're all that's left." "Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful." Dean held out his arms and walked toward Sam. Sam pushed his arms away and pulled Alex into him instead. "You should be kissin' our asses, dude. You were dead meat, man." Alex laughed and hugged Sam. Dean rolled his eyes and opened his door. "I had a plan." He climbed in the car and shut his door. "No, he didn't. C'mon," said Alex. She opened the passenger side door and climbed in the backseat, Sam climbing in the passenger seat after her.


	15. Chapter 15

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 15

Dean brought the car to a stop outside an old, run-down house. The roof was caving in and the porch was full of rotted boards. Alex wrinkled her nose as she looked at the house. Sam and Dean were rummaging through the trunk and she waited for them. She heard the trunk slam and Dean and Sam stood on either side of her. Dean loaded his gun with shock bullets. "What are these amped up to?" asked Sam. "1,000 volts," said Dean. Alex whistled. "Yeah. I want this rawhead extra freakin' crispy." Dean handed Alex the other gun he was holding. "Remember. You only get one shot with this thing, so make it count." He walked forward and Sam and Alex followed him.

They walked down the basement steps slowly and quietly, their guns in front of them. Alex was behind her brothers as Sam and Dean walked down the steps side by side. All three of them stepped onto the floor and looked at a cabinet in the corner. There were noises coming from the cabinet and they slowly walked forward. "On three," whispered Dean. He counted down quietly and then threw open the door. A little boy and girl were huddled inside the cabinet together, their faces terrified. "Is it still here?" asked Sam. The little boy nodded. "Okay. Grab your sister's hand," said Alex. The little boy did as he was told, grabbing his sister's hand in his own tightly. Alex and Sam ushered the kids to the stairs. Alex took the boy's hand in her right hand and the girl's in her left. "Alright, go!" yelled Dean. Alex walked up the stairs with Sam behind her when Sam's foot was grabbed from under the stairs. "Sam!" yelled Alex as she turned to see him fall back down the steps. Dean ran around the stairs and shot at the rawhead. He missed. "Sam, Alex, get them outta here!" Sam stood up and tossed his and Alex's guns to Dean. He met Alex and the kids at the top of the stairs and they all rushed out the door. Dean watched them leave and turned to look for the rawhead. Out of nowhere, Dean was punched in the face by the monster. He fell into a large puddle of water and began to crawl for a gun. He shot the monster, but was electrocuted with the monster. He fell unconscious in the puddle of water. The monster fell in front of him, dead. Alex and Sam rushed back down the stairs to see Dean unconscious in the puddle. "Dean!" they yelled. They ran to their brother.

Alex stood at the nurse's station in the hospital. Sam was standing against the wall, his eyes red from crying. Alex wiped her own eyes as the nurse looked at her. "M'am, I'm sorry to ask. There doesn't seem to be any insurance on file." Alex reached into her pocket and found the insurance card, handing it to the nurse. The nurse smiled and took the card. "Thank you, Ms. Berkovitz." Alex smiled and walked over to Sam, who was still leaning against the wall. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as Sam was hunched over her. Silent sobs were coming from Sam, his shoulders heaving as Alex rubbed small circles on his back slowly. "Shh, he'll be fine," said Alex, holding back her own sobs. A nurse passed by them and looked at them sadly. Alex smiled as best she could at the nurse, continuing to rub Sam's back. "Excuse me, M'am," said a voice from behind Alex. Sam looked up behind Alex and saw two police officers standing behind Alex. Alex turned and smiled at them. "Maybe we can finish this later," said one officer, looking at Sam and Alex's sad faces. "No, it's okay," said Sam. Alex turned to him and Sam kissed the top of her head. He sat down in a chair a few feet away and looked at them. Alex turned to the officers. "Um, we were taking a shortcut through the neighborhood. We had the windows rolled down when we heard screaming. We stopped in front of the house and ran in." "You found the kids in the basement?" asked the cop who wasn't taking notes on a small notepad. Alex nodded. "Thank God you did." Alex watched as the doctor passed by her. "Excuse me," said Alex. She walked over to the doctor and Sam joined her. "How is he?" asked Sam. "He's resting," answered the doctor. "And?" "The electrocution triggered a heart attack, pretty massive. His heart is damaged." Alex finally broke down in sobs, her knees giving out. She fell into Sam's chest and Sam stroked her hair. "How damaged?" asked Sam. "We've done all we can. We can try and keep him comfortable, but I give him a couple weeks." Alex sobbed harder and the doctor looked at her sadly. "No. There's gotta be something you can do, some kind of treatment." "We can't work miracles. I really am sorry." The doctor patted Sam's shoulder and walked away. Sam sat down in the chair he had sat in before and pulled Alex onto his lap. "Are you ready to see Dean?" He pushed Alex's hair out of her face. Alex nodded and wiped away her remaining tears. "Okay. Let's go." Sam stood her up and put his arm around her shoulders, walking her to Dean's room.

Dean's television was on when Alex and Sam entered the hospital room. Dean was pale and his eyes had dark, purple circles under them. He looked horrible. Sam and Alex stood at the foot of Dean's bed, Alex still being supported by Sam's arm around her shoulders. "Have you ever actually watched daytime TV? It's terrible," said Dean. Sam shook his head and Alex sniffled. "We talked to your doctor," said Sam. Dean ignored Sam and kept his eyes on the TV. "That little fabric softener teddy bear. I wanna hunt that fucker down." "Dean," said Alex. "Well, I guess you'll be leavin' town without me." Alex scoffed. "We're not gonna leave you here." "You better take care of that car. I swear I'll haunt your asses." "That's not funny," said Sam. "C'mon. It's a little funny." Alex looked down at the tile floor, crying. Dean sighed and looked at Sam, who was looking out the window. "Guys, it's a dangerous gig. I drew the short stick. End of story." "Stop. We still have options," said Sam, his attention back on Dean's pale face. "What options? Burial or cremation?" Alex sobbed harder and Sam glared at Dean as he pulled Alex into his chest. "Let's face it. I'm gonna die and you can't stop it." "Watch me."

Sam sat at the table, his Blackberry to his ear. Books were spread all over the table. Sam glanced at Alex, who was asleep. She was curled up on her bed, her head on the pillow that Dean had used the night before. She was wearing a pair of Dean's boxers and one of his shirts. Sam sighed as he got his father's voicemail again. "Hey, Dad. It's Sam. Uh, Dean's sick and the doctor says there's nothin' they can do. Um, they don't know the things we know, right? So… don't worry. I'll do whatever it takes to get him better. Alright. Just wanted you to know." Sam hung up and threw his phone on the table. It landed in a book, making a loud 'thud' noise. Alex awoke at the noise and Sam turned when he heard her rustling. She smiled weakly at him and her face furrowed when there was a knock on the door. Sam stood up and walked over to the door, opening it. Dean was standing outside, leaning against the doorframe. Sam stepped aside and let Dean in. "What the hell are you doing here?" asked Alex, meeting Dean in the middle of the room and helping him sit on the bed. "I checked myself out." "Are you crazy?" asked Sam. "I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot." Sam chuckled, but his face turned serious when Alex glared at him. "You know, this whole laughing in the face of death thing is shit. I can see right through it," said Sam. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Whatever, dude. Alex, has he even slept? He looks worse than me." Alex shook her head. "Nah. He's been on the Internet the last three days." Dean nodded and leaned back, hitting the headboard. He used it for balance and Sam sat on the edge of the bed next to Alex. "I went through Dad's contacts. Joshua called me back. He told me about a guy in Nebraska, a specialist," said Sam. "You're not gonna let me die in peace, are you?" "Dean, we're not gonna let you die, period," said Alex. "We're goin' to Nebraska."

Sam brought the car to a stop and quickly got out to help Dean. Dean shoved him away and Sam sighed. Alex rolled her eyes. Dean stood up and looked at all of the people entering the tent. "You two are liars. I thought we were gonna see a doctor," said Dean. He slammed his car door shut and began to walk forward toward the tent, Alex and Sam flanking his sides. "I believe Sam said a specialist. Look Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal," said Alex. "I can't believe you brought me to a guy who heals people out of a tent!" "Reverend LaGrange is a great man," said a woman who was walking beside them. "Yeah, that's nice," said Dean, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "How can you be a skeptic with what we see everyday?" asked Sam. "Exactly. We see them, we know they're real." "But if you know evil's out there, how can you not see the good, too?" asked Alex. "Because I've seen what evil does to good people." "Maybe God works in mysterious ways," said a pretty blonde woman. Dean turned to her and smiled. "Maybe He does. I think He just turned me around on this subject." Alex and Sam smirked and the woman laughed politely. "Yeah, I'm sure." "I'm Dean. This is Sam and Alex." Dean pointed to each of his siblings as he said their names and Sam and Alex waved. "Layla. So if you're not a believer, why are you here?" "Well, my siblings here believe enough for me. They're twins, so it's always two against one," answered Dean. Layla smiled at him as an older woman came and grabbed Layla's elbow gently. "Layla, let's go." The woman smiled at the Winchesters before leading Layla away into the tent. Dean watched them leave. "I bet she can work in some mysterious ways." He walked forward into the tent while Alex and Sam followed, laughing at him.

Sam led them up front, Dean protesting the whole way. An older gentleman took his place on stage, his wife leading him to stand behind his podium on stage. He was blind and wore sunglasses to hide it. He smiled, even though he couldn't see his audience. "Every morning, my wife, Suzanne, reads me the news. Seems like there's always someone committing unspeakable acts. But I say to you, God is watching. It is the Lord who does the healin', friends. The Lord who guides me in choosin' who to heal by helping me see into peoples hearts." Dean leaned over to Alex. "Yeah, or into their wallets," he whispered in her ear. The room got quiet then and Dean looked up to see Mr. LaGrange looking in his direction. "You think so, young man?" "I'm sorry," said Dean begrudgingly. "No. Don't be. What's your name, son?" "Dean." "I want you to come up here with me," said Mr. LaGrange, smiling. People began clapping and someone in the back said, "Thank the Lord." "No, I'm okay," said Dean. Sam sighed and rested his left arm across Alex's seat. He leaned behind Alex's head to talk to Dean. "What are you doing?" "You've come here to be healed, haven't you?" asked LaGrange. "Well, yeah," said Dean. The audience continued clapping to encourage Dean. "Get up there!" said Alex. Dean looked at her and Alex's eyes were full of unshed tears. "Please. For me?" she whispered. Dean sighed and stood up, the clapping getting louder as he got on the stage. "Pray with me, friends," said LaGrange. The audience stuck their hands in the air towards Dean and bowed their heads. LaGrange put his hand on Dean's head and Alex and Sam held their breath. Dean fell to the floor on his knees as the praying began and fell to the floor as it continued. Alex and Sam jumped up from their seats and ran on stage. They knelt by his side and waited for him to open his eyes. Suddenly, Dean shot up and gasped for breath. He glanced behind LaGrange's shoulder and saw a figure. He sat up to get a closer look, but the figure disappeared. Dean looked around, but he didn't see anything unusual.

Dean sat on the exam table at the doctor's office, Alex standing beside him. "So, you really feel okay?" asked Alex. She looked at Dean, who was watching Sam pace the room. "I feel fine." Alex nodded and they watched Sam pace the room anxiously, his hands in his pockets. The door opened and all of their heads snapped up. The doctor entered, holding a clipboard and looking through the pages of test results on it. He sat on a chair by the counter and looked at the siblings. "According to your test results, there's nothing wrong with your heart. It's strange, but stuff can happen." "What do you mean, strange?" asked Dean. "Well, just yesterday a guy your age died of a heart attack," said the doctor. "Thanks, Doc," said Sam. The doctor smiled and left the room. "That's odd," said Dean, looking at Alex and Sam. "Maybe it's just a coincidence. People's hearts give out all the time," said Alex. "No, they don't." "Look, Dean. Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life and move on?" asked Sam. "Cause I can't shake this feeling, that's why." Dean stood up and turned away from them. "What feeling?" asked Alex. "When I was healed, I felt wrong. I felt cold and for a second, I saw someone, this old man. I'm tellin' you, it was a spirit." Dean grabbed his jacket from beside him on the exam table and put it on. "But wouldn't we have seen it too? I mean, Sam's been seein' a lot of those lately," said Alex. She looked at him. "Sorry," she mouthed. He shrugged and looked at Dean. "I've been huntin' long enough to trust a feeling like this," said Dean, facing them. "Alright. What do you wanna do then?" "You two go check out the heart attack guy. I'll talk to LaGrange."

Dean sat across from Reverend LaGrange at LaGrange's kitchen table. They each had a glass of iced tea in front of them and Dean stared at his, watching the ice cubes float in his drink. Suzanne poured herself a glass of tea and sat next to her husband at the table. "I feel great. Just tryin' to make sense of what happened," said Dean. "Well, a miracle happened. Miracles happen so often around Roy," said Suzanne. She looked at her husband and smiled lovingly. "When did the miracles start?" asked Dean, looking at Roy. "Woke up one morning blind. Doctor's figured out I had cancer, told me a month. So, we prayed for a miracle. I was weak, but told Suzanne to keep prayin'. I went into a coma and they told her I wouldn't wake up." Roy grabbed his wife's hand and continued his story. "But I did and the cancer was gone." "And suddenly, you could heal people?" "Yes. God's blessed me in so many ways." "And this is just the beginning," added Suzanne. "Why me?" asked Dean. "The Lord guides me," said Roy.

The coroner looked at Sam and Alex. "I'm tellin' you, he seemed healthy. Swam everyday, didn't smoke. It's just bizarre." "And you said he was running? When he collapsed?" asked Sam. "Yeah. He said something zapped him." "What?" "Thin air. It was nothing." Alex smiled at the man. "Well, thank you for your time. We appreciate it." She grabbed Sam's arm and they walked up the steps. She looked around and noticed that the clock above the door wasn't moving. "Hey, your clock's busted," said Alex, looking down at the man. The man looked at the clock and jogged up the stairs to join them. "Yeah. It just froze at 4:17." "Is that the same time Marshall died?" asked Sam. "Yeah. How'd you know?" "Lucky guess," said Sam.

Dean walked into the cold air outside. He began walking down Roy's front porch steps when he saw Layla walking up them. She smiled when she saw him. "Dean. How are you feeling?" "I feel good. Cured, I guess. What are you doin' here?" Layla took a deep breath. "You know my mom. She wanted to talk to the Reverend." Dean nodded and Layla's mom joined them then. Dean smiled at her and she looked past him to the porch. Suzanne was standing on the porch. "I'm sorry, but Roy's resting. He won't be seeing anyone now." "Suzanne. Please," begged Layla's mom. "Roy is aware of Layla's situation and will help when the Lord allows. Have faith, Mrs. Rourke." She turned and walked back inside. Layla's mom looked at Dean, hatred in her eyes. "What are you still here for?" "Mom, stop," said Layla. "No. This is too much. We've been to every service. If Roy would stop picking strangers over you…" Mrs. Rourke let her sentence trail off. "Layla, what's wrong?" asked Dean. "She has an inoperable brain tumor. Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?" Dean didn't answer her. She scoffed and grabbed Layla's arm, dragging her away from Dean to their car.

Sam sat at the table in the motel room on his laptop. Alex was lying on her bed. She was lying on her stomach, her feet in the air and crossed at the ankles. She looked up as Dean entered the room. He took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door. He stuck his car keys in his pocket. "What'd you find out?" asked Dean. "I'm sorry," said Alex. "About what?" "Uh, Marshall died at 4:17 exactly." "The time I was healed." Sam nodded and Dean rubbed his face with his hand. "We put together a list of people that were healed and crossed them with the local obits. Every time someone was healed, someone died of the same symptoms LaGrange was healing," said Sam. He handed Dean the information he and Alex had found and Dean flipped through it. "So LaGrange is trading one life for another," said Sam. "Wait. Marshall Hall died to save me?" Alex sighed and walked over to Dean. "Dean, he probably would've died anyway when someone else was healed," she reasoned. "You never should've brought me here," said Dean. "We were trying to save your life!" yelled Alex. "Well now, some guy is dead because of me, Alex! How do you think that makes me feel, huh? It doesn't feel all that fuckin' great!" He glared at her and Alex's face fell. Her eyes turned watery and Dean sighed as she looked down at her bare feet. "I'm sorry. I just wanted you to be okay. But if you want to die, go right ahead. Don't worry about how I feel." She walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Sam and Dean heard the lock click and Dean ran a hand through his short hair. "Fuck." Sam nodded. "Yeah, that was real great. You better fix that." "I will, I will." "Good. Now, what I don't get is how Roy's doing it." "Oh, it's not him. Somethin' else is doin' it for him. The old man I saw on stage. I knew it, but I didn't wanna believe it," said Dean. "Knew what? Dean, what are you saying?" Dean grabbed the side of the table. "We're dealing with a reaper." Sam's eyes widened. "Well, that's just really fucking awesome," said Sam, his tone sarcastic. Dean nodded. "Right. Well, I'm gonna go grab some food. Talk to Alex and fix it," said Sam. He walked out the door and Dean sighed.

Dean knocked on the bathroom door. "Alex? Will you please talk to me?" There was no response. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I just… hate that someone died because of me." His fist and forehead were resting on the door as he spoke. He still got no response, so he slid down the door and sat against it. His back was to the door now and his knees were against his chest. "Alex, please? I need to talk to you." Suddenly, the door was opened and Dean fell flat onto his back. He looked up and saw Alex standing over him. She was smiling and she grabbed his hand, helping him up. "Sorry. I didn't realize that you were leaning against the door." "It's okay. Alex, look. I'm sorry. I just don't like that someone died so that I could live." "I know. It's just, I couldn't stand it if you died. It would kill me," said Alex. She looked at Dean, her eyes filled with tears. "C'mere." Dean pulled her into his chest and put his hand on her back. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Alex nodded against his chest. "I'm holding you to that." Dean laughed and Alex smiled. "Okay." Dean let her go and held her at arm's length. He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes as he did so. "I love you, little sister." "I love you, big brother." They looked at the door as Sam entered, sipping a large soda and holding a bag from Burger King. "Is everything all good?" he asked. "Yep. Now, where's my fries?" asked Alex. Sam nodded to the bag and set it on the table. He threw his jacket on one of the beds and sat at the table. Alex and Dean sat with him. "Do you really think we're dealin' with the grim reaper?" asked Sam. Alex coughed as she heard Sam. "A reaper? Are you kidding?" Sam and Dean shook their heads. "Wow." "And I think it's a reaper, not the reaper," said Dean. "But you said you saw a dude in a suit," said Sam. "What, you think he had on a black robe?" teased Alex. Sam gave her the middle finger and Alex stuck out her tongue. "Anyway, reapers stop time. And you only see it when it's comin' at you," said Dean. "Okay. The question is how is Roy controlling the fuckin' thing?" asked Alex, leaning over and dipping her fries in Sam's ketchup. "That cross. I saw it in the church tent and knew I'd seen it before," said Sam. He grabbed a book and flipped through it. He showed Dean and Alex the picture of the cross he was talking about. "So Roy's using black magic?" asked Dean. "Then we stop Roy," said Alex. "How?" asked Sam. Alex raised her eyebrows. "Guys, we can't kill Roy," said Sam. "Sam, he's deciding who lives and who dies. It's a monster in my book," said Dean. "We are not killing a human being." "Alright, fine. We can't kill Roy and we can't kill death. Any ideas?" asked Alex. "We have to break the spell Roy's using on the reaper."

Dean parked the car in the parking lot where the tent was located. He, Sam, and Alex quickly climbed out. "Sam, find a spell book. Alex and I'll try to distract Roy." Alex looked at the man who approached them. "Can we help you?" she asked. "Roy LaGrange is a fraud," said the man. Dean slapped the man on the back. "Amen, brother." "Keep up the good work," said Sam. Alex winked at the man as she followed Dean into the tent.

Sam watched Roy and Suzanne walk down their front porch steps and walk the few blocks to the service. He watched them walk away before sliding open a window and climbing inside the house. He shut the window behind him and walked through the house, entering an office. He walked over to the bookcase and began looking through the titles. He pulled one out and flipped through the pages. He found nothing useful. As he went to put the book back, he noticed a much smaller book. He grabbed it and opened it to the page that was book- marked, revealing a picture of a reaper. He flipped to another book-marked page and unfolded the newspaper clipping that was used as the bookmark. He skimmed the article and found that it was about a gay teacher at the local high school. He saw another newspaper clipping sticking out of the back of the book and he opened it, seeing that it was about an abortion clinic. The last article in the book was about the man in the parking lot who called LaGrange a fraud. Sam sighed and pulled out his phone, calling Alex.

Alex's phone rang as she and Dean searched for a seat in the tent. "What'd you get?" she answered, already knowing it was Sam. "Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral. Know who's next?" Alex ran a hand through her long, blonde locks. "The guy from the parking lot?" "Yep. I'll find him. You can't let Roy heal anyone, alright?" "Right." Alex hung up her phone and stuck it in her back pocket. "Sam says Roy can't heal anyone. He's going after the parking lot dude today. Sam's on that. We have to stop the healing," said Alex. Dean nodded and stood off to the side, watching the people enter the tent and sit down. "Layla Rourke, come up here," said Roy. The audience clapped enthusiastically and Layla and her mother stood up, hugging each other. "Fuck," whispered Alex. Layla began walking toward the stage and she passed right by Alex and Dean. Dean gently grabbed her arm and Layla looked at his hand on her arm to his face. "Layla, you can't go up there." "Why not? I've wanted this for so long." "You can't let Roy heal you," said Alex. Layla looked at her. "I don't understand. Roy healed your brother, didn't he?" "If he heals you, somethin' bad will happen. I can't explain it, I just need you to believe me. Please," said Dean. Layla looked at him and Alex. "I'm sorry." She shook her arm out of Dean's grasp and continued to the stage. "Shit," muttered Dean.

Sam looked around the parking lot for the man. "Help me!" called a panicked voice. Sam ran toward the voice and found the man leaning against a red pickup truck, his eyes widened in fear. "Where is it?" asked Sam, looking for the reaper. "It's right there!" The man pointed directly in front of him, but Sam saw nothing. "Alright, c'mon." Sam grabbed the man's arm and they ran across the parking lot.

Roy's hand got closer to Layla's head and Alex sighed. She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Fire! Everybody get outta here!" The audience began to panic and they all stood up, running for the exits. "No! Please!" cried Mrs. Rourke, running to the stage. Alex looked at Dean and patted his arm. Dean took out his phone and called Sam. "We did it. We stopped Roy."

"Okay. You should be alright," said Sam to the protestor. Dean was still on the phone with him. The man looked at Sam, his face shining with relief. Suddenly, he fell to his knees and Sam panicked. "Dean, it didn't work!" Sam watched the man writhe on the ground, choking. "Roy must not be controlling the thing!" The man continued to gasp for breath on the asphalt.

"Who the hell is then?" asked Dean, still on the phone with Sam. He and Alex looked around the tent and saw Suzanne in the corner, her eyes closed and her lips moving rapidly as she prayed. "Suzanne." He hung up and followed Alex over to Suzanne. Alex grabbed her shoulder and saw that Suzanne was holding a cross necklace in her hands. Suzanne tucked the necklace into her blouse when she saw Alex looking at it. "Help!" she cried and two police officers appeared beside Suzanne. They each grabbed Dean and Alex and escorted them out of the tent.

Sam watched as the man's face returned to its normal color. His breathing was regular and Sam helped him stand up on his feet. "What happened?" asked the man. "I have no idea," said Sam.

The police officers shoved Alex and Dean out of the tent and into the parking lot. Alex glared at them as Suzanne stepped outside. She stood in front of Dean and Alex. "I don't understand. Roy healed you, Dean. And Alex. You care so much about your brother and now look at you. We're disappointed in both of you." Suzanne turned to the officers then. "You can let them go. The Lord will deal with them as He sees fit." She returned to the tent and the officers looked at Alex and Dean. "If we see you two around here again, we'll put the fear of God in you. Understand?" Alex smiled. "Yes, sir. Fear of God," said Dean. He smiled as well and he took Alex's elbow, dragging her away from the cops. "I hate cops," said Alex. Dean nodded and looked around for Sam. Alex nudged him and Dean turned to see Layla fast approaching. "Layla," said Alex as she stepped in front of them. "Why did you do that? It could've been my only chance!" "He's not a healer!" yelled Alex. "He healed your brother." "I know it doesn't seem fair. But Roy is not the answer. I'm sorry," said Dean. "Goodbye, Dean." Layla turned on her heel and walked away from them.

Dean paced the room as Alex and Sam sat on a bed. "So Roy really believes?" asked Sam. Dean stopped pacing and looked out the window. "I don't think Roy has any idea what his wife is doing," said Dean. "Well, I found this in their office." Sam held up the small book he had found. "It's ancient." Dean walked over and sat on the bed next to Alex. She put her feet in his lap and he grabbed them, rubbing them gently. "It was written by a priest who went dark side. There's a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper." Sam handed the book to Alex, who looked at the marked page. "Must be a hell of a spell," said Alex. "Yeah. You need a black altar with some seriously dark shit. Bones, human blood." Sam shook his head. "To cross a line like that, a preacher's wife. Black magic, murder." "Evil," finished Dean. "Desperate. Her husband was dying. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from her husband," said Alex. "But Roy's alive. Why is she still using the spell?" asked Dean. "To kill people she believes are immoral. We have to break that spell," said Sam. Alex looked down at the book still in her hands and pointed to the cross. "Suzanne had a cross like that. When she dropped it, the reaper backed off." "I guess we have to destroy the altar and the cross," said Sam. "We better do it fast. Roy's healing Layla tonight," said Dean. He let go of Alex's feet and got up from the bed, grabbing his jacket from the other bed and shrugging it on as he walked to the door.

Dean pulled up in front of the tent. "That's Layla's car. She's already here," said Sam. "Yeah," said Dean. Alex looked at him, hearing the regret in his voice. "Dean." "You know, if Roy had picked Layla instead of me, she'd be healed right now." "Dean, stop," said Sam. "And if she doesn't get healed tonight, she's gonna die in a few months." Alex leaned over the center console in the car. "What's happening to her is horrible. But what are you gonna do? Let someone else die to save her? You said it yourself, you can't play God." Dean looked at Alex for a few minutes. He sighed and got out of the car. Sam and Alex did the same and they all walked over to the tent's entrance. Roy was on stage with only a few people around him, Suzanne not being one of them. "Where's Suzanne?" asked Dean. Sam looked around the side of the tent and saw that Roy and Suzanne's house had lights on, indicating that someone was home. "The house."

They walked to the house. On the way there, Alex saw the two police officers from earlier and pointed them out to Dean. "Sam, go find Suzanne. We'll catch up," said Dean. Sam nodded and continued toward the house while Alex and Dean turned to the cops. "Hey. You gonna put that fear of God in us?" The cops ran toward them and Dean and Alex ran into the parking lot.

Sam stopped at the cellar doors on the side of the house. Light was seeping through the tiny crack in between the doors and Sam opened them, slowly climbing inside.

Dean grabbed Alex's hand in his own and they hid behind an RV. The cops were on the other side of it and Dean and Alex slowly walked around it. Suddenly, a dog appeared at the RV window and saw them, barking. The officers began moving to the side of the RV where Dean and Alex were. Alex climbed up a ladder to the top of the RV and Dean followed her. Dean and Alex watched from the RV's roof as the officers walked away to another car.

Sam walked into the cellar and saw an altar in the middle of the room. He walked closer and saw bones and blood in bowls on it. He also saw a picture of Alex with and X through her face. He picked up the picture and turned around, feeling someone's presence behind him. Suzanne was there. "Sam, I thought that Dean was the problem, but I was mistaken. Alex is the troublemaker and I can take her life away." Sam grabbed the end of the altar and knocked it over completely, spilling everything on the floor. He ran to the top of the stairs as Suzanne shut them. He began shoving against them, but Suzanne had locked them. "Don't you see, Sam? God gave me the ability to reward the good and punish the wicked. Your sister is wicked and deserves to die so Layla can live. Goodbye, Sam." Sam heard Suzanne walk away and he smirked, walking across the cellar and busting the window.

Alex felt a chill in the air as she and Dean were walking through the parking lot. She pulled on Dean's hand to stop him and he looked at her. Suddenly, the streetlamp flickered and burnt out. Alex looked at Dean, panic on her face. "Alex, what's wrong?" Alex looked over Dean's shoulder and saw the reaper reaching for her. She screamed and fell to the ground, gasping for breath as the reaper touched her head. Dean knelt beside her and put her head in his lap. "Fuck, fuck," he muttered as her eyes rolled back into her head and she continued gasping for breath.

Sam climbed out of the window and ran across the lawn to reach Suzanne. He grabbed the cross necklace from her hands and threw it to the ground, watching as blood spilled from the cross across the asphalt. Suzanne glared at Sam. Suddenly, she fell to her knees on the asphalt. She began to convulse and gasp for breath. Sam watched as she fell to the ground, dead. Her mouth was open and blood trickled out of it onto the ground. He sighed and walked to the car, watching Dean walk over to him with Alex in his arms. "Is she okay?" asked Sam. "Sammy, I'm fine. Dean just wouldn't let me walk." Sam chuckled and Dean set Alex down. They all climbed in the car and drove away.

Alex and Sam were packing up their clothes the next morning as Dean sat on his bed, staring off at nothing. Sam stopped packing and looked at Dean. "What's wrong?" Dean shook his head. "Nothin'." Sam looked at Alex, who sighed. She threw the shirt she had been holding into her bag and walked over to Dean. She took the gun he had been cleaning out of his hands and sat on his lap. Her butt was on his right knee and her feet were dangling off of his left knee. "What's wrong?" Dean looked at her. "We did the right thing here, didn't we?" "Of course we did," said Sam, sitting next to Dean. Alex's feet hovered over his lap. "Doesn't feel like it," said Dean. Dean looked at the floor and Alex looked at Sam. "Layla," she mouthed silently and Sam nodded. Alex kissed Dean's cheek and slid off of his lap. There was a knock at the door and Alex walked over to open it. Layla stood in the doorway. "Hey, Layla. C'mon in." Alex held the door open and Layla walked inside. She walked over to Dean, who was now standing. "Layla. How'd you know we were here?" he asked. "Sam called," said Layla, smiling at Sam. "Said you wanted to say goodbye." Alex smiled and hi-fived Sam. "Dean, we're gonna grab some sodas. C'mon, Sam." Alex grabbed Sam's arm and drug him out of the room. The door shut and Layla looked at Dean. "So where are you going?" asked Layla. "Don't know yet. Our work kinda takes us all over." "You know, I went back to see Roy." "What happened?" Layla sat on the bed next to Dean. "Nothing. He put his hands on my forehead and nothing happened." "I'm sorry." Layla smiled and faced him. "Suzanne is dead, you know. Stroke." "Yeah, I heard. Roy's a good man. He doesn't deserve what's happened." "Yeah. Well, I have to go. Goodbye, Dean." Layla patted the top of his hand and stood up, walking over to the door. She looked at him and smiled one last time before opening it and walking out. Dean sighed.


	16. Chapter 16

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 16

Sam spread out the map on the hood of the car at the gas station. Alex looked at it with him. Dean was standing by the trunk of the car, listening to a voicemail. "Okay. I think I've found a way to bypass the construction east of here. We might make it to Pennsylvania faster than we thought," said Sam. Dean shut his phone and walked over to his brother and sister. "Yeah. Problem is we're not going to Pennsylvania." "What?" "I just got a call from an old friend. Her father was killed last night. She thinks it might be our kind of thing." "What?" asked Sam. "Yeah. Believe me, she never would've called if she didn't need us," said Dean. He climbed in the car behind the wheel and Sam folded up the map, climbing in behind Alex. Once Dean had gotten on the road, Alex looked at him. "So by an old friend, you mean…" "A friend that isn't new." "Or a fuck buddy," said Alex. "Shut up," said Dean. "So what's her name?" asked Sam. "Cassie." "Well, you never mentioned her before." Alex leaned her head on the back of Sam's seat and looked at Dean. "Yeah, we went out," said Dean, his eyes never wavering from the road. Alex gasped. "You mean, you went out with someone? For more than one night?" she asked. Sam laughed and Dean finally looked at them. "Am I speaking a language you don't understand? Dad and I were working a job in Ohio. She was finishing college and we went out for a couple weeks." "And?" asked Sam. Dean said nothing and Alex sighed. "Look, it's terrible what happened to her dad. But, it sounds like a car accident which isn't what we do." Alex narrowed her eyes and looked at Dean. "Which, how does she know what we do?" Dean looked at the road, licking his lips and not responding. "You told her? Dean, what the fuck?" yelled Alex. "Dude, our big family rule number one. We do what we do and we shut up about it. For a year and a half, I lied to Jessica and you date this chick in Ohio and tell her everything? Dean!" yelled Sam. Alex smacked the side of Dean's head and fell back on the backseat. Sam shook his head and looked out his window. The trip went on in silence.

Alex and Sam climbed out of the car in silence, still angry with Dean. Dean sighed and led the way up the concrete steps to the main doors of the local town's newspaper office. Cool air hit Alex's arms as they stepped inside the lobby and she shivered. Sam sighed and grabbed the bottom of his sweatshirt, lifting it over his head. His shirt rode up with it, revealing his toned stomach and six pack abs. A woman strode past them and openly gaped at Sam's stomach. Alex noticed and smiled. "He's single, lady." The woman's face turned crimson and she swiftly walked into the elevator. Dean laughed and Sam shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. He handed Alex his sweatshirt and she slipped it over her head, the sweatshirt engulfing her petite frame. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed Sam's cheek. "Thanks, Sammy." He nodded and they followed Dean into the elevator to the second floor. They stepped out into an office space. Dean walked over to a petite, black woman. She had dark, curly hair and a heart-shaped face. Her eyes were a chocolate brown and she walked up to them, smiling. "Dean." "Hey, Cassie," said Dean. He smiled and Alex nudged Sam. He looked at Dean and Cassie smiling at one another and smiled himself. Dean shook his head and cleared his throat, looking back at his siblings. "These are the twins. That's Sam and Alex." Dean pointed each one of them out and they smiled. "Sorry about your dad," said Dean once the introductions were done. "Yeah. Me too," said Cassie. She smiled up at Dean and Alex smiled.

Cassie brought out four cups of coffee, handing a cup to each of the siblings and then sipping one herself. She sat across from them in a flowered armchair as Alex, Dean, and Sam sat on her couch. "My mom's a mess. She was worried about Dad." "Why?" asked Dean. "He was, uh, seeing things," answered Cassie, her gaze on the floor. "Like what?" "He swore he saw an awful looking black truck following him." "Who was the driver?" asked Alex, sipping her coffee. "He never said anything about the driver. He said it would appear and disappear. In the accident, Dad's truck was dented." "Are you sure the dent wasn't there before?" asked Sam. "There wasn't a scratch on it before." "And the first person killed was a friend of your dad's?" asked Dean. "Yeah, Clayton Stone. They owned the car dealership together. Same thing." Cassie's eyes filled with tears and she set down her coffee cup. "And you think this vanishing truck ran them off the road?" asked Sam. Cassie sighed and looked at them. "Look, I'm a little skeptical about this ghost stuff. Or whatever it is you all are into." Alex laughed and Sam and Dean chuckled. "Huh, skeptical. If I remember right, you said I was nuts," recalled Dean. Cassie looked at him. "That was then," she whispered. Dean nodded, unconvinced and Cassie rolled her eyes. "I just know that I can't explain what happened, so I called you. Suddenly, the door opened and everyone stood up. Cassie walked to the front door and disappeared for a while. A few minutes later, she led an older woman into the room. "Mom, this is Dean, a friend of mine from…" Cassie paused for a second, trying to decide how to describe her relationship with Dean. "A friend from college and his siblings, Alex and Sam." "Mrs. Robinson, we're sorry for your loss. We'd like to talk for a minute if you don't mind," said Dean. She glared at him and walked past him to the stairs, completely ignoring them.

The siblings were standing at the front desk of the motel, trying to get a room. It was 3 AM and Dean was arguing with the man behind the desk. "Buddy, we really need a room. Please." The clerk sighed and looked at Dean. "We don't have any rooms. Sorry." Dean sighed and continued arguing with him. Alex sighed and pulled Sam with her around the corner. She pulled off his sweatshirt and handed it back to him. "What are you doing?" asked Sam as he watched her rake her fingers through her hair. "Uh, getting us a room." She unbuttoned the first four buttons of her blouse and looked in the mirror hanging on the wall. Her cleavage was clearly visible if she leaned down at all and the top of her black, lacy bra could be seen clearly when she was standing up straight. "Alex, I don't like this. Dean won't either." "Shut it, Sam. Do you wanna sleep in a bed tonight?" Alex raised her brows and Sam sighed, looking at her. His arms were crossed across his chest and his sweatshirt was still in his hands from when Alex had handed it to him. He nodded and Alex smiled. "Alright." She walked back around the corner to see Dean staring the clerk down. She walked over to Dean and pushed him aside. She leaned over the desk slightly and the clerk, who was probably only 18 or 19 years old, let his eyes travel to her cleavage without trying to hide it. Dean glared and Sam held his arm so that he wouldn't attack the kid. "Hi. I'm Alex. You know, I really need a room to stay in tonight. I've been on the road for a long time and I know you have a room available, so if you could give me the keys, that would be really great." Alex reached her hand out and let her fingers ghost over the kid's cheek. The kid gulped and continued looking at her cleavage. "Um, we don't have any rooms available. I'm sorry." Alex sighed and stood up straight, her hand leaving the kid's face. "Oh, well. I guess I'll be leaving then." She turned around and swayed her hips, tormenting the kid even more. She looked at Sam and Dean, smirking as the kid called out to her. "Wait!" She turned back around and walked over to the kid. "We have the honeymoon suite available. You can stay in there." Alex smiled and took the key card out of the kid's hand. "Thanks." "Are you staying with those guys?" whispered the kid, nodding at Sam and Dean. Alex smiled. "Yep. They're my brothers." She stuck the key card in her pocket and followed her brothers out of the lobby.

The next morning, Sam and Dean were looking at their reflections in the motel room mirror that hung on the wall. Alex was hogging the bathroom mirror, the door open so that she could hear her brothers talking. "Well, I'll give Cassie this. She's fearless," said Sam. He grabbed his suit jacket from the bed and shrugged it on. He grabbed his and Dean's ties and walked back to the mirror, handing Dean one of the ties. Alex opened the bathroom door. "Yeah. I bet she kicked your ass more than once," said Alex as she left the bathroom. She sighed as Sam undid his tie, trying to get it right. "Let me do it." She grabbed his tie from his hands and tied it correctly, smoothing it down against his shirt when she was done. "What's interesting is that you never look at one another at the same time," said Sam. Dean glared at him and Sam threw up his hands in surrender. "It's just an observation." "I think we have more pressing issues," said Dean. He put on his suit jacket and walked out the door. "I think you hit a nerve, Sammy." Alex smiled and walked out the door with Sam behind her.

The Winchesters walked up to two men who were sitting at the end of the dock fishing. The men looked at them as they stood beside them. "Hi. We're with Mr. Anderson's insurance company. We were wondering if he'd seen anything unusual prior to his death, like visions or hallucinations," explained Sam. "What company did you say you were with?" asked one of the men. "All National Mutual. Did he ever mention seeing a big, black truck?" asked Dean. "Son, is this truck a scary lookin' thing?" asked the second man. Dean nodded. "I've heard of it. Back in the 60's, there was a string of deaths. Black men. Story goes, they disappeared in a big, black truck." "Did they catch the guy who did it?" asked Alex. "Never found him. Hell, I'm not sure they even looked." The siblings exchanged glances. "Thank you, gentlemen." The Winchesters walked back down the dock toward the car, stepping onto the parking lot. Alex walked in front of Sam and Dean and stopped. "The deaths are all connected to Cassie. Dean, you need to talk to her and finish your unfinished business with her." "Yeah. Dean, what's going on with you two?" asked Sam, pulling at his tie. Dean looked between the two of them. "Okay. So maybe we were more involved than I said. A lot more, maybe. And I told her the secret when I shouldn't have." Alex looked at Dean sympathetically. "Look, everyone's got to get close to someone," said Sam. "Yeah, I don't. I mean, look how it ended!" Dean threw up his hands in frustration. Alex looked at Dean, grinning. "You loved her. You loved her and then, you dumped her." Dean looked up at them, his eyebrows raised. "Oh, whoa. She dumped you!" said Alex, her hands on her face in surprise. Sam's eyebrows rose. "Get in the car. Get in the car!" yelled Dean, turning away from them. Alex looked at Dean's back sadly as she walked around to the other side of the car with Sam.

Dean glanced at his brother and sister sleeping on their bed. Alex was curled under Sam's left arm, her head resting on the crook of his elbow. Sam was turned into Alex, his right arm resting by her head. Dean smiled and quietly snuck out of the room.

Dean knocked on Cassie's front door lightly. Cassie answered and let him inside. "Are you busy?" asked Dean. "The paper's doing a tribute to Jimmy," answered Cassie. "It's gotta be tough." "Sometimes. Where are Alex and Sam?" "Uh, not here. Anyway, I'm trying to find a connection between all of the victims. By the way, did you talk to your mom about what the mayor said about not being racist?" "I did. She didn't wanna talk about it." "Right. So, why did you ask where my brother and sister were?" "Nothing." Cassie looked at her feet. "It wasn't important." "Could it be because with them, it's easier with me?" "It's not easier." "Alright, then we'll keep it strictly business." Dean walked over to Cassie's desk and sifted through the papers on top of it. Cassie stood in the middle of the room and rolled her eyes at Dean's back. "I forgot that you do that thing where when we get close, you shut the door on me," said Cassie, her arms folded across her chest. Dean sighed and threw the papers back on the desk. He walked over and stood a few feet from her. "I'm not the one that slammed the final door. I was totally up front with you back then." Cassie scoffed. "Yeah. The guy I'm hoping I might be with in my future tells me that he professionally pops ghosts and he has to leave to go work with his father! How does that sound to you, Dean?" "It was the truth, Cassie! It wasn't insane when you needed my help." "Well, back then, I thought you wanted to dump me," whispered Cassie. "Wow, let's not forget who dumped who, okay?" "I thought it was what you wanted! I didn't mean to hurt you. I'm sorry," said Cassie, looking up at Dean. "Yeah. Me too." Dean took a final step and kissed her. She shoved off his jacket and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Dean held her thighs as he carried her up the stairs. He gently laid her on the bed and took off his shirt. Cassie removed her own shirt and reached behind her, unsnapping her bra. She unzipped her jeans and kicked them off. Dean looked at her, standing in front of her in only his boxers. Cassie sat up and pulled his boxers down. Once they were off, Dean laid on top of Cassie and hooked his fingers in the sides of her underwear. He pulled them off and slid up her body, kissing her gently. "Condom?" he asked against her lips. Cassie nodded and reached over to her nightstand, opening the top drawer and pulling one out of the box. She handed it to Dean and he slid it on. He looked into Cassie's eyes as he slid into her, both of them moaning at the sensation.

Alex opened her eyes and looked around. She saw that the TV was still on, the volume down to the lowest possible setting. Leonardo DiCaprio was on the screen, talking to Kate Winslet. "Aah, Titanic," whispered Alex. She smiled and removed Sam's arm from behind her head. She sat up, swinging her legs around the edge of the bed and feeling the cold floor with her feet. She glanced at Dean's bed and smirked when she saw that it was empty. She looked at the alarm clock resting on the nightstand and saw that it was almost four in the morning. "Dean's getting laid." She smacked Sam and he sat up, reaching under his pillow and grabbing a knife. "What is it?" he asked, looking around for an intruder. "Nothing. Except Dean's gone," said Alex. Sam looked at Dean's bed and smiled. "That lucky fucker." Alex laughed. "Whatever. Go back to sleep. I'll sleep in Dean's bed tonight." "'Kay." Sam laid back down and was asleep within seconds. Alex got up and moved to Dean's bed, pulling the covers around herself and falling asleep quickly.

"We should fight more often," said Cassie. Her head was lying on Dean's chest and Dean had his arm around her. "Absolutely," said Dean. Cassie laughed. "Actually, we were always pretty good at fighting." "It's all the other stuff we weren't good at." "Hey, I tried. I told you who I really was and that's a big first for me." "Why did you tell me?" "I don't know. I guess I couldn't lie to you." Dean ran his hand up and down her side slowly. "Dean, you told me that story and it scared the hell outta me. I thought you were nuts. Dangerous, even. Maybe I was looking for a reason to walk away." Cassie took her head off of his chest and looked up at him. "In my work, I see some horrible things. Things that can't be explained. I deal with 'em. But workin' things out with you…" Dean trailed off and Cassie grinned. "I'm a scary one alright." Dean chuckled and Cassie rested her head back on his chest, sighing. "Well, usually things get worked out if you really want them to," said Cassie. "Yeah, but I'm still involved in my dad's work." "No more excuses, okay? For you or me." "Okay." Dean kissed her and was deepening the kiss when his phone rang. He separated from Cassie and leaned over, grabbing his phone from his jeans pocket on the floor. "Yeah?" Dean listened and his eyebrows rose. "You're kidding."

Dean walked up to the crime scene tape and crouched underneath it, walking towards his siblings. Alex nudged Sam when she saw Dean and they turned, grinning. "Hey, bro. Where were you last night? You didn't come back to the motel. I'm guessin' you worked things out with Cassie," said Alex. "What happened here?" asked Dean, ignoring Alex's questions and looking at the crime scene. "Bones crushed. Police are stumped. Looks like somethin' ran him over," said Sam. "Somethin' like a truck?" "Yep." "But the mayor's white." "Yeah, the killing didn't happen on the road either. It doesn't fit the pattern," said Alex.

Dean sat at Cassie's desk at the newspaper office. She walked over, handed him a cup of coffee, and sat next to him. "We need to find a connection between the killings in the 60's and now. There's not a lot in the paper," said Dean. "Not surprising. Probably minimal police work, too," grumbled Cassie. She looked at Dean as his phone rang and he answered. "Yeah?" "Okay. The courthouse records show that Mr. and Mrs. Mayor bought an abandoned property. The previous owner was the Dorian family for like, 150 years," said Alex. She popped her gum directly through the phone and Dean gritted his teeth. He turned to Cassie. "Didn't you say the Dorian family used to own this paper?" "Along with everything else around here." Dean typed something into the computer and then spoke to Alex through the phone. "Cyrus Dorian vanished April of 1963. The case was investigated, but never solved." "Well, Sam pulled up papers on the Dorian place. Must've been in bad shape when the mayor bought it." "Why's that?" "The first thing he did was bulldoze the place." "Mayor Todd knocked down the Dorian place?" asked Dean, looking at Cassie and holding the phone away from his mouth. Cassie nodded. He returned the phone to his ear. "You got a date?" "The third of last month." Dean typed the date into the computer and an article popped up immediately. "The first killing was the very next day," stated Dean.

Alex, Dean, and Sam were sitting in their motel room, relaxing. Alex was watching Final Destination 3 on TV and Sam was watching it with her as they laid on their bed. Dean looked over at the TV just as his phone rang. He grabbed it and flipped it open. "Hello?" "Dean, it's Cassie. Um, the truck was just at my house. Can you come over?" "Be right there." Dean snapped his phone shut and stood up. "We gotta go. Cassie just saw the truck."

Dean and Cassie sat on one couch together while Alex and Sam sat on the loveseat together. Cassie's mom was in the chair across from Cassie and Dean's couch. "Did you see the driver?" asked Dean. "There seemed to be no one," said Cassie. Sam nodded and looked at Mrs. Robinson. "Mrs. Robinson, Cassie said that your husband saw the truck before he died." Mrs. Robinson said nothing. "Look, your daughter could die. If you know something, now would be a good time to tell us about it," said Dean. "Yes, he said he saw a truck," said Mrs. Robinson. "Did he know whom it belonged to?" asked Alex. "He thought he did." "Who?" "Cyrus. A man named Cyrus." Alex looked at Dean, who pulled out the newspaper article he had printed out about Cyrus Dorian and unfolded it. "Is this Cyrus?" He handed the article to Mrs. Robinson. She took it, but never looked at it. She fidgeted with her necklace, looking down at the ground. "Cyrus Dorian died over forty years ago." Alex looked at her. "How do you know he died? The paper said he went missing." Mrs. Robinson said nothing. "How do you know he died?" pushed Alex. "We were all very young. I dated Cyrus awhile and Martin, in secret of course. When I broke it off with Cyrus, he found out about Martin. He changed. Oh, his hatred was frightening." "The string of murders," said Dean. "There were rumors. People of color disappearing into some kind of a truck. Nothing was ever done. Martin and I were gonna be married in that little church in town, but we decided to elope last minute." "And Cyrus?" asked Dean. "The day we were married was the day someone set fire to the church." Mrs. Robinson began to cry. "There was a children's choir practicing in there. They all died." Cassie shook her head sadly. "Did the attacks stop after that?" asked Sam. "No, there was one more. Cyrus beat Martin, but Martin got loose. Martin started hitting Cyrus and hitting him and hitting him." "Why didn't he call the cops?" asked Alex. "This was forty years ago. He called on Clayton and Jimmy and they put Cyrus' body in the truck. They rolled the truck into the swamp and they kept that secret all these years." "And now all three are gone," stated Sam. "And the mayor," said Alex. "Now, he said he was the last one to ask about being racist. Why would he say that?" asked Dean. "He was the deputy back then. Once he figured out what Martin had done, he did nothing," said Mrs. Robinson. "Why didn't you tell me?" asked Cassie. "I thought I was protecting the. And now, there's no one left to protect." "Yes, there is," said Dean. He looked at Cassie and Cassie grabbed her mother's hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

Sam and Alex leaned on the hood the Impala while Dean stood next to them. "Oh, my life was so simple. School, exams, papers on norms," said Sam. Dean leaned against the hood of the car with them, his hands in his jacket pockets. "I guess I saved you from boring." "I miss boring," sighed Sam. "Alright. So, this killer truck-" started Dean. Sam laughed. "I miss conversations that don't start with this killer truck." Alex laughed with Dean and Sam. "So, this Cyrus guy, when he died, the swamp became his tomb and the spirit became dormant," said Dean. "What woke it up?" asked Alex. "The construction on the Dorian house. Or the deconstruction," said Sam. "You know we're gonna have to dredge that body up from the swamp, right?" asked Dean. Sam nodded and Alex shivered in disgust. Cassie approached them and Dean stood up from the car. "Hey, my mom's asleep. Now what?" "Well, you stay put and watch her. We'll be back. Don't leave the house," said Dean. "Don't be demanding. I hate it." Alex and Sam grinned. "Don't leave the house, please?" Cassie smiled and Dean leaned in to kiss her. Alex made gagging noises while Sam coughed loudly. Dean held up a hand and Alex rolled her eyes. Dean finally pulled away and walked to his side of the car. Cassie walked away and Sam and Alex climbed into the car. "Oh, Dean. Kiss me," mocked Alex, making kissing noises in Dean's ear. "Shut it," said Dean. Alex and Sam laughed.

Dean got out of the machine that he had controlled to drag the truck out of the water once the truck was on solid ground. He walked over to Sam and Alex and looked at the old, disgusting truck. "Now I know what she sees in you," said Alex, never looking away from the truck. "What?" "C'mon, bro. Just admit it. You still love her," said Sam. "Can we focus please?" asked Dean.

Dean held the matches, Alex held the flashlight, and Sam had the gasoline can. Dean opened the truck door and pulled the decomposed body out of the front seat. Alex gagged at the smell and Sam poured the gasoline on the body, his hand covering his mouth as he poured it out. Dean poured some salt on the body as well and threw the matches on the body. "Think that'll do it?" asked Alex as she watched the body burn with her brothers. Suddenly, the truck started up by itself, shining its headlights on the siblings. "I guess not," said Dean. "So burning the body had no effect on the that thing?" asked Sam. "Sure it did. Now, it's really pissed," said Dean. He ran to the Impala. "Where are you going?" asked Sam. "For a ride. That rusted piece of shit, you gotta burn it." Dean threw a duffel bag at Alex. She caught it and watched Dean pull away. "How do we burn a truck?" asked Sam. Alex let out a breath and shrugged.

Sam looked through a map while Alex held the light above him. Her cell phone rang and she pulled it out, sandwiching it between her ear and her cheek as she continued holding the light for Sam. "Hey, you gotta give us a minute," said Alex. "I don't have a minute! What are we doing?" yelled Dean through the phone. "Uh, we'll get back to you." Alex hung up and dialed Cassie's number. "Cassie? It's Alex. Sam and I need some information and it has to be exactly right." Alex listened for a few minutes, Cassie giving her the information. "Thanks." Alex hung up and dialed Dean's number. "Dean? Where are you?" "I'm in the middle of nowhere with a killer truck on my ass!" "Dean, we have to know exactly where you are." "Decatur Road." "Okay. Up ahead, turn right. Then, turn left. Alright, go exactly seven tenths of a mile and stop." "Stop?" "Yeah, but it has to be exactly seven tenths, Dean." Alex waited, looking at Sam and biting her lip. "Dean, you still there? What's happening?" "It's staring at me. What do I do?" "Just what you are doing. Bringin' it to you." Alex heard the phone hit the passenger seat, but then heard nothing. "Dean? You still there? Dean!" "Where'd it go?" asked Dean. "Dean, you're where the church was," said Alex. "What church?" "The place Cyrus burned down. Murdered all those kids." "There's not a whole lot left." "Well, it's hallowed ground. When evil spirits pass over hallowed ground, they disappear. We thought maybe it would work." "Maybe? What if you were wrong?" "Huh. That thought honestly hadn't occurred to me or Sam." Alex hung up and sighed.

Cassie walked Dean to his car the next day. "My mother said to tell you thanks." Dean nodded. "Well, it's a better goodbye than last time," said Cassie. "Maybe this one won't be so permanent," said Dean. "Know what? I'm a realist. I don't see much hope for us, Dean." Dean nodded. "I've seen stranger things happen." "Goodbye, Dean." "I'll see you, Cassie. I will." She lightly pressed her lips to his and stepped back. Dean nodded and got in the car where Alex and Sam waited. He pulled away, Cassie waving.

"I like her," said Alex when Dean had been driving for about an hour. "Yeah, me too," said Sam. Dean looked at them and smiled.


	17. Chapter 17

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 17

Alex's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was 2:55 AM. She sighed and rubbed her forehead. She thought of the dream she had just had about some guy in Michigan. "I hate nightmares," muttered Alex to herself. She sighed and laid her head back down on her pillow. Her eyes had just shut again when she felt Sam sit up in bed beside her. She sat up too and watched as he kicked off his blankets and turned on his bedside lamp. Dean cringed at the light and turned onto his other side. Sam grabbed a duffel bag and began shoving clothes into it. "Sam, what are you doing?" asked Alex. "We have to go. Right now." Sam threw Alex her jacket and threw Dean's jacket on the foot of Dean's bed. Dean groaned. Alex sighed and watched Sam scramble around the room, throwing clothes and weapons into the duffel bag. He disappeared into the bathroom for a few seconds. He came back out carrying toothpaste and little shampoo bottles. He looked at Dean and Alex, who were still in their beds. "Let's go!" yelled Sam. He yanked the covers off of Dean's body. Dean gave Sam the finger and Alex stood up slowly, grabbing some of her clothes and throwing them in a pile on the bed. She sat next to Dean on the edge of his bed. "C'mon, Dean. Sammy wants to go somewhere. You won't let him touch your car, right?" At the mention of his car, Dean sat up swiftly. "Fuck no. Sam, don't touch my car!" Dean grabbed a pair of jeans off the back of a chair and entered the bathroom to change. Alex smiled and picked out her own clothes for the day.

Dean yawned as he drove, Sam in the passenger seat and Alex trying to go back to sleep in the backseat. Sam was on the phone and he told the man on the other end of the call to hurry up. Dean sighed. "Sammy, relax. I'm sure it was just a regular nightmare." "It felt different, real. Like when I dreamt about our old house. And Jessica." Alex bit her lip, thinking about the dreams she had had about Jessica and their old house. "Well, yeah. That makes sense. Our house, your girlfriend," said Dean. "Yeah. Why would you have dreams about some guy in Michigan?" asked Alex. "I don't know," said Sam, holding the phone back to his ear. He listened to the man on the other end and wrote down a name and address on a piece of paper. He hung up his phone and looked at Dean. "It checks out. How far are we?" "A couple hours," said Dean. Sam looked straight ahead out the window. "Drive faster."

Dean pulled up to the address that Sam had written down. They saw a crow forming, an ambulance, paramedics, and a body bag being zipped shut. Sam got out of the car as soon as it came to a stop. Alex and Dean followed him and they stood with the crowd. "What happened?" asked Dean. "Suicide. I can't believe it," said the woman beside him. "Did you know him?" asked Sam. "Saw him every Sunday at St. Augustine. He always seemed so normal. Guess you never know what's going on behind closed doors." "Guess not. How are they saying it happened?" asked Alex. "They found him in the garage. Locked inside his car with the engine running." "Do you know about what time?" "Oh, it just happened an hour or two ago. His poor family. I can't even imagine what they're going through." Sam glanced at the house and saw a woman sobbing on the front porch. He shook his head and walked away from the crowd over to the car. Alex and Dean followed him. "Sam, we got here as fast as we could," said Dean. "No, not fast enough. Why would I even have these premonitions if I couldn't save him?" "I don't know." Alex looked at Sam. "Sammy, I'm worried about you. I mean, we are twins and now you're having weird dreams? I'm worried." "C'mon, we'll pick this up in the morning. Talk to the family, look at the house," said Dean. He opened his car door. "Dean, the family is devastated. They won't wanna talk to us," said Alex. "Eh, you're right. So we'll have to find someone they will talk to." Alex sighed and climbed in the car.

Alex was lying on her bed the next morning, her head hanging off the edge of the bed. She laughed as Sam and Dean stepped out of the bathroom wearing priest uniforms. "Really? Priests?" Sam and Dean glared at her. "Just shut up. Now, salt the windows and doors when we leave, alright?" Alex nodded. She sat up and Sam and Dean kissed her forehead before they left, Alex locking the door behind them and grabbing the salt off of the table.

Sam stood on the front porch of the house with Dean. He rang the doorbell and then stepped back. "Man, this has to be a whole new low for us," said Sam. Dean smirked and watched as the door opened. A middle-aged man stood in the doorframe, looking at them. "Hello. I'm Father Simmons and this is Father Freely. We're the new junior priests over at St. Augustine's. May we come in?" asked Dean. The man nodded and stepped aside, letting them in. They followed him inside to a living room. "We're sorry for your loss. It's times like these when the Lord's guidance is most needed," said Dean. "Look, don't pitch that stuff to me. My brother's dead," said the man gruffly. "Roger," scolded a woman as she entered the room. The man shook his head and walked up the stairs as Sam and Dean turned to the woman. "I'm sorry for him. He's just really upset. Would you like some coffee?" "That'd be great," said Sam. The woman walked into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. Sam and Dean sat next to each other on the couch and waited for the woman to return. A few minutes later, she came in carrying two coffee mugs. She handed them each a mug and Sam and Dean took a sip from their mugs before setting them down on the coffee table in front of them. "It's so wonderful of you to stop by. The support of the church means so much." "Of course," said Sam. The woman sat across from them on the loveseat. "So. Ms. Miller, did your husband have a history of depression or anything?" asked Dean. "No. We had our ups and downs like everyone, but we were happy." Her eyes filled with tears, but she continued. "I just don't understand how Jim could do something like this." She cried harder. "I'm so sorry you had to find him like that," said Sam. "Actually, our son, Max, was the one that found him." Ms. Miller pointed to Max, who was in the kitchen. "Would you mind if I go talk to him?" asked Sam. Ms. Miller shook her head and Sam walked into the kitchen to talk to Max. Dean reached beside him and grabbed a Kleenex from the box, handing it to Ms. Miller. She took it from him. "You have a lovely home. How long have you lived here?" "We moved in about five years ago." "The only problem with these old houses… You probably have tons of headaches." "Like what?" "Weird leaks, electrical shortages." "No, nothing. It's been perfect." "Huh. May I use your restroom?" "Sure. It's just up the stairs to the right." Dean smiled and stood up, heading for the stairs.

Sam stood next to Max in the kitchen. "So, what was your dad like?" asked Sam. "Just a normal dad." "Yeah. And you live at home now?" "Um, yeah. I'm tryin' to save up for school, that's why." "So when you found your dad-" "I woke up, heard the engine running. I don't know why he did it." "I know it's rough. Losing a parent." Sam looked at Max, but Max didn't look at him.

Alex sighed and changed the channel on the TV. She sighed as she saw an episode of Boy Meets World that had been on earlier in the day. She turned the TV off and looked at the ceiling. It was white and looked like any other ceiling. Alex expelled a breath of air and flopped over onto her stomach, her chin resting on a pillow. She grabbed her phone from beside the pillow and scrolled down to her contact list. She stopped when she got to Kellan's name. She sighed, realizing she had never actually said goodbye to him. She hit the green call button and it dialed the number. She held the phone to her ear and listened to it ring.

Kellan sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Alex. His eyebrows knit together in confusion. It had been over a month since she had just up and left and Kellan had returned home. He flipped the phone open and held it to his ear. "Hello?" he said.

Alex bit her lip as she waited for Kellan to answer. "Hello?" said a gruff male voice on the other end of the call. Alex grinned and her stomach flopped. "Hello? Kellan?" "Yeah. Alex?" "Oh my God, how are you?" asked Alex. "I'm good. Still a little bitter that my maybe girlfriend just up and left without saying goodbye though." Alex sighed into the phone. "I'm sorry. My brothers came and it was an emergency. I had to go with them." "Yeah. Well, is there a reason you're calling? Something wrong?" "No, no. I just… wanted to hear your voice, I guess." "Well, I-" "Kellan, let's go!" said a feminine voice in the background. Alex's eyes became watery when she heard the voice. "Um, I'll just… let you go," said Alex. "Alex, no. It's-" Alex hung up the phone and threw it on her bed, screaming into her pillow.

Kellan sighed as he heard the call end. "Fuck!" He threw his phone against the wall and ran a hand through his hair. "Whoa, calm down, honey," said a woman who was cleaning mugs behind the bar. "I'm sorry, Ma. It was Alex, that girl I told you about? Remember?" The woman nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. "Anyway, when Bethany came in and told me it was time to go, Alex thought it was my girlfriend or something. She hung up on me." "Well, if it's meant to be, it'll happen," said the woman. Kellan nodded. He looked at the door to the bar as it opened, sunlight streaming in. "Kellan, let's go, man," said a guy that was Kellan's age. "I'm coming, Joe." Kellan grabbed his jacket from a bar stool and kissed the woman's cheek. "Be careful!" called the woman as Kellan and the guy named Joe walked out the door.

Sam was sitting at the table, looking for information on his laptop while Dean and Alex sat on the bed. Dean was cleaning one of his guns while Alex sat next to him, moping. "So what do you have?" asked Dean. "A whole lotta nothin'. Nothing bad has happened in the Miller house since it was built," said Sam. "What about the land?" asked Alex. "No graveyards, tribal lands, battlefields. Nothin'." Sam shut his laptop and walked over to them, sitting next to Alex. Alex began rubbing his back. Dean put his gun back together. "Hey, I told you I searched that house up and down. There were no cold spots, no sulfur scent, nada." He set his clean gun aside and reached down, grabbing a different one from his duffel bag. "So you think Jim Miller killed himself and Sam's dream was some freakish coincidence?" "I don't know." Alex continued rubbing Sam's back as she saw visions of some guy in her head. She sighed, realizing she was having one of her freaky dreams like Sam and knew that Sam's was coming soon. "Yeah, well. Maybe it's, uh… connected to Jim in some other way," said Sam, grabbing his head and closing his eyes. "What's wrong? Your back is really tense," said Alex. She removed her hand from Sam's back as he fell to his knees on the ground, Alex crouching in front of him. She grabbed his arms and Dean crouched down next to her. "Sam, talk to me!" cried Alex. Sam looked at her. "It's happening again. Somethin's gonna kill Roger Miller."

Dean drove the car as fast as he could to Roger's apartment. Alex was in the backseat and Sam was in the passenger seat, his face pale. He was talking slowly and quietly. "Are you gonna be okay? If you're gonna hurl, I'll pull the car over," said Dean. Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. Just drive." After a few minutes, Alex looked at Dean. "I'm scared, Dean. I mean, the nightmares were bad enough and now Sam's seeing things when he's awake. And it seems painful." "He'll be fine, sis." "What is it about the Millers anyway? Why am I connected to them? Why the hell is this happening to me?" asked Sam. Alex bit her lip, ready to tell them about her own visions, but Dean spoke first. "I don't know, but we'll figure it out. We face the unexplainable every day. This is just another thing." "It's never been one of us before. Doesn't it freak you out?" asked Alex. Dean looked at the road and shook his head.

They climbed up the fire escape and glanced up at Roger's window every few seconds. They got to the top and looked at the window to see that it was covered in blood. Sam sighed and Dean handed him a rag. "Start wipin' down your fingerprints. Go, go." Sam began wiping down their prints, Alex behind him as Dean entered the apartment.

"There was nothin', just like at the Miller house," said Dean as they walked back to the car. "I saw a dark shape in my vision," said Sam. "Maybe it's a vengeful spirit," said Alex. They all entered the car and Dean started it up, pulling away and getting back on the road. "Do you think Max is in trouble then?" asked Alex. "Well, I know one thing we have in common with this family. Our families are cursed," said Sam. "Our family is not cursed. We just have our dark spots," said Dean. Alex laughed. "Our dark spots are pretty dark," said Sam. Dean sighed and stepped on the accelerator.

Sam and Dean were dressed in their priest getups, talking to Max at the Miller home. "People kept coming over and bringing casseroles. I finally had to tell them to stop." Max sat down in a dining room chair and Dean and Sam did also. "How you holding up?" asked Sam. "Okay." "Your dad and your uncle were close," said Dean. "Yeah, I guess. I mean, they were brothers. Used to hang out all the time when I was little." "But not much lately?" "No, it's not that. It's just, we used to be neighbors when I was a kid. We lived across town." "So how was it in the house when you were a kid?" "Fine. Why?" "All good memories?" asked Dean. "Yeah. We were totally normal. Happy," said Max. "Good. That's good."

Alex sighed as her phone rang again. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Kellan calling her for the third time in the last hour. "Ugh!" She opened her phone and put it to her ear. "Hello?" "Alex? Listen, I need to expla-" "No, I understand. You've moved on. Now, can you stop calling me?" "No. I want to explain." "Please, Kellan. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Please, just leave me alone." Kellan sighed. "Fine. I'll stop calling." "Thank you. Goodbye, Kellan." "Bye, Alex." Alex hung up and threw her phone on the bed.

Kellan hung up his phone and stuffed it in his jean pocket. "Who was that?" asked Bethany, hanging out the car window. "This girl that I like. We had a thing and then she just up and left. Now, she won't talk to me cause she thinks I've moved on." "Oh. That totally blows." Kellan nodded and removed the gas pump from the gas tank. "Y'all ready to go?" asked Joe, stepping out of the convenience store and over to the car. "Yeah. Let's go." Kellan climbed in the car and Joe took off.

Alex stood in between Sam and Dean as they talked to one of the Millers' old neighbors. "How long have you lived here?" asked Sam. "A few years. Why? You lookin' to buy?" "No, we were just wondering if you might recall a family that used to live across the street, I believe," said Dean. "Yeah, the Millers and a little boy named Max," said Alex. The man's face turned sad as he talked. "Yeah, I remember. So, what's this about? The kid okay?" "What do you mean?" asked Sam. "I've never seen a kid treated liked that. I'd hear Miller yellin' from across the street. He was a mean drunk and he used to beat the tar outta Max. Bruises, broke his arm two times." Alex shuddered as a headache came on and a vision started. She glanced at Sam, who was holding his head. "And this happened regularly?" asked Dean. "Practically every day. The brother was just as likely to take a swing at Max, but the worst was the step mom. She did nothing." Dean asked the man another question, but Alex didn't notice as she recovered from her headache. "Thank you for your time," said Dean. He shook the man's hand and grabbed Sam's arm, leading him to the car. "Sammy, look at me," said Alex.

"Max is doing it. Everything I've been seeing," explained Sam as Dean drove well over the speed limit. "How's he been pullin' it off?" asked Dean. "Telekinesis." "So this whole time you've been connecting to Max?" asked Alex. "I guess." Sam shrugged. Dean parked the car on the curb right outside the Miller house. He grabbed a gun from the backseat and stuck it in his waistband. Alex and Sam did the same and they all ran for the house.

Dean pushed open the front door of the Miller house and rushed inside with Alex and Sam. They ran into the kitchen to see Max talking to his step mom. "Fathers?" asked Mrs. Miller. "Max, can we talk to you for a minute?" asked Sam. Max looked to his mom, who nodded. Dean led the way back out to the living room, Max behind him. When they passed by a mirror hanging in the hallway, Max glanced at it and saw Dean's gun in the waistband of his jeans. Max used his telekinesis and slammed the front door shut with his mind. Dean whirled around to face him as Max closed the blinds. Dean pulled his gun out, but Max took it from him. Sam and Alex were behind Max and they looked at Dean. Max flung his stepmother into the kitchen and she flew through the air, hitting the corner of the counter with the back of her head. "Max, calm down. We just wanna talk, please. Just hear me out," pleaded Sam. Max turned to Sam. "Five minutes." Sam nodded and they took a seat in the living room. Alex and Dean ran into the kitchen, helping Mrs. Miller stand up and they walked upstairs.

Max sat on a loveseat across from Sam, who was sitting on the couch. Max was using his telekinesis abilities to spin a letter opener around on the coffee table as Sam talked. "Max, this has to stop. You need to let your step mom go." "Why?" "Did she beat you?" "No, but she never tried to save me." "Look. What they did to you growing up. They deserve to be punished." Max stopped spinning the letter opener and it clattered on the table's surface. He looked up at Sam. "Growing up? Try last week." Max stood up and lifted up his shirt to reveal a purple and black bruise. It went all the way up his right side. Sam winced. Max sat back down. "I'm sorry," said Sam. "My dad blamed me for everything. His job, my mom's death." "Why would he blame you for her death?" "Because she died in my nursery while I was asleep in my crib. As if that makes it my fault." "She died in your nursery?" "Yeah. There was a fire and he said she died in some insane way. He said she burned up, pinned to the ceiling." Sam's eyes widened and he leaned forward toward Max. "Max, that happened to my mom too. Exactly the same. My nursery, my crib. My dad saw her on the ceiling. The only difference is that I have a twin." "Your dad must have been as drunk as mine." "No, the same thing killed our mothers." "That's impossible." "Did your abilities start six months ago?" Max nodded hesitantly. "For some reason, you and I are chosen," said Sam. "For what?" "I don't know. But, my brother, my sister, and I are hunting for your mom's killer. We could find answers, but you gotta let us go, Max. You gotta let your stepmother go." "No. I have nightmares about what they did to me." Max stood up and began heading for the stairs, but Sam ran in front of him. "The nightmares won't end, Max." "I'm sorry," said Max. He used his abilities and flung Sam across the room into a coat closet. He moved the dresser in front of the doors so that Sam could not get out. He walked up the stairs, Sam banging on the closet doors.

Sam grabbed his head as he saw a vision. _Max was in the bedroom with Dean, Alex, and Mrs. Miller. Max grabbed the gun that he had taken from Dean earlier and held it up to Mrs. Miller's head. Dean stepped in front of her and Max pulled the trigger, Dean falling to the ground as Max shot him in the head. Alex screamed as she watched Dean fall. _"No!" cried Sam. He pushed on the closet doors and they opened easily. Sam ran up the stairs.

Alex gasped quietly as she saw the vision of Dean getting shot. She listened as Max tramped up the stairs and opened the bedroom door. Dean pushed Alex behind him and went to stand in front of Mrs. Miller as Max aimed the gun. Suddenly, Sam burst into the room. "Max, please don't. We can help you. But what you're doing isn't gonna fix anything," said Sam, his eyes trained on Max's face. "You're right," said Max. He pointed the gun at himself and pulled the trigger. Alex flinched as the gun went off and blood spattered onto her shirt.

Alex folded one of her shirts and set it in her duffel bag. She watched as Sam and Dean did the same with their clothes. "Hey, I've been thinking," said Sam. "Oh no. That's not good," said Alex. "Why did the demon kill Mom and Jess and Max's mom?" "I have no idea," said Dean. He folded another one of his shirts and put it in his bag. "Do you think it was after me and Max?" Dean and Alex stopped packing and they looked at Sam. "I mean, we both had abilities. Maybe it was after us for some reason." "Sam. If it wanted you, it would've taken you," said Dean. "Yeah, it's not about you," said Alex. "Then what is it about?" "It's about that damn thing that did this to our family. The thing that we're gonna find and kill. That's it," said Dean. "Alright, but there's something else too," said Sam. "Oh, Jesus. What?" asked Dean. "When Max locked me in that closet, he put a huge dresser in front of it. I moved it. Like… Max." "I'm sure it won't happen again," said Dean. He turned to his bag and zipped it closed. He shrugged on his jacket and headed for the car. Alex zipped her own bag closed and stepped over to Sam. He was packing and wouldn't look at her. Alex touched his arm as he set a pair of jeans in his bag. He sighed and turned to her. Alex wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. Sam rested his chin on the top of her head. "You'll never turn into Max. You have me and Dean and nothing bad will ever happen." Alex leaned up on her toes and kissed Sam's cheek. Sam smiled and Alex stepped out of his hold. She grabbed her duffel bag and head to the car where Dean was waiting. Sam took one last glance around the room and shut the door before climbing into the car with Alex and Dean.

_Alex watched as Max turned the gun on himself and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and Max's blood spattered onto her shirt. _Alex opened her eyes and shot up. She took in her surroundings and found that she was in the backseat of the car. Dean looked at her through the rearview mirror. "Alex, what's wrong?" Sam looked at her over his shoulder. "I keep seeing Max blow his brains out and I can't sleep." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, lying back down on the seat. "Do you want me to come back there?" asked Sam. Alex nodded and Sam unbuckled his seatbelt. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into the backseat over the center console. He laid behind Alex and wrapped his arm around her waist. Alex closed her eyes and Sam did too. Dean glanced at them in the mirror and smiled.


	18. Chapter 18

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 18

Dean opened the motel room door, his duffel bag slung over his left shoulder. He held the door open and watched as Sam entered the room with Alex in his arms. She was asleep and Sam was carrying her with her legs hanging over his left arm and her head resting in the crook of his right arm. He laid her on one of the beds and slipped off her shoes. He pulled the covers over her body and leaned down, kissing her forehead. "Alright. We have to go investigate this job. We'll leave her a note. She'll be fine," said Dean. Sam nodded and Dean threw him a state police uniform to put on. Sam caught it one handed and threw it on. Dean wrote Alex a note explaining where they went and he and Sam headed out the door.

"Look, I know you're just doing your job, but the police have been here all week. The more he tells the story, the more he believes it's true," said the mom of the kid Dean and Sam needed to talk to about their landlord's disappearance. "We know you spoke to the local police, but this seems more like a state police problem, so…" said Dean. "Just tell us what you saw, Evan," said Sam to the little boy. "I was up late watching TV. I heard this noise, like a monster." "Tell the officers what you were watching," said the mom. "Um… Godzilla. Anyway, I saw something grab Mr. Jennings and pull him underneath the car." "Okay. Thanks for your time," said Sam. He and Dean left and headed back to the motel.

Alex woke up and sat up. She looked at the nightstand beside the bed and saw a piece of paper resting atop it. She grabbed it and looked it over. It read: _Alex, gone out to investigate. We thought you might need the sleep. Love, Sam and Dean. _Alex smiled and set the note back on the nightstand. She got out of bed and headed over to the counter to make coffee. As she started the coffeepot, the door opened and Sam and Dean entered. "Alex, you're awake!" said Dean. Alex nodded and Sam smiled. "Good. We're going to the bar later so we can relax. I'm gonna shower." Dean headed for the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Dean grabbed three beers from the bartender and headed over to where Sam and Alex were sitting. He set a beer down in front of each of them and took a sip of his own beer as he sat down across from them. "So the local police have not ruled out foul play," said Sam. "Maybe it's just a kidnapping. Not our kind of thing," said Dean. "Yeah, except Dad marked the area. Maybe we should ask around more tomorrow," said Alex. "Okay. Alex and Sam, you two head out to the car. I gotta pee. I'll meet you out there." Dean headed for the bathrooms. "Me too. See you out there." Sam followed Dean and Alex headed outside to the car.

Alex stood by the car, waiting for Dean and Sam to come outside and unlock it. She held their dad's journal under her arm and looked around the parking lot. There was a rustling noise and Alex's brow furrowed in confusion. She took out a flashlight from her jacket pocket and bent down to look under the car. She saw nothing and stood back up, sticking her flashlight back in her pocket. She walked to the back of the car and set their dad's journal on the trunk. Suddenly, the rustling noise happened again and Alex was yanked under the car.

Dean and Sam walked outside and headed for the Impala. "Whoa, where's Alex?" asked Dean. He looked around the parking lot, but didn't see her anywhere. Sam saw their dad's journal resting on the trunk of the car. "Alex!" called Dean. There was no answer. "Shit. She's gone," said Sam.

"What can I do for you, officers?" asked the woman officer behind the desk at the police station. "We're working a missing person. It's our cousin. We were having a few drinks last night at this bar and we haven't seen her since," said Dean. "Does your cousin have a drinking problem?" "Alex? Nah, she wasn't drunk. She was taken," said Sam. "Alright. Have a seat." The woman sat down at her desk and Sam and Dean sat down in the chairs across from her desk. "Name?" asked the woman as she opened something on her computer. "Winchester, Alex Winchester." The woman typed the name into her computer, but found nothing. "Well, there's no reports." "We already have a lead. See, there's a camera by the bar that we saw," said Dean. "Yeah. Why don't you fill out a missing persons report and then we'll check out the camera footage," said the woman. Dean nodded and she handed him a sheet of paper to fill out.

Alex's eyes fluttered open. She sat up slowly, rubbing her head. She looked around and found that she was locked in a large cage. She stood up and grabbed the sides of the cage to open it, but it didn't budge. Alex sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

The woman officer walked up to Sam and Dean, who were sitting on a park bench. She handed them the papers that were in her hand. "Here are the camera photos," she said. Dean flipped through them thoroughly, but swiftly. He noticed an old, rusted van in the photos. He pointed to it and looked at the woman. "That's taken around the time Alex vanished. Whoever has that thing has to be involved."

Alex was hanging onto the bars that made up the top of her cage. She swung herself forward, kicking at the metal door of the cage. It didn't budge. She tried a few more times with no success. She let go and landed on her feet. She sat down and looked at the man in the cage across from her own. He was sitting up, looking at her. "Hey, you okay?" asked Alex. "Does it look like I'm doin' okay?" asked the man, glaring. Alex scoffed. "Whatever. Where are we?" "I don't know. I think the country." "You're Robert Jenkins' aren't you?" "Yeah." "Well, my brothers are lookin' for us." "Yeah, well. They're never gonna find us. We're in the middle of nowhere, waitin' for them to come back." "What are they?" asked Alex. "See for yourself." The door swung open and two men with bags over their heads entered the room. The bags had slits for the eyes and the mouth so that they could see and breathe. They pulled a lever and the cage doors opened. They slid a plate of food into each cage and shut the cage door, heading back out of the basement. "I'll be damned. They're just people," said Alex, grimacing at the moldy bread and nasty smelling soup in front of her. "Yeah, what'd you expect?" asked Robert. He grabbed his spoon and began hungrily slurping down the soup while Alex pushed her plate away into the corner.

The woman cop was driving as Sam sat in the backseat and Dean sat in the passenger seat of the squad car. They were driving down the highway. "So. I ran both of your badge numbers. It's routine and uh, it says your badges were stolen. There's also pictures of you two." Sam sighed as the woman pulled the car over to the side of the road. She put it in park and looked between them. "Look, you can arrest us and we'll cooperate. But please, let us find Alex," pleaded Dean. "Look, I don't know who you are or if this Alex person even is missing." "Please, she's our family. We have to find her," said Sam. "I have to take you in," said the cop. Dean hung his head and she sighed, closing her eyes. "After we find Alex Winchester." Sam grinned.

Alex stood up and looked at her surroundings. She saw a chain hanging from the top of her cage so she pulled on it. A loud creaking noise was heard as Robert's cage was opened. He stepped out of the cage and looked at her. "Hey, I think you should get back in there," said Alex. "What? No, I'm gonna get outta here and get help. I'll be back." Robert silently tiptoed across the room to the door that led outside. He pushed it open, gave Alex a wave with a flick of his fingers, and stepped outside, the door slamming closed behind him. Alex bit her lip and looked at the ground. She was kicking the dirt with the toe of her shoe when a shrill scream pierced the night. Her head snapped up and she looked at the door through which Robert Jenkins had gone through only a few minutes before. Alex continued biting her lip as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Why are you helping us out?" asked Sam as the woman officer turned onto a back road. "My brother, Riley, disappeared three years ago and we never found him. We searched and searched, but nothing came up." Sam nodded. The officer stopped the car at a turnoff. "You two stay here." She stepped out of the car, Sam and Dean getting out along with her. "Kathleen, please. She's our family," said Dean. "Don't get involved. Let me handle it," said Kathleen. She shook Dean's hand and quickly grabbed her handcuffs, slapping one on his wrist. "Are you kidding me?" asked Dean. She shook her head and attached the other cuff to the car's antenna. "You're next," she said to Sam. Sam sighed, but held out his wrists and allowed himself to be handcuffed to the car.

Once Kathleen was well out of sight in the trees, Sam used his hand that wasn't cuffed to the car to grab a paperclip out of his pocket. He jiggled it around for a while on the cuff, but eventually managed to free his hand. "I gotta start carrying paperclips," said Dean as Sam undid Dean's cuff. Sam nodded and they ran into the woods.

Alex watched as the woman in the police uniform that had been put into Robert Jenkins's old cage awoke. "You alright?" asked Alex. The woman looked at her, recognition lighting up her face. "Hey, you're Alex Winchester, right?" "Yeah, that's me." "Your cousins are looking for you." Alex let out a breath. "Oh, thank God. Where are they?" "Uh, I cuffed them to my car." Alex sighed and muttered, "Fuck" under her breath. Kathleen and Alex both whipped their heads to look at the door as it swung open. Alex held her breath as she saw two large men enter the room. Her head cocked to the side in confusion when she saw that their faces were uncovered. She grinned when she saw Sam and Dean. They rushed toward her and Alex wrapped her hands around the bars of her cage. "Alex! Are you hurt?" asked Dean. "No." She watched as Dean inspected the lock on the cage. "These locks look like they're gonna be a bitch." "There's a lever to open it over there." Alex pointed to the lever by Kathleen's cage. Sam rushed over and pulled on it, but nothing happened. "Alright, this thing needs a key. We're gonna find it," said Sam. "Be careful," said Alex as she watched them leave.

Sam and Dean walked up the old stairs to the second floor of the house. Music was playing from an old record player and a man was working on something over the kitchen sink, his back to them. Dean nudged Sam and pointed to the keys that were sitting on an end table by the couch. They rushed over and grabbed the key ring. They turned around and jumped back when they saw the little girl that was in front of them. She smiled at them. "Daddy!" Suddenly, the man from the kitchen came rushing out to the living room, two other men coming from down the hall. One elbowed Sam in the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Dean looked at the people surrounding him. Dean kicked the one that was behind him in the stomach and kicked the other one to the side of him in the gut. They hunched over and Dean turned to face them. He brought his fist back to punch one in the nose when the oldest man, the dad, hit him over the head with a baseball bat. Dean slumped to the floor as blackness surrounded him.

Sam and Dean awoke around the same time. They looked around them to see the family surrounding them. Dean and Sam were tied to chairs with rope. "Alright, you two. You pick who we hunt tonight. The cop or the young girl," said the dad. Dean looked at Sam, who shrugged. "The girl, the girl," said Dean. The dad smirked and turned to one of his sons. He handed the son a key. "Shoot her in the cage." "What? I thought you were gonna hunt her!" yelled Sam as he watched the son walk down the steps. The man laughed.

Alex watched as the man opened her cage, grinning the whole time. He aimed the shotgun at her. "What are you doing?" asked Kathleen. The man turned to look at Kathleen and Alex took advantage of the situation. She rushed the man, knocking him to the ground. The gun clattered to the floor and Alex grabbed it as she sat atop the man. She hit the man in the head with the butt of the gun, knocking him out. She grabbed his feet and dragged him further into her cage. Once he was in far enough, she grabbed the key and shut and locked the cage door. She stuck the key in her pocket and walked over to the lever, unlocking it and pulling it to let Kathleen out. Once they were both out, Alex ran over to the electrical box and pulled out all of the wires, causing the power in the whole house to go out. She grabbed Kathleen's hand and they ran through a door that led to the barn.

Alex and Kathleen watched from their hiding place as the dad and the other son ran into the dark barn. Kathleen skittered to the other side and the son followed her. He shot, but missed. Alex stood up from her crouched position and the dad aimed at her, shooting. Alex dropped to the floor and rolled across the ground, out of sight. Kathleen approached the son secretly from behind and jumped on his back. Alex wrestled the dad for his when he found her and she jumped up, punching him in the nose. He grabbed his nose and Alex ran across the barn to see Kathleen on the ground. "Hey!" called Alex. The son turned and shot at Alex, who ducked. The bullet went past Alex and hit the dad in the shoulder. The dad grabbed his shoulder in pain, falling to his knees and Kathleen punched the son, knocking him out. She ran upstairs as Kathleen drug the son into the other cage.

After Alex had wrestled the little girl into the coat closet, Alex untied Sam and then Dean. Dean grabbed her and hugged her fiercely. "Can't. Breathe," said Alex. Dean let her go and they followed Sam out the front door. Kathleen was waiting for them and they all walked away from the house and down the road.

They got to the turnoff where the cop car was. "The police are gonna be here soon. I suggest you get moving," said Kathleen. "Thanks. I'm sorry about your brother," said Dean. "Yeah, me too." They waved at Kathleen and walked down the road. Sam threw his arm over Alex's shoulders. "Don't ever vanish like that again," said Dean. "Alright, I'll try. Promise," said Alex. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Dean smiled as they headed off down the road on foot.


	19. Chapter 19

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 19

Dean drove into Chicago, rain pounding on the windshield. He glanced at Sam, who was asleep. His head was leaning against the window and his mouth was wide open. Dean smiled and looked in the rearview mirror at Alex. She was also asleep, curled up into a ball on the backseat. Her head was resting on one of Sam's sweatshirts as a pillow and Dean turned his attention back to the road and the rain. He began looking for a motel.

The next morning, Sam, Alex, and Dean were dressed up as maintenance people. They entered the apartment building where the victim that they were curious about had been killed. They walked up to the front desk. "Hi. We're with the alarm company. We wanted to inspect the murder victim's apartment," said Alex. "Follow me," said the woman landlord behind the front desk.

"You said you're with the alarm company?" asked the landlord as they all walked down the hall. "Yes m'am," said Dean. The landlord opened the apartment door and they filed inside. "We're here to see what went wrong," said Sam. He and Dean began walking around the apartment's perimeter while Alex continued talking to the landlord. "You found the body right after it happened?" asked Alex. "No, I found it a few days later. Meredith's boss called. She hadn't shown up. I knocked on the door. That's when I noticed the smell." The woman's forehead wrinkled as she recalled the memory. "Any windows open?" asked Alex. "No, nothin'. Everything was in perfect condition. Except Meredith." "What condition was Meredith in?" "She was… all over, in pieces. I'd tell you, if I didn't know better, I'd say a wild animal did it." "M'am, do you mind if we look around a little bit?" asked Alex. "Knock yourself out." The landlord left and Dean took out his EMF, which lit up and went crazy right away. "I think we're dealing with a spirit," said Sam. Alex looked at the bloodstains on the beige carpet, tilting her head in thought as she looked. "Hey, see if there's any masking tape," she said. Sam walked into the kitchen and opened a drawer, grabbing the black tape from the drawer. He walked back into the living room area and handed Alex the tape. She bent down and began pulling out the tape and connecting the bloodstains as Sam and Dean watched silently. She stood up after a few minutes and looked down at the symbol she had created. "Ever seen that symbol before?" asked Dean. "No, never," answered Sam and Alex.

Sam held open the door for Alex. She stepped inside, the stench of smoke overwhelming. Sam stepped in behind her, the door swinging shut behind him. They walked forward into the bar, scanning the place for Dean. Sam saw him first, tapping Alex on the shoulder. He pointed and Alex rolled her eyes as she saw Dean flirting with the bartender. She led Sam to a table in the middle of the place, sitting down. Sam sat across from her and reached into his pocket, pulling out the article about Meredith's death. Alex watched as Dean walked away from the bar and joined them at the table. "So I just talked to the bartender." "Did you get anything besides her number?" asked Alex. Sam chuckled. "I'm a professional and I'm offended that you would think that," said Dean. He looked at their faces and grinned. "Okay, fine." He took a napkin out of his pocket and set it on the table. "Can you use your upstairs brain a little bit more?" asked Alex. "Look, there's nothing to find out about Mered… Sam, what are you doing?" asked Dean, watching as Sam got out of his seat and walked up to a petite, blonde woman. He looked at Alex, who shrugged. Dean sighed and followed Sam, Alex behind him.

Sam tapped the girl on the shoulder and she turned around, her drink in her hand almost spilling. She looked up at him and smiled. "Sam? What are you doing here?" She reached up and hugged him, Dean and Alex exchanging confused glances behind Sam. "I'm just in town visiting some friends. What about you, Meg? I thought you were goin' to California." "I did. The whole scene got old, so I'm living here for a while." Sam smiled and turned to his siblings. "Uh, this is my brother, Dean, and my twin sister, Alex." Dean smiled and Alex looked Meg over. Meg shook both of their hands. "So…" began Dean. Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed Dean's sleeve, pulling him over to the bar.

A few minutes later, Sam joined them at the bar. "Alright, let's head out," said Dean. They walked outside, heading for the car. "Who was that?" asked Alex. "I don't know. Some girl I met once," said Sam, his hands in his jacket pockets. "Well, I think there's somethin' weird with her. I mean, you met once and now she's here?" said Alex. "I agree. Why don't you two check and see if there is a Meg Masters and I'll keep an eye on Meg," said Sam. "Alright, you little pervert," said Dean. Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes. Dean laughed and led Alex down the sidewalk while Sam got in the car and followed Meg.

Alex and Dean were in their motel room, sitting at the table. Dean was on the laptop while Alex flipped through some books, looking for the symbol they had seen at the apartment. "Hey man, she checks out," said Dean, who was on the phone with Sam. "Okay. What about the symbol?" asked Sam. Dean looked at Alex, who motioned for the phone. Dean handed it to her and she began talking. "Um, it's very old school, like before Christ. It's used to summon a demon of darkness." "So someone's controlling it?" "Yeah, that's what I'm sayin'. Here's Dean." Alex handed the phone back to her oldest brother. "So someone really knows their stuff," said Sam. "Yeah. Now, why don't you go give that girl a private stripogram?" asked Dean. "Bite me," said Sam. "No, bite her." Dean laughed as he hung up his phone. He threw it on the table and leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head. "Why are you so immature?" asked Alex. "Just the way I am, Lex. Deal with it." Alex rolled her eyes as Dean leaned back too far in his chair and fell flat on the floor. She stood up and laughed, going to her bed and pulling out her I-pod. She put her headphones in her ears and flopped down on the bed, closing her eyes. Dean got up and flopped down next to her on the bed. "I hope we figure this out soon. That Meg chick is not right," said Alex. "Agreed."

Sam sunk down lower in his seat in the car as he watched Meg pass by on foot. Once she was far enough away where she wouldn't see or hear him, Sam got out of the car and followed her. They walked a few blocks to an abandoned warehouse. His eyebrows rose, but he went inside, entering a broken-down elevator shaft. He climbed up the elevator shaft to the top. Once he was at the top, he looked out into the room there. Meg was standing at a table that held many different objects. She grabbed a cup that was full of some sort of liquid and began speaking to it. "Yes, sir. I'll be here, waiting for you." She set the cup down and leaned forward, blowing out the four candles that were on the table. She inspected the room and then left, never laying eyes on Sam. Once she was gone, Sam climbed out of the elevator shaft and walked up to the table that Meg had been standing at. He looked into the cup and saw that it was full of blood. He also saw the symbol that they had seen in Meredith's apartment drawn on a piece of paper. It was drawn in blood. "What the hell?"

Alex sat up as the motel room door swung open. Sam entered the room. He relayed everything that he had seen in the room. "So Meg is summoning the demon," stated Alex. "Yeah. And someone is coming to that warehouse," said Sam. "Holy shit. Look at this," said Dean. Sam and Alex walked over to him at the table and looked at the papers he was holding. "Meredith's from Lawrence, Kansas and so was the first victim," said Dean. "Okay. We gotta stake out the warehouse," said Sam. "Yeah, but we shouldn't do this alone," said Alex. "Call Dad," said Sam and Dean at the same time. "Yeah, but will he answer?" asked Alex. Dean looked at her. "Why do you doubt the man so much?" "I don't. It's just… Dean, how many times have you called him when we've needed help in the past few months and he hasn't answered? Or called back?" Dean sighed. "I guess you're right. But we still have to believe in him. We're a family." "Right," said Sam. Alex nodded and smiled slightly.

That night, Sam, Dean, and Alex were at the warehouse. Light was streaming out of the top floor window so they quietly headed inside and began climbing up the elevator shaft. Alex climbed in first, Sam and Dean right behind. When she reached the top, she quietly hitched her leg onto the floor and pulled herself up into the room. Meg was standing at the table and Alex kept her eyes on Meg's back as Sam and Dean climbed up into the room. Once they were all safely in the room, they pulled out their guns and aimed them at Meg's back. They hid behind a large stack of boxes, peeking around the stack at Meg. "Guys, hiding is kind of childish," said Meg, never turning to look at them. "Meg, who are you waiting for?" asked Sam. "You." Suddenly, Alex was flung across the room into the wall. Sam and Dean watched as she slumped to the floor, unconscious. Meg turned to look at them, grinning evilly. She waved her hand and Sam and Dean were flung into the wall as well.

Alex's eyes opened and she winced at the pain in her head. She felt dried blood on her cheek, but she couldn't touch it since she was tied to a pole. She looked to her right side and saw that Sam and Dean were also tied up and they were glaring at Meg, who was smiling. "Hey, Sammy," said Alex. Sam looked at her, relief flooding his features knowing that she was awake. "Your girlfriend's a bitch." Meg looked at Alex, the smile never fading from her face. "So the whole thing was a trap," stated Sam. "You trapped us. Good for you. Why don't you kill us already?" asked Dean. "This trap isn't for you," said Meg. "Dad," whispered Alex. Dean chuckled. "Sweetheart, you're dumber than you look. My dad wouldn't step into a trap like this." "Well, he does have one weakness. His kids." Meg smiled and walked over to Sam. She straddled his lap and sat down, Sam looking away from her. "Get off him, bitch!" yelled Alex. Meg rolled her eyes and stood up, walking over to Alex. Sam used the switchblade that was in his hand and began to cut himself free of his bonds. Meg knelt in front of Alex. "I was just havin' some fun," whined Meg. "Yeah, well. Go to hell," said Alex. Meg's smile faded and she slapped Alex across the face. Alex's head flew to the side and Meg strutted back over to Sam. Alex brought her head back to the front and glared at Meg's retreating back, spitting blood onto the floor from her mouth. Sam had cut himself free and was waiting. When Meg was close enough, Sam leaned forward and head butted her. Meg fell to the floor and Sam stood up, running over to the table. He flipped it over, the cup spilling. Meg stood up, her eyes wide as she watched the shadow demons come towards her. They grabbed her and drug her to the floor length window, throwing her out of it. They disappeared back into the shadows and Sam helped Dean and Alex get free. They walked over to the window and looked down. Meg was lying on the concrete sidewalk, blood pouring out of her mouth and her body angled. "C'mon, let's get outta here," said Sam, wiping the blood from the cut on his left cheek.

Dean opened the door to their motel room. He walked in first and stopped in the entryway. Sam and Alex entered behind him, stopping right behind him. A man was standing by the window, his face shrouded in darkness. "Hey!" yelled Dean. The man turned and smiled at them. Alex gasped and her eyes instantly filled with tears. There in front of them was their father, John Winchester. "Dad," said Sam, his own eyes a little misty. "Hey, kids." John walked toward them and stopped in front of Dean. They embraced. John then turned to Alex next, smiling at her as her tears fell down her face and mixed with the blood from the cut on her cheek. "Hi, Alex." Alex smiled and hugged her father tight. He kissed the top of her head and let her go to look at Sam. "Hi, Sammy." Sam smiled. "Hey, Dad." "Dad, it was a trap. I didn't know. I'm sorry," said Dean. "It's okay. I thought it mighta been." "Were you there?" asked Alex, wiping the blood from her face using her sleeve. "Yeah. I saw the girl take a swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?" "Yes, sir," said Sam and Dean at the same time. "Good. Doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before." "The demon has?" asked Sam. "It knows I'm close. It knows I'm gonna kill it," said John. "How are you gonna kill it?" asked Alex. John smiled. "I'm workin' on that." "Let us come with you. We'll help," said Sam. John shook his head and looked at the floor. "No, Sammy. Not yet. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you in the crossfire," whispered John. "You don't have to worry about us," said Sam. "Yes, I do. I'm your father." He looked up at Sam. "Sam, last time I saw you, we had one hell of a fight. It's good to see you. It's been a long time." "Too long," said Sam, hugging his dad. Alex smiled and looked at Dean. John and Sam separated and John was suddenly flung across the room. Sam fell to the floor and Alex flew into the door. John was groaning as the demons tortured him. Alex crawled over to her brothers, new cuts on her face oozing blood. "Shut your eyes!" She grabbed a flare from the duffel bag beside her leg and set it off. She stood up with the bag on her shoulder and ran outside with her family.

Alex threw the duffel bag that was on her shoulder into the passenger seat of the Impala. She shut the car door and turned to look at her family. "We don't have much time," said Alex. She turned to get into the car, but Dean put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. "Wait. Dad, you can't come with us," said Dean. Alex shrugged his hand off her shoulder and stared at Dean. "What are you talking about?" asked Sam. "Listen to me! We almost got Dad killed in there. They're gonna use us to get to him. Meg was right. He's vulnerable when he's with us. He's stronger without us around," said Dean, looking at the ground as Alex began to cry. Sam put a hand on John's shoulder. "Dad, please. I need to be a part of this fight." "You gotta trust me, son. You gotta let me go." Sam removed his hand from his father's shoulder and watched as John walked to his car. John climbed inside and rolled down the driver's side window. "Be careful, kids." He drove away, his tires squealing. "C'mon," said Sam. He got in the car and looked through the windshield at Dean and Alex. Dean stepped toward her, but Alex stepped back. "Alex, don't do this." "Why would you do that? We can't keep him safe if he's gone!" Alex looked at Dean, tears on her cheeks. "I just want my daddy, Dean. I miss him." She burst out in sobs and Dean grabbed her, pulling her into his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," said Dean, rubbing her back gently. They stood there for a few minutes until Alex was able to get in the car. She climbed in the backseat and laid across it, crying softly as Dean drove.

Sam looked at his cell phone and saw that it was 4:15 A.M. He sighed and glanced in the backseat. Alex was asleep, curled up into a ball. He looked straight ahead out the windshield. "She asleep?" asked Dean. "Yeah, finally. She cried herself to sleep." "Not the first time," said Dean and Sam grimaced. "Sorry. I forget. Well, if you wanna sleep too, go ahead." Sam nodded and closed his eyes, falling into a restless sleep almost instantly.


	20. Chapter 20

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 20

Alex opened her eyes, stretching her arms above her head as she yawned. She sat up and watched as Dean drove into Texas, passing the sign that said, "Welcome to Texas!" She glanced at Sam in the passenger seat and stifled a laugh. He was sleeping and Dean had stuck a plastic spoon in his wide-open mouth. Dean took out his phone and snapped a picture. He threw his phone on the dashboard when he was done and cranked up the music, causing Sam to jerk awake. Sam pulled the spoon out of his mouth and threw it on the floor in front of his feet. He looked at Dean, who was singing along with the music. "Haha. Very funny." "Where are we?" asked Alex. "A few hours outside of Richardson. What's the story again?" asked Dean. Sam grabbed a newspaper section off of the dashboard and read off of it. "A month ago, this group of kids goes pokin' around a local haunted house." "Haunted by what?" asked Alex. "Some spirit. Legend goes, it takes girls and strings 'em up in the rafters. Anyway, this group of kids see this dead girl hangin' in the cellar," said Sam. "Anybody ID the corpse?" asked Dean. "That's the thing. By the time the cops got there, the body was gone. The cops said the kids were just yankin' chains." "Maybe the cops are right," said Alex, pulling out a small bottle of nail polish and painting her toenails. "Maybe. But I read a couple of the kids' firsthand accounts. They seem pretty sincere," said Sam. He turned to look at Alex and raised his eyebrows when he saw the nail polish. She pointed to Dean and then put a finger to her lips to tell Sam to be quiet. He nodded and turned back to the front. "Where'd you read these accounts?" asked Dean. "I surfed some local paranormal websites and found one." "And what's it called?" "hell hounds. com." Dean scoffed. "Let me guess. Streaming live out of Mom's basement," said Alex. "Yeah, probably," said Sam. "Alright, where do we find these kids?" asked Dean. "The same place you always find kids in a town like this," said Sam. "Yep. Some freakin' rodeo thing or a high school football game," said Alex. She looked at her toenails and smiled. She put the nail polish bottle under the backseat. "Alexandra Marie Winchester, if you ever paint your nails in my car again, I will kick your ass," warned Dean. Alex rolled her eyes. "Whatever." Sam laughed.

Alex sighed as they entered a local music store. Dean held the door open for her and Alex looked around once she stepped inside. It was pretty empty, a few middle-aged men milling around the aisles, looking at records. She looked for a teenager and saw a teenage boy in the back of the store. He was placing CD's where they belonged in the rows of merchandise. Alex hit Dean's shoulder and pointed to the kid. Dean nodded and led the way to the back of the store. "Are you Craig?" asked Sam as they approached the kid. The kid looked Sam up and down, nodding. He looked at Alex, his eyes lingering longer than necessary. She stepped closer into Dean's side. "We're reporters for the Dallas Star. I'm Dean. This is Sam and Alex." "No way! I'm a writer too. I write for my school magazine." Craig stepped around them to place a CD in its correct place. "We're doing an article on local hauntings and rumor has it, you might know about one," said Sam. Craig looked at them, stopping his work. "You mean the Hell House?" "That's the one," said Sam. "Well, back in the 30's, this farmer, Mordachi Murdock, used to live in the house with his six daughters. It was during the Depression. His crops were failing. He had no money to feed his own kids. So I guess that's when he went off the deep end." "How?" asked Alex. "He figured it would be best of his girls died quick, so he attacked them. They screamed, begged for him to stop. He just strung 'em up. And then, when it was all finished, he hung himself. Now, they say his spirit is stuck in the house forever, killing any girl that goes inside." "Where'd you hear all this?" asked Dean. "My cousin told me. I dunno where she heard it from. But that girl was real," said Craig, looking Dean in the eye. "Alright, thanks," said Sam.

Dean stopped the Impala at the bottom of the hill that led to the Hell House. He climbed out of the car with Alex and Sam. Alex groaned as she looked at the hill. "I hate climbing up hills." She turned to Sam, sticking her bottom lip out. "Sammy, can you give me a piggy back ride up the hill to the house?" Sam sighed, but crouched down so that Alex could jump on his back. She jumped and they headed up to the house, Dean laughing at Sam. "Can't believe you fell for that." Sam glared and flipped him off, Dean laughing. "Shut it, Dean," said Alex. They continued up the hill in silence. Sam stepped in a puddle and Alex was jostled around on his back, almost falling off. "Hey, watch where you're stepping!" yelled Alex. "Sorry. You know, I don't have to do this. In fact, I could just drop you." Sam took one hand off Alex's thigh and she dangled from his back. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" said Alex. Sam laughed and grabbed her leg again, hoisting her higher onto his back. They finally got to the house and they looked up at it. It was stormy outside and the house looked eerie. "C'mon," said Dean, stepping onto the porch and heading inside.

They entered the house, Sam letting Alex slide off his back gently. She stepped onto the floor and stood on her tiptoes to kiss Sam's cheek. "Thanks, big brother." Sam nodded and they followed Dean into the living room. Symbols and graffiti were all over the walls and Alex whistled when she saw them all. Sam took out his phone and began snapping pictures of the drawings. "Hey, you two ever seen this one before?" asked Dean. Alex and Sam walked over and looked at the symbol. It was a dot in the middle with three lines and a question mark drawn around the dot. "No," said Sam. "I have somewhere," said Dean. Sam took a picture of it and Alex reached out, touching it. "It's paint. Seems pretty fresh too." She stood up straight when she heard a noise. Sam and Dean heard it too and they all rushed into the next room. They pushed open the door and were blinded by bright lights. Two guys were in the room, looking at the Winchesters. "What are you doing here?" asked one. "What the hell are you doing here?" asked Dean. "We belong here. We're professionals." "Professional what?" "Paranormal investigators." One of the guys handed Dean a business card. "_You _run the website ?" asked Sam, looking at the card in disbelief. "Yep. And we know who you guys are too," said the one named Harry. "Oh yeah?" asked Dean, an eyebrow raised. "Yep. You're amateurs. Lookin' for ghosts and cheap thrills," said Harry. "Yeah, you're so right. What do you got so far?" asked Alex, playing along with Harry's theory. "Well, Ed? Why don't you tell 'em about EMF," said Harry to his friend. Ed went to his bag and pulled out an EMF meter that looked like Dean's. "Wow," said Sam, playing dumb. Alex hid a smile. "So have you two seen a ghost before?" asked Dean. "Once. We were investigating this old house and we saw a vase fall right off a table… by itself," whispered Harry, his eyes wide. "And something like that just changes you," said Ed. "Well, we should go and let them get back to work," said Dean to his siblings. "Yeah, you should," said Harry. Ed nodded next to him. Dean led the way out of the house.

Alex and Sam stepped onto the front steps of the local library, their jackets pulled tight around them as they stepped into the cool fall air. "Hey, what'd you find?" asked Dean, getting off of the hood of the car to meet them. "We didn't find a Mordachi, but we did find a Mark Murdock. He lived in the house in the 30's, but he only had two boys for kids. No record he ever killed anyone," said Alex. "No sign of the dead girl. It's like she never existed," said Dean. He opened his car door and got inside. He started the car and covered his ears as music blasted from the speakers extremely loud. Dean turned it down and glared at Sam, who was laughing hysterically. "That's all you got? Weak." Alex rolled her eyes as Sam just continued laughing.

Dean stopped the car at the bottom of the hill and they walked up to the house. Cops were swarming the house and a crowd was forming outside. Sam, Alex, and Dean joined the crowd subtly. "What happened?" asked Dean to the man standing beside him. "The cops say the poor girl hung herself in the house," said the man. "Suicide?" asked Sam. "Yes. She was a straight A student with a full ride to UT too. It just don't make sense." The man stepped away from them and Alex watched as the gurney with the dead body was wheeled out of the house, a sheet covering the body from view. "What do you think?" asked Sam. "I'm thinkin' we missed something," said Dean.

That night, a cop car sat outside the house. The Winchesters were hiding behind a bush a few feet away from the house. "We gotta get in there," whispered Dean. Alex looked down at the bottom of the hill and saw Ed and Harry walking up it. "I don't believe it." "I got an idea," said Dean. He stood up, still hidden behind the bushed and yelled, "Who you gonna call?" Dean ducked back behind the bush and watched as the cops turned around, seeing Ed and Harry heading up the hill. They ran down the hill toward Ed and Harry, allowing the Winchesters to slip undetected into the house.

Alex switched on her flashlight, Sam loaded his shotgun, and Dean loaded his gun as they entered the house. "C'mon. We don't have much time," said Sam. They headed down to the cellar. The stairs creaked as they walked on them. Once they stepped off of the steps, Dean walked over to a row of shelves, grabbing a glass jar filled with red liquid from the shelf. "Sam, I dare you to take a swig of this." "Why the hell would I do that?" "I double dare you," said Alex. Sam shook his head and Dean set the jar back on the shelf. A noise erupted from a cabinet and they hurried over to it. Sam opened the doors, rats scurrying out. Alex hid behind Sam as the rats ran past them. "I hate rats," said Alex. "You rather it was a ghost?" asked Sam. "Yes," said Dean. Suddenly Alex screamed and Dean and Sam turned around. There was a spirit standing in front of Alex, wielding an ax. Sam shot at it, missing. The spirit disappeared and they ran up the stairs.

Alex flew out of the front door, Sam and Dean right behind her. "Go, go!" yelled Dean, following his siblings down the hill to the car.

Alex laid on the bed next to Dean in their motel room. Sam was on his laptop at the table doing research. Alex threw her magazine on the floor and looked at the symbol Dean had drawn. "What the hell is this symbol? It's buggin' me," said Dean, tapping his pencil on his notepad. "This job's buggin' me. The legend says Mordachi hung himself, but did you see his slit wrists? And the ax?" asked Alex. Dean suddenly sat up. "I think I know where it started."

Dean threw open the door to the music shop and made a beeline straight for Craig. "Hey, Craig. Remember us?" asked Dean. "Look, I'm really not in the mood to take any more of your questions." "We're just here to buy an album," said Dean. He grabbed Craig by the collar and drug him over to the rock section. Dean searched through the albums until he found the one he was looking for. "So I figured out that the symbol means nothing. It's just a logo for Blue Oyster Cult. Tell me, Craig. You into BOC? Or just scarin' the hell outta people?" Dean handed Craig the album and Craig gulped, putting it aside. "Now. Why don't you tell us about that house. Without lyin' through your ass this time," said Dean. Craig sighed. "My cousin, Dana, was on break from TCU. We were bored and we thought it'd be funny if we made the house look haunted. We painted symbols on the walls. We told people who told people. Now that girl's dead." Craig looked at them, fear evident on his face. "We didn't mean for anyone to get hurt." Dean shook his head and walked away. "If it's not real, how do you explain Mordachi?" asked Sam.

Alex was lying on her bed when Dean entered the motel room. He threw his keys on the table. The shower was running and Dean smirked. "Where were you?" asked Alex, sitting up. The shower shut off and Dean removed a pouch from his pocket. "Oh, I just went out," said Dean, tearing open the packet of itching powder. He poured the contents onto Sam's boxers that were lying on his bed and put the evidence in the trash just as the bathroom door opened. "Hey, why don't you get dressed? We'll grab somethin' to eat," said Dean, entering the bathroom and shutting the door. "Damn, Sam. You been workin' out?" asked Alex. She nodded to his six-pack abs and poked them. "Shut up," said Sam, swatting her hand away and grabbing his clothes to change.

Alex sat at a table while Dean and Sam grabbed the coffee they had ordered. Dean handed Alex her cup of coffee and she took a sip, sighing. "So tell me about your theory, Sam," said Dean. He tore open a pack of creamer for his coffee. "So there was this incident in Tibet in 1915. A group of monks visualized a ghoulum. They meditate on it so hard that they bring the thing to life. Outta thin air." "So?" asked Alex. "It was twenty monks. Imagine what ten thousand websters can do." Sam opened his laptop and fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably. Dean smiled over his coffee cup. "But people believe in Santa Clause. Why am I not getting' hooked up every Christmas?" asked Dean. "Cause you're a bad person. And… cause of this." Sam slid the laptop over to Dean. "That's a Tibetan spirit symbol on the wall of the house. Craig said they were painting symbols from a Theology book. That symbol's been used for centuries." "It would explain why the spirit changes," said Alex. Sam nodded, shifting in his seat again, grimacing. "Alright, I got an idea. C'mon," said Dean. He stood up and watched as Sam grabbed the laptop and stuffed it in his bag. "I think I'm allergic to the motel soap," said Sam as he began walking. Alex and Dean busted out laughing and Sam looked at them. "You did this?" Alex pointed to Dean, who laughed harder. "You're a freakin' jerk!" Sam slung his bag higher on his shoulder and walked outside.

Dean knocked on the door of Ed and Harry's trailer headquarters. Harry opened the door, Ed next to him in the doorway. "Guys, we need to talk," said Sam. "Uh, sorry. We're a little busy now," said Harry. He stepped outside with Ed beside him. "We'll make it quick. We need you to shut down your site," said Dean. Harry laughed. "You got us arrested last night. Why should we trust you?" "People are gonna keep showin' up at the house and getting' hurt by seeing your site," said Alex. "We have an obligation to our fans," said Ed. "Well, we could just kick both your little asses right now," said Dean, cracking his knuckles. Ed and Harry stepped backward. "Whoa, Dean. Calm down," said Alex, putting her hand on Dean's arm. "These guys… We could probably bitch slap 'em both. I could probably even tell them that thing about Mordachi, but they're still not gonna help us," said Sam. "Let's just go," said Alex. She followed her brothers to their car with Ed and Harry following them earnestly. "We'll shut down the website if you tell us about Mordachi," said Harry. "Tell 'em, Sam," said Alex. Sam nodded and handed Harry a death certificate. "According to the coroner, the actual cause of death was a self inflicted gunshot wound." "He didn't hang or cut himself," said Dean. Ed smiled and quickly ran back to the trailer with Harry right behind him.

Dean took a drink of his beer as he sat across from Sam in the dining booth. Alex and Dean were sitting next to each other in the booth while Sam sat on the other side by himself. Alex picked at her fries while Dean pulled the string on the talking man that hung on the wall next to his head. Dean reached for the string and Sam grabbed the string from him. "If you pull it one more time, I'll kill you." "You need more laughter in your life. You're too tense," said Dean. Alex nodded and stuck a fry in her mouth. "They posted yet?" she asked Sam. Sam turned the computer screen toward her and she read the new post on Harry and Ed's blog. "Alright. How long do we wait?" asked Dean. Sam took the computer back and shut it. "Long enough for the story to spread and the legend to change. I figured by nightfall." "Sweet," said Dean, picking up his beer. He took a drink and went to set it back down, but couldn't. Sam began laughing and Dean glared at him. "You didn't." "I did." Sam held up the small tube of super glue, smiling.

That night, the Winchesters entered the Hell House, Alex standing in between her brothers. Each one of them held a gun and they stepped into the living room to see Ed and Harry. Harry and Ed quickly ran over to them, hiding behind Dean and Sam. "What the hell?" asked Sam as he heard a pounding on the cellar door. They all looked as the cellar door burst open and Mordachi burst through it. Sam and Dean shot at him, emptying their guns into him. Mordachi vanished. Ed and Harry looked at the siblings as Mordachi reappeared in front of them. "Didn't you two post that story we gave you?" asked Alex. "Yeah, but our server crashed," said Ed. "C'mon. We have to get outta here," said Alex, grabbing Sam's elbow. "Okay. We should burn the house down," said Dean. He grabbed gasoline from the duffel bag he had brought in, poured it all over the floors, and threw a lighter onto it. He ran out the door behind his siblings, Ed, and Harry. They stood on the front lawn and watched as the house went up in flames.

The next day, the siblings walked with Ed and Harry to their trailer. "So we got a call from a very important Hollywood producer today. He read about Hell House on our website and wants us to write the movie," boasted Harry. "Well, good luck and congrats," said Sam, slapping Harry on the back hard. Harry waved and climbed in the truck that pulled the trailer, Ed behind the truck's wheel as they pulled away. "So I have a confession to make," said Sam as they walked to the Impala. "What?" asked Dean. "I was the one who called and told them I was a producer." Alex and Dean laughed. "I was the one who put the dead fish in their backseat," said Dean. Sam laughed and climbed in the car with his siblings.


	21. Chapter 21

_So sorry that it has taken me so long to update! My computer was broken and I just couldn't get it updated! I hope you enjoy this chapter! _

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 21

"So where'd Daddy send us this time?" asked Alex. "Fitchburg, Wisconsin," said Dean. "Dean, I checked. There is nothing there," said Sam. "Dad wouldn't send us someplace unless we needed to be there, Sam." "Yeah. I'm sure there's something worth killing in Fitchburg," said Alex. "What makes you so sure?" asked Sam, turning around in his seat to look at her. Alex shrugged. "I'm the only girl so I'm always right." She smiled and Dean looked at Sam, shrugging.

Sam looked at the scenery out his window as Dean drove into Fitchburg. Dean parked the car against the curb and entered a little coffee place. He came out a few minutes later with three cups of coffee, handing one to Alex and another cup to Sam. "Nobody's heard about anything weird going on according to Courtney," said Dean. Alex rolled her eyes as Dean looked at his hand that had the cashier's number written on it. "Mmm, Courtney," said Dean as he sipped his coffee. Alex sighed and looked across the street at a playground. The playground was almost completely empty. Only two little girls were playing on the monkey bars, their mother sitting on a bench watching them closely. "Dean, what's the time?" asked Alex. Dean glanced at his watch. "Ten after four. Why?" Alex nodded to the playground. "What's wrong with this picture?" Sam and Dean looked at the playground. The swings swayed in the wind as it blew, no kids sitting on them. "School's out now, right?" asked Dean. "Yep. So where is everybody?" asked Sam, watching one of the two little girls climb the jungle gym.

Sam and Alex stepped onto the playground, walking over to the bench where the woman sat, watching her kids play. Dean waited at the car. "Sure is quiet out here," said Sam. The woman looked up at them. "Yeah. It's a shame." "Why is that?" asked Alex. "You know. Kids getting sick. It's a terrible thing." "How many?" "Just five or six, but hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious." She turned back to watching her two little girls play on the monkey bars. "They think it's catching." "Huh," said Sam, watching the kids. "That's too bad," said Alex.

Sam pulled at his tie as he entered the hospital behind Alex and Dean. He looked at the fake ID that Dean had given him. "Dude, I can't use this ID. It says bikini inspector on it." Sam stuck the ID in Dean's face and Dean looked down at it. "She won't even look that close," said Dean, shoving Sam's hand away from his face. "Confidence," whispered Alex as she shoved Sam toward the front desk. The nurse looked up at Sam with a bored expression and Sam smiled nervously. "Hi. I'm Doctor Jerry Kaplan, center for Disease Control." "Can I see some ID?" asked the nurse. Alex and Dean, who were standing off to the side of the desk, snorted quietly. Sam shot them a glare as he dug his ID out of his pocket. He turned back to the nurse with a smile on his face and ID in hand. He quickly showed it to the nurse and then stuck it back in his pocket. "Now, can you please direct me to the pediatrics ward?" "Sure. Just go down the hall, turn left, and go up the stairs." "Thanks." Sam gave her one last smile and then led his siblings to the children's ward.

Sam pushed open the double doors that led to the children's ward. They passed by a few rooms before they turned the corner to the children's rooms. Dean glanced in one of the open doorways and saw a very old woman sitting in the room. He stopped and looked further into the room. The cross on the wall was upside down and the woman was staring off into nothing. She was in the middle of the room, sitting in her wheelchair. "Dean, c'mon," said Sam. Dean looked in the room one last time and then followed his brother around the corner.

"Thanks for seeing us, Dr. Hidecker," said Dean. The man in the white lab coat nodded. "I'm glad you guys are here. How'd you find out about the disease anyway? "Some GP called. Musta beat you to the punch," said Dean. The doctor led them past a large room full of sick children. "So you say you got six cases so far?" asked Sam, looking into the room. Alex stood beside him and watched as the parents of the sick kids sat unmoving by their children's bedsides. "Yeah. In five weeks. At first, we thought it was pneumonia, but now…" The doctor trailed off as he looked into the room with them. "Now what?" asked Alex, watching as a little boy's mother broke down in tears and her husband comforted her. "The kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep going down. Their immune systems aren't doing their jobs. It's like their bodies are just wearing out." "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" asked Sam, looking at the doctor as a nurse came up to them and handed Dr. Hidecker a clipboard to sign. "The way it spreads… it's a new one for me," said the nurse. "What do you mean?" asked Dean. The nurse took the clipboard back from Dr. Hidecker and looked at them. "It works its way through families. But only the children. One sibling after another." "Mind if we interview some of the kids?" asked Dean, watching the nurse walk away. "They're not conscious," said Dr. Hidecker. "None of them?" asked Sam. Dr. Hidecker shook his head. "Can we talk to the parents?" asked Dean. "If you think it'll help," said Dr. Hidecker. He stepped into the room of sick kids and began talking to one of the dads as the Winchesters watched.

"I should get back to my girls," said the father that Sam, Dean, and Alex were interviewing. "We understand that. And we really appreciate you talking to us. Now, you say Mary's the oldest?" asked Sam. The dad nodded. "Thirteen." "And she came down with it first, right? Then…" "Bethany. The next night." "Within twenty four hours?" asked Sam. "I guess. Look, I already went through all this with the doctor," said the dad. "Just a few more questions," said Alex. "How do you think they got pneumonia?" asked Dean. "We think it was an open window." "Both times?" "The first time, I don't really remember. But the second time, I know for sure that I closed it before I put Bethany to bed." "So you think she opened it?" asked Alex. The dad looked at her, exhaustion evident by the bags under his eyes. "It's a second story window with no ledge. No one else could've."

Dean picked the lock on the front door to the house that Bethany and Mary lived in. They climbed up the stairs to the second floor and entered Bethany's bedroom. It was covered in pink, pink walls and pink sheets. There were dolls on shelves and shoes lined up in a row against the dresser. They began looking around, lifting up rugs and furniture. "Got anything?" asked Sam. "Nope," said Dean, lifting up a rug to look under it. "Yeah, c'mere," said Alex. She unlatched the window as her brothers joined her by the windowsill. A cool breeze floated in through the window when Alex pushed it open. "It's definitely not pneumonia. What the hell leaves that kind of handprint?" asked Sam, looking at the edge of the flower box that sat right underneath the window. A large, rotted handprint was on the flower box. The hand had long, skinny fingers and it a black handprint. Dean looked at it, thinking back on childhood memories:

_A young Dean stared at a picture of a black, rotted handprint that was lying on the table. He looked up when his dad entered the room. "Alright, Dean. You know the drill. If someone calls, you don't pick up. If it's me, I'll ring once and then call back. You got that?" John looked at Dean, who nodded. "Good." John headed for the door, but looked back at Dean. "And most important-" "Watch out for the twins," finished Dean. He glanced at his little brother and sister, who were sitting in an armchair together watching TV. "I know," said Dean. John smiled at him and opened the door, walking outside and shutting the door behind him. Dean locked the door and looked at his siblings, sighing. _

"I know why Dad sent us here. He's faced this thing before," said Dean, coming out of his childhood memory and looking at his siblings. Alex looked at Dean, confusion evident on her face. "He wants us to finish the job."

Dean pulled the car into a parking place outside a local motel and hopped out with Alex and Sam. "So what the hell's a striga?" asked Sam. "It's kinda like a witch, I think. I dunno much about 'em, " said Dean. He walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk. "Well, I've never heard of it. And it's not in Dad's journal," said Alex. "Dad hunted one in Wisconsin about sixteen years ago. You two were there. You don't remember?" asked Dean. Sam shook his head. "Nope," said Alex, popping the "p". "So you think this…" "Striga," filled in Dean. "Right, striga, is the same one Dad hunted before?" finished Sam. Dean slammed the trunk shut after he grabbed a duffel bag from it. "Yeah, maybe." He set the bag beside Sam's foot and walked inside to rent a room, leaving Sam and Alex by the car.

Dean rang the bell that sat on the front desk and watched as a kid that looked to be about thirteen walked up to the desk from the back. "King or two queens?" he asked Dean. Dean glanced outside at the twins. Alex was huddled into Sam for warmth and Sam was rubbing her back. "Two queens," said Dean, turning back to the kid. The kid looked outside at Alex and Sam, than back to Dean. "Yeah, I bet," he muttered as he wrote down Dean's request. "What'd you say?" asked Dean. "Nice car." The kid looked up at Dean as a woman entered the motel. She smiled warmly at Dean. "Hi. Checking in?" she asked. "Yep," said Dean. She looked at the kid. "Do me a favor and get your brother some dinner." "I'm helping a guest," complained the boy. The woman said nothing, just sighed and stepped behind the desk, blocking the boy's view of Dean. "Two queens," muttered the kid as he walked into the room behind the desk. "Cash or credit?" asked the woman. Dean handed her his credit card and the woman walked away to go scan it. Dean looked up at the room behind the desk and saw the kid from before. He was pouring his little brother a glass of milk and Dean remembered doing the same thing:

_A young Dean poured Sam and Alex each a glass of milk. "When's Dad gonna get back?" asked Sam. Dean grabbed the handle of the pot that was on the stove and poured the macaroni and cheese into two bowls for Sam and Alex. "Tomorrow." Dean grabbed two forks from a drawer and walked to the table, setting a bow and a fork down in front of each twin. Alex began eating right away, but Sam looked down at his bowl and then pushed it away from him into the center of the table. "I'm sick of macaroni," said Sam, looking at Dean. "You're the one who wanted 'em," said Dean. "I want Lucky Charms," said Sam. "There's only enough left for one bowl and I haven't had any yet," said Dean. Sam looked up at him and Dean sighed. He grabbed the box of Lucky Charms from the counter and slammed it down in front of Sam. Dean then stomped into the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him. Sam looked at Alex, who had stopped eating. Her big blue eyes were wide. "Uh oh, Dean's mad," whispered Alex. Sam nodded and began eating the dry cereal. _

Dean looked at the kid brothers for a second longer before he took the room key from the woman's hand and walked outside to join Sam and Alex.

Sam sat on the bed in the motel room, his laptop open on his lap, researching information about the striga. "You were right. A striga is a kind of witch. They feed off of life forces," said Sam as he read the information on a web page. Dean took a sip of coffee. "Maybe that's why the kids immune systems are shot to hell." "Anyway, they prefer to feed off of children. Strigas are invulnerable to all weapons devised by man," said Sam. Dean stood up and walked over to the bed. "No. That's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds." Dean and Sam looked at the bathroom door as it opened, Alex stepping out. She was wearing a pair of Sam's boxers and Dean's old AC/DC concert tee. She sat on the bed next to Sam, bringing her leg up under her and sitting on it. Sam looked at Dean again. "How do you know that?" "Dad told me. I remember." Dean returned to sitting at the table, flipping through his dad's journal. Sam shut down the computer and set it on the nightstand. He walked over to Dean. "Strigas take on a human disguise during the day." "What kind of disguise?" asked Dean. "It's usually an old woman, but it could be anything," said Sam. "When we were at the hospital, I saw an old woman," said Dean. Alex stood up from the bed, gasping. "An old person? At the hospital? Better call the Coast Guard," said Alex, smirking. Sam chuckled and Dean glared at her. "Well listen, smartass. She had an inverted cross hangin' on her wall." Alex's smile faded and Sam looked at Dean.

The hospital was dark as they entered quietly. It was after visiting hours and Dean quickly led the way to the old woman's room. When they were outside the door, Dean got out his gun and Sam pushed open the door, slipping inside the room. When the door was closed and all of them were inside the room, Sam silently got out his own gun and Alex stood by the door as lookout. Dean walked over to the woman. Sam stayed behind her as Dean walked around to the front of her. "Who's there?" yelled the woman. Dean flew against the wall, startled. Alex flipped on the light. "We're maintenance workers. We thought you were asleep," said Sam. "Nonsense. I was sleeping with my peepers open." The woman began laughing hysterically. "And fix that cross, will ya? I've asked four times." Dean turned the cross over to the correct position and followed his siblings out of the hospital.

Dean parked the car at the motel. "You should've seen your face, Dean," said Sam, laughing. "Yeah, laugh it up," said Dean, looking over at the bench that sat outside the motel entrance. It was early morning, the sun just having risen an hour earlier. On the bench sat the kid that had checked Dean into the motel. He looked upset and Dean began walking over to him. Alex and Sam followed him. Dean crouched down to the kid's eye level. "Hey, what's wrong?" asked Alex. The kid looked up at her. "My brother's sick." "The little guy?" asked Dean. "Pneumonia," answered the kid. He looked down at the ground. "It's my fault. I shoulda made sure the window was latched." "Listen to me. I can promise you that it's not your fault." Said Dean. "It's my job to look after him." Suddenly, the door slammed and they all looked over to see the woman that ran the motel walking to her car. She held a pillow and a duffel bag. "Michael, don't bother with room service. Denise will cover it." She kissed the boy's head. "How 'bout I give you a lift to the hospital? You're in no condition to drive," offered Dean. The woman looked at him and nodded. She climbed in her car's passenger seat and Dean looked at his siblings. "I want this thing dead. Now." He walked around and climbed in the car as Alex, Sam, and Michael watched him drive away.

Alex sat next to Sam at the library's computer. Sam clicked on a page for more information about the striga as Alex talked to Dean on the phone. "Hey, how's the kid?" asked Alex. "Not good. Where you at?" asked Dean. "Library, trying to find out as much as we can about this striga." "Yeah? What do you have?" "Bad news. It started in Fort Douglas when Dad was there. Before that, North Haverbrook. Every fifteen years. This thing is just getting' started in Fitchburg. It goes on for months. Kids languish in comas and then they die." Sam clicked on a different news article and Alex glanced at it. "Whoa," said Alex as she looked at the photo. "Alex?" asked Dean. "We're looking at a picture of a bunch of doctors around a kid's bed. One of the doctors is Hidecker." "And?" "And this picture was taken in 1893." "You're sure?" "Yeah, absolutely," said Alex.

Sam paced the motel room as Alex sat cross-legged on the bed and Dean sat on the edge of the bed. "We should've thought of this before. A doctor's a perfect disguise," said Dean. He threw his jacket on the bed next to Alex and stood in the middle of the room. "That son of a bitch," he muttered. "Well, at least now we know how we're gonna get it," said Alex. She looked at her nails, picking at one. "What do you mean?" asked Sam. "Well, it works its way through siblings, right? Last night, it went after Asher. Tonight will be Michael." "Then we gotta get him outta here," said Sam. "No, that'd blow the whole deal," said Dean. "You two wanna use the kid as bait? Are you nuts?" yelled Sam. "It's the only way. Dad didn't send me here to walk away," said Dean. "Send you here? He sent us here," said Sam. Dean sighed and walked over to Alex. "It's not about you, Sam. _I'm_ the one that fucked up. It's my fault." Alex looked at Dean. "What are you saying? How is it your fault?" "Talk to us, man," said Sam, sitting on Dean's other side on the bed. Dean sighed, but began talking. "Fort Douglas, Wisconsin…"

_The young Dean stood at the door of the motel room. He looked at Sam, who was asleep in the bedroom and then Alex, who had fallen asleep in the armchair while watching TV. Her head was on the armrest and the glow from the TV illuminated her sleeping face. Dean slipped out the door, locking it once he was outside. He walked to the arcade, playing for a few hours until it closed. He walked back leisurely to the room, the night air on his face as he walked. He unlocked the motel room door with his key and locked it once he was safely inside again. He turned around and saw Alex standing in the doorway of the bedroom door, her long, blonde hair running down her little, six-year-old back. He walked up next to her slowly. "Alex, what's wrong?" he whispered. Alex pointed into the room. Dean slowly pushed the door open the rest of the way to reveal Sam lying on the bed with a striga over him. The creature was taking Sam's life force as Sam slept soundly. Dean grabbed the rifle from beside the door, held it up, and loaded it. The striga turned to look at him. "Get down!" yelled a voice from behind Dean and Alex. Dean grabbed Alex's arm and pulled her to the ground with him. John Winchester rushed over to the bedroom and shot at the striga as it jumped out the window. Once it was gone, John grabbed Sam and pulled him to his chest. "Dad, what's going on?" whispered Sam sleepily. "Daddy!" yelled Alex. She hopped up from the ground and rushed over to her dad. John pulled her onto his lap and he held Sam and Alex, kissing each of their foreheads. "Hi, sweetie. Are you okay?" Alex nodded and buried her head into her father's chest as Dean looked on from the doorway. _

"Dad just grabbed us and booked," finished Dean, his eyes far off as he recalled the childhood memory. "You were just a kid," said Alex, putting a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it." "But using Michael? I don't know. How 'bout one of us hides under the covers?" asked Sam. "It won't work. It's got to get close enough to feed. It'll see us," said Dean. Sam sighed and ran a hand over his face. "You're right. We'll talk to Michael."

"You're crazy!" yelled Michael, grabbing the telephone and beginning to dial 911. Dean laid his hand across the buttons and Michael looked up at him. "You have to believe me. This thing came through the window and it attacked your brother. I've seen it," said Dean. "This thing. Does it have this long black robe?" asked Michael. Dean nodded. Michael set down the phone and Dean removed his hand from the buttons. "I saw it last night," whispered Michael. "I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real," said Alex. "So why are you telling me?" asked Michael. "Because we need your help. We can kill it. It's what we do. But we can't do it without you," said Dean. Michael nodded. "I'll help."

Dean set the camera up in Michael's room. Michael was under the covers, looking at Dean. "What do I do?" asked Michael. "Just stay under the covers," said Dean. "And if it comes?" "We'll be in the next room. We'll come in with guns so as soon as we do, you roll out of this bed and crawl under it." "What if you shoot me?" "We won't. We're good shots. We're not gonna fire until you're clear, okay?" Michael nodded and Dean walked into the next room to wait with Alex and Sam.

Alex, Sam, and Dean were sitting around the computer screen that showed Michael's room. They were in the room next to Michael's. "What time is it?" asked Dean. "Three," answered Sam. Alex yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "Wait, look," said Dean. There was a shadow cast across the window of Michael's room and they each grabbed their guns. They silently entered Michael's room and watched as the striga leaned over Michael. When it was almost to Michael, Dean shot it and Sam and Alex followed. It fell to the ground. "Michael, you alright?" asked Dean as he walked toward the fallen striga. "Yeah." Suddenly, the striga grabbed Dean by the collar and flung him into the wall beside the window. "Dean!" yelled Sam, rushing toward him. The striga flung Sam into a bookcase and it toppled on top of him. "Shit, Sam!" yelled Alex. The striga came toward her and pinned her to the bed by grabbing Alex's throat. Alex's gun fell out of her hands and onto the floor a few feet away. She tried to reach for it with one hand while trying to pull the striga's hand off of her throat with the other hand. Alex began gasping for breath as her life force was being taken. "Hey," said a voice behind the striga. The striga looked behind it and Dean shot it in the forehead. The striga fell to the ground and Dean rushed over to Alex. "You okay, little sister?" Alex rolled off of the bed onto the floor and stuck her gun in the waistband of her jeans. She coughed and got her breath back. She gave Dean a thumbs up and Dean nodded. He walked over to the striga and emptied his gun into the striga's chest. Michael came out from under his bed when Dean was finished and stood between Alex and Dean. Sam stood up, wiping his sweatshirt off and joining his siblings.

Dean, Alex, and Sam were outside loading the Impala when Michael's mom stepped outside. "Hey, Joanna. How's Asher doing?" asked Dean. "Have you seen Michael?" asked Joanna. "Mom, Mom!" yelled Michael. He ran into his mother's arms and she hugged him tight. "How's Ash?" asked Michael. "Your brother's gonna be fine." "How are all the other kids doin'?" asked Sam. "Good. Real good." Joanna smiled at them. "We're gonna go see Ash. Have a good one." She got in her car with Michael and drove away, Michael waving to them. Dean slammed the trunk closed and leaned against it. "It's too bad. Michael will always know there are things in the dark. He'll never be the same," said Alex. Dean sighed. "Yeah." He got in the car and Alex and Sam followed.


	22. Chapter 22

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 22

Alex, Dean, and Sam were at a bar. Dean was at the bar getting drinks and talking to some girl. She was writing her number on his hand. A mediocre band played on stage, people dancing in front of the stage. Dean entered the number in his phone and smiled at the girl. "Alright, you're in there." The girl smiled at Dean. Sam sat at a table in the middle of the bar, his head resting in his hand. He grabbed the local paper and began looking through it for suspicious deaths. "What 'cha lookin' at?" asked Alex. She came up behind Sam and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She rested her chin on his right shoulder and looked down at the paper. "I think I found a gig," said Sam. He looked up at Dean, who was still sitting at the bar talking to the girl. Sam waved Dean over, but Dean ignored him. Sam sighed and raised his eyebrows as he continued waving. Dean finally left the girl and walked over to his siblings. "I think I got somethin'," said Sam. "Yeah, me too," said Dean. Alex rolled her eyes and kissed Sam's cheek. She removed her arms from his shoulders and sat across from him. "What do you got?" she asked. "Mark and Sally Telesca were both found dead in their home just a few days ago. No prints, no murder weapons, all doors and windows were locked from the inside." "Could just be murder," said Dean, taking a swig of his beer. "No. Dad says different." "What do you mean?" asked Alex. Sam opened their dad's journal and flipped to a tabbed page. He shoved it in front of Dean. "Look. Dad noted three murders in the same upstate area of New York." Sam pointed to a paragraph in the journal. "First one, 1912. Second, 1945 and third in 1970. Now, so much time passed between the murders that no one checked the pattern except for Dad." "Alright, I'm with you. It's worth checkin' out," said Dean. He grabbed his beer and headed back to the bar, Alex sighing in his wake.

"So, we checked the house. It's clean," said Sam. "Maybe it's an object in the house," said Dean. "No, there's nothing in it. No furniture, nothing," said Alex. "Where's all their stuff?" asked Dean. Alex shrugged.

Dean walked into the house that was holding the art auction. Alex sighed as she saw everyone else in the house wearing nice clothes. They stood out in their jeans and t-shirts. "Can I help you?" asked an older man in a tuxedo. Sam and Alex smiled at him. Dean grabbed some food off of the table beside him and stuffed the food in his mouth before facing the waiter. "I'd like some champagne, please," said Dean, his mouth full. Alex turned to Dean. "He's not a waiter," she gritted out through her teeth. Dean shrugged and Alex turned back to the man. "I'm Alex Connors. These are my brothers, Sam and Dean. We're art dealers with Connors Limited." "You're art dealers?" asked the man, looking at their jeans and tees with a raised eyebrow. "That's right," said Sam. "I'm Daniel Blake. This is my auction house. Now, this is a private showing and I don't remember seeing you on the guest list." Alex smiled. "We're there, Chuckles. Take another look," said Dean. He turned around, grabbed a flute of champagne off of a passing tray, and turned back around to face Daniel Blake. Sam smiled at Daniel before shoving Dean and Alex towards more paintings. They looked at the pictures, looking at one of a family. "Fine example of art, wouldn't you say?" asked a woman who was walking down the stairs. They all turned to look at her, Dean slapping Sam's shoulder to push him forward to meet her. The woman stepped in front of Sam and reached out for her hand. "I'm Sarah Blake." She shook Sam's hand. "Sam. These are my siblings, Alex and Dean." Alex smiled and Dean shoved more food in his mouth. "So, can I help you with something?" asked Sarah. "Yeah, actually. Um…" Sam turned to the painting of the family. "What can you tell us about the Telesca estate?" "The whole thing's pretty grisly, if you ask me. But Dad's right about one thing. It's sensational." She smiled at Sam, who smiled back. "Is it possible to tell me about the provenances?" "I'm afraid there isn't any chance of that," said Daniel Blake, coming to stand by Sarah. "Why not?" asked Alex. "Because you're not on the guest list and I think it's time to leave." "Well, we don't have to be told twice," said Dean. "Apparently, you do." "Alright, we'll go," said Sam. He smiled at Sarah one last time and followed his siblings out the door.

Dean parked the car outside of the motel room door. He unlocked the door and let Alex enter first. She laughed when she stepped inside. The room was decked out in a seventies theme. A disco ball was hanging from the ceiling and the wallpaper was a bright blue. "So what was the provenance?" asked Dean. "It's a certificate of origin, like a biography. We can use 'em to track the history of the pieces to see if anything's got a freaky past," said Sam. He threw his bag on the same bed that Alex had her bag on. "Sarah was pretty," said Alex, looking at Sam's face. "She was totally checking you out," said Dean. "I agree. Call her," said Alex. She handed Sam her cell phone and he sighed, dialing Sarah's number.

Sam looked at Sarah across the table, the candlelight illuminating her face. She smiled at him. "Nice place," said Sam, looking up at the chandeliers on the ceiling. "Yeah," said Sarah as the waiter came and set their glasses of water in front of them before moving to check on another table. "Glad you called. Surprised, but glad. Although, you seemed to have a hard time getting out the words would you like to have dinner," said Sarah. Sam laughed. "Yeah, I haven't really been on a date in awhile." "Welcome to the club," said Sarah, placing her hand on top of Sam's so that he would stop messing with his napkin. Sam looked at her. "You're kidding me." Sarah shook her head and the waiter returned to their table with the wine menu. Sam began flipping through it, getting a curious glance from the waiter. "Um, I don't know about Romeo, but I'll have a beer," said Sarah. The waiter wrote down her order and looked at Sam. "Make that two." The waiter nodded and took the wine menu back, walking away. "So you studied art in school, huh?" asked Sam. "It's true. I was an artist. A terrible, terrible artist. That's why I'm in the auction business. And you were pre-law?" asked Sarah, as the waiter returned and set their beers in front of them. Sam nodded. "Yeah." "But you didn't go to law school. How come?" "It's a really long story for another time," said Sam, sipping his beer. "So what did you mean when you said you hadn't been on a date in awhile?" "It was my mom. She died about a year ago, totally unexpected. It really threw me. I went into this shell, but lately I've been thinking. It's not what she would've wanted for me, you know? Why haven't you been out and about?" asked Sarah. Sam said nothing, but began picking at the label on his beer bottle. "Another long story for another long time?" asked Sarah. Sam nodded.

Sam sat on the bed beside Alex, who was lying on the bed with a pillow tucked under her chin. Dean sat on the other bed, sharpening his knife. "So she just handed the provenances over to you?" asked Dean. "Yes. We went to her place and she gave me a copy," said Sam. "And?" pressed Dean. "And… nothing." Sam looked at the provenances in his hands, ignoring Dean's sigh of frustration. After a few minutes, he set the papers down on the bed. "Hey, I think I got something." Dean set his knife on his bed and walked over to Alex and Sam. Sam handed him the papers. "Compare the names of the owners to Dad's journal." Dean walked over to the table where the journal sat and opened it, sitting down in a chair and glancing from the papers to the journal and back again. "Whoever owned the painting has been murdered," said Dean. "Haunted or cursed?" asked Sam. " Either way, it's toast," said Dean, getting up and grabbing his jacket. "I don't wanna get up," whined Alex, still lying on the bed. Sam laughed. "C'mon. Don't make me carry you," warned Dean. Alex sighed and sat up, glaring at Dean's back as he walked out the door.

Dean climbed up the tall, iron fence and jumped over it gracefully. Dean watched as Sam hoisted Alex up onto his shoulders. She grabbed the top of the fence and climbed over it. She jumped when she was at the top and Dean caught her in his arms. Sam jumped over and landed on his feet a few seconds after Alex. They ran to the auction house doors and ran inside, looking for the painting of the family. They headed up the stairs and saw it in the corner. Dean took out his knife and cut the picture out of the frame, sticking it under his arm and running outside with his siblings to burn it.

Once outside, Dean laid the painting on the ground. Alex handed him the matches and Dean took one out, striking it and throwing it on the painting. Sam shone his flashlight on the painting and watched it burn. As it burned, it reappeared in the frame inside, untouched.

Sam and Alex were packing their clothes in their bags while Dean was in the bathroom, looking for something. "We have a problem. I can't find my wallet," said Dean. He stormed out of the bathroom and began looking by his bed. "How's that our problem?" asked Alex. "Because I think I lost it at the house last night." Sam threw down the shirt he had been holding and he turned to Dean. "You're kidding." "Nope. We gotta get it before somebody else finds it." Dean shoved on his jacket and walked outside. Alex threw the shirt she had been folding on the bed, grabbing her jacket and cursing Dean under her breath as she followed Sam out the door.

The Winchesters walked into the auction house quickly, looking under and on top of everything on display. "How do you lose your wallet, Dean?" asked Alex. She looked behind a painting. Dean shrugged. Alex picked up a vase and looked inside it while Sam picked up a small sculpture to look under it when Sarah saw them. "Hey!" Alex and Sam quickly set down their items. "Sarah. Hey," said Sam. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "We're leaving town. You know, we came to say goodbye," said Sam. Alex rolled her eyes and stepped in. "Sam, what are you talkin' about? We're stickin' around for at least another day or two." Sam looked at Alex, confused and Sarah smiled. "Oh, Sam. Let me give you that twenty bucks I owe you," said Dean, taking his wallet out from his jeans pocket and digging through it for twenty bucks. Alex grinned and Sam hid a smile as Dean handed him twenty bucks. Sam took it from Dean's hand and stuck it in his pocket. "We'll leave you two alone to do… stuff. C'mon, Dean." Alex put her arm through Dean's and led him away from Sam and Sarah. "I had a good time last night," said Sarah once Dean and Alex were gone. "Yeah, yeah. I did too." "Maybe we should do it again sometime." "You know, I'd love to. I really would, but my siblings were just screwin' around. We really are takin' off today." "Oh. Well, that's too bad." Sam looked up at Sarah and happened to glance behind her. He saw a man holding the painting that Sam thought Dean had burned last night. "Oh my God!" shouted Sam. Sarah turned and looked at the painting too. "What?" she asked. "That painting… looks so good," lied Sam. "If you can call that monstrosity good, then yeah, I guess." "So what do you know about that painting?" "Not very much, just that it freaks me out. We sold it to the Telescas at a charity auction the night they were murdered." "And you're just gonna sell it again?" "As much as my dad wants to, no. I won't let him. I think it'd be in bad taste." "Yeah. You know what? Don't. Make sure you don't, okay?" "Don't tell me you're interested in that," said Sarah, looking at the painting again. "No, no. God, no. You know what? I gotta go do something, but I will call you. I will see you later." "Wait, you're not leaving tonight?" asked Sarah. "No, I guess not. I'll see you." Sam smiled at her before turning around and looking for his brother and sister.

Dean, Alex, and Sam walked out to the car. Alex climbed in the backseat and Dean and Sam climbed in at the same time, shutting their doors in unison. "I don't understand. I mean, we burnt the damn thing," said Sam. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. Alright, we just need to figure out another way to get rid of it," said Dean. "We could figure out everything about that creepy ass picture and the creepy ass family in it," said Alex. "Yeah. Let's start there."

The librarian led Alex, Dean, and Sam to an empty table. "I dug up every scrap of local history I could find," said the man. He held an old newspaper article in his hands. He laid it out across the table and pointed to the blurb about the family in the painting. "The whole family was killed?" asked Sam. "The dad, Isaiah, slits the kids throats and then his wife and finally himself. He was a barber by trade. Used a straight razor," answered the librarian. "Why'd he do it?" asked Alex. "Controlled his family with an iron fist. Wife, two sons, adopted daughter… There were whispers that the wife was gonna take the kids and leave." "Does it say what happened to the bodies?" asked Dean. "Cremated." Alex sighed and Dean cursed under his breath. "Anything else?" asked Sam. "Yeah, there's a picture of the family," said the librarian, flipping through the paper. He opened another page to show Sam the picture of the family. Sam looked at it. "Can we get a copy of this, please?" The librarian nodded and took the paper to make a copy.

Sam sat at the table in the motel room, looking over the picture of the family from the library. He had been looking at it for hours. "I'm tellin' you guys. Big painting, Dad's looking down. Picture here, Dad's lookin' up. The painting has changed." "So you think the dad is stuck in the painting?" asked Dean. "Yeah. But how are we gonna stop him?" "We have to get back in and look at that painting," said Alex. She fell onto her bed and sighed as her head hit the pillows. "Which is a good thing 'cause you can see your girlfriend," said Dean. He winked at Sam and walked to his bed, sitting down on it. "Dude. Enough already," said Sam. "What?" "Ever since we got here, you've been tryin' to pimp me out to Sarah. Just back off, alright?" "Well, you like her, don't you?" Sam shrugged. "What's the point? We'll just leave, we always leave." "I'm not talkin' about marriage, Sam." "Why do you care if I hook up?" asked Sam. "Maybe you wouldn't be so cranky all the time," shot back Dean. Sam raised his eyebrows and scoffed. "This isn't just about hookin' up. I think Sarah could be good for you." Sam said nothing and Dean sighed. "Look, I'm gonna shower. Just think about it." Dean stood up and headed into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind him. Alex sighed and got up from her bed. She sat in the chair next to Sam at the table and scooted her chair next to his so that their knees touched. Sam looked at the ground, ignoring her. "Sammy, this is about Jessica, right?" whispered Alex, biting her lip. Sam looked up at her sadly. "Look, I don't know what it's like to lose someone like that, but I would think that she would want you to be happy." Sam said nothing and Alex nudged his knee with her own gently. "Wouldn't she?" Sam looked at her, his eyes moist and Alex put her hand over his that rested on his knee. Sam smiled. "Yeah. I know she would. You're right. Part of this is about Jess, but not the main part." Alex's eyebrows pulled together. "What's it about?" Sam said nothing. Alex squeezed his hand and let go, standing up. "Well, we still gotta see that painting which means you've gotta call Sarah." Alex walked over to her bed and tossed Sam his phone that rested on the nightstand. Sam caught it and dialed Sarah's number as Alex sat on the bed. "Sarah? Hey, it's Sam. So, listen. Me and my siblings were thinkin' that we'd like to come back and look at that painting again." Sam listened to Sarah for a second, then stood up quickly. "What? Who'd you sell it to? I need an address right now."

Dean pulled the Impala up to the address that Sarah had given Sam over the phone. He threw it in park and jumped out with Alex and Sam. They ran up he porch steps to meet Sarah outside the front door. "Sam, what's happening?" she asked. "I told you, you shouldn't have come," said Sam. Dean pounded his fist on the door. "Hello? Anybody home?" No one responded. "Fuck," muttered Alex. "You said Evelyn might be in danger. What kind of danger?" asked Sarah. Sam didn't answer. He looked in the windows for any sign of movement while Dean pounded on the door and Alex walked around the porch looking for another entrance. When no one answered a second time, Dean knelt down and began picking the lock. Alex stood with Sarah. "What are you guys? Burglars?" Alex smirked. "Nope. But you really should wait in your car. It's for your own good." Dean pushed the door open and stood up. Sarah ignored Alex's warning and followed them into the house. They entered the living room and slowly approached the chair that Evelyn was sitting in, unmoving. The painting was above the fireplace next to the chair. "Evelyn?" said Sarah. She stepped closer to the chair and touched Evelyn's shoulder. Evelyn's head fell back, revealing a slit throat and Sarah screamed in terror. Sam ran to her, grabbed her, and led her outside while Alex and Dean looked around the room.

The next day, Sam was pacing in the motel room, Dean was on the laptop, and Alex was lying on the bed. There was a knock on the door and Sam opened it, letting Sarah inside. "So I just lied to the cops and told them that I went to Evelyn's alone and found her like that," said Sarah. "Thank you," said Sam. "Don't thank me. Just tell me what the hell is going on. Who's killing these people?" Sam looked at Dean and Alex. They shrugged and Sam turned back to Sarah. "What," said Sam. "What?" asked Sarah. "Not who, what. It's what is killing those people." Sarah looked at Sam, confusion and frustration evident on her face. "Sarah, you saw that painting move." "No, no. I was seeing things. It's impossible." "Yeah, well. Welcome to our world, honey," said Alex. Sarah looked at Alex, who smiled reassuringly. "Sarah, I know this sounds crazy. But we think that painting is haunting," said Sam. "You're joking," said Sarah. She looked at Sam's face, which was completely serious. "You're not joking. God, the guys I go out with." "Sarah, think about it. Evelyn, the Telescas. They had the painting. There have been others before that. Wherever this thing goes, people die. And we're just tryin' to stop it. That's the truth." "Well, then I guess you better show me. I'm coming with you." "What? No. Sarah, you should just go home. This stuff can get dangerous and I don't want you to get hurt." "Look, you guys are probably crazy, but if you're right about this… well, me and my dad sold that painting and got those people killed. I'm not saying I'm not scared 'cause I am. Scared as hell, but I'm not gonna run and hide either." Sarah opened the door and stepped outside. Sam looked back at Alex and Dean. Alex was grinning. "Sam," said Dean. Sam looked at him and Dean pointed to the spot where Sarah had just stood. "Marry that girl," finished Dean.

Sam was picking the front door lock at Evelyn's house. "Um, isn't this a crime scene?" asked Sarah, looking around to make sure no one was watching them. Alex laughed. "Sweetie, you already lied to the cops. What's another infraction?" Alex followed Sarah into the house where Sam took the painting off of the wall. He laid it on the couch and looked at it. "Are you worried that it's gonna kill us?" asked Sarah. "Nah, it seems to do its thing at night. I think we're alright in the daylight," said Sam. Dean was looking from the painting to the picture in his hand that they had gotten at the library. "Hey, check it out," said Dean. He held the picture out to Sam, who took it. "The razor is closed in this one, but open in that one." Sam looked at the picture. "What are you looking for?" asked Sarah. "The spirit's changing the aspects of the painting. Maybe it's doin' so for a reason," explained Alex. "Hey, look at this," said Sam. Dean and Alex walked over to him. "The painting in the painting." "It looks like a crypt," said Alex. Dean grabbed an empty candy dish from a side table and held it to his eye. He looked through it to see the crypt's name. "Merchant."

A crow flew off of a tree as the Winchesters and Sarah walked through the cemetery. "This is the third bone yard we've checked. I think this ghost is jerkin' us around," complained Dean. Sarah stepped closer to Sam as a gust of wind blew through the cemetery. "So this is what you guys do for a living?" she asked. "Not exactly. I mean, we don't get paid," replied Sam. "Well, moseltov," smiled Sarah. Sam smiled back at here. "Dean, over there," said Alex, pointing to the crypt and leading them toward it. Dean opened the doors and cleared out the cobwebs in the doorway. There were boxes shoved into the walls that were full of children's toys. "Notice anything strange here?" asked Dean. "Uh, where do I start?" asked Sarah. Sam smirked. "That's not what I mean, although I do agree. Look at the urns." "There are only four," observed Alex. "Mom and the three kids. Daddy Dearest isn't here," said Dean. "So where is he?" asked Sarah. Sam shrugged. "That's what we're gonna find out," said Dean.

"So… what exactly are your brother and sister doing in there?" asked Sarah. She and Sam were sitting on a small wall ledge talking while Dean and Alex investigated. "Searching death certificates. Trying to find out what happened to Isaiah's body," answered Sam. He pulled apart a blade of grass and threw the pieces to the ground. "How'd they even get in the door?" "Lying, mostly." Sam looked up at her. "You have an eyelash." He reached over and brushed her cheek softly, removing the eyelash. "Make a wish." Sarah smiled and lightly blew the eyelash off of his finger. "Can I ask you something?" asked Sarah. "Yeah. Sure." "I don't mean to be forward, but is there something here between us or am I delusional?" asked Sarah. "You're nor delusional," said Sam. "But…" started Sarah. "But I don't think this would be a good idea." "Can I ask why?" "Cause I like you." "Wait. You lost me." Sam sighed and looked at her. "Look, it's hard to explain. It's just that when people are around me, they get hurt." "What do you mean?" "I mean like, physically hurt. With what my siblings and I do, it's…" Sam sighed, but continued. "Sarah, I had a girlfriend. She died and my mom died too. I don't know. It's like I'm cursed or somethin'. Like death just follows me around. Look, I'm not scared of much, but if I have feelings for anybody…" He trailed off and looked at her, pain evident on his face. "You're scared they'll get hurt." Sam nodded and looked at the ground. "That's very sweet and very archaic." Sam scoffed. "I'm sorry?" "Look, I'm a big girl, Sam, and it's not your job to make decisions for me. There's always a chance of getting hurt." "I'm not talking about a broken heart. I'm talkin' about life and death." "Well, I could get hit by a bus. That's how life is. Look, I know losing someone you love. It's terrible. But don't cut yourself off. I know. But when you shut out pain, you shut out everything else too." "Sarah, you don't understand the pain that I went through. I can't go through it again. I can't." He looked at her and she stared back. "Are we interrupting something?" asked Dean, standing in front of them with Alex beside him. "No. What'd you get?" asked Sam, looking at him. "Apparently, the surviving relatives of the Merchant family were so ashamed of Isaiah that they didn't want him burned with the rest of the family. So they handed him over to the county who gave him a funeral, economy style. Turns out he wasn't cremated. He was buried in a pine box," said Dean. "So there are bones to burn," said Alex. "Tell me you know where," said Sam. Alex nodded, a smile playing on her lips.

Sarah held the flashlight as Dean and Sam dug up the grave of Isaiah. Alex stood beside here, holding another flashlight. Alex yawned as Sam jumped out of the hole and stood next to Sarah. "You seem to be uncomfortably comfortable with this," said Sarah. "This isn't exactly the first grave we've dug," said Sam. Alex rolled her eyes and Dean hit the coffin with his shovel. He smashed the lid with his shovel and climbed out of the grave, grabbing the salt and pouring it on the bones. He then dumped the gasoline on the bones as well and took out a match. "You've been a real pain in the ass, Isaiah. Good riddance," said Dean, throwing the match onto the bones. He stood next to Alex and watched as the body went up in flames.

Sarah was sitting in the backseat of the Impala with Alex when Dean stopped the car in front of Evelyn's home. "Leave the motor running," said Sam. He opened his car door and stepped out. "Wait, I thought the painting was harmless now?" asked Sarah. "Better safe than sorry." "I wanna come with you." Sarah followed Sam out of the car and they ducked under the yellow crime scene tape to enter the house.

They walked into the living room and looked up at the painting. "Uh, Sam? You're the expert on all this ghost stuff, but is this painting supposed to look like that?" Sam looked at the painting closer and noticed that the little girl was gone from the painting. "Where's the little girl?" asked Sarah. "And the razor?" asked Sam. They whirled around as the front door slammed shut.

Dean and Alex were sitting in the car when the front door slammed shut. They rushed out of the car and ran up the steps to push against the door. They pushed as hard as they could, but the door didn't budge. Dean pulled out his phone as it began to ring and saw that it was Sam calling. "Tell me you slammed the door," said Dean. "It wasn't me. I think it was the little girl," said Sam. "What girl?" "In the painting. I think it might've been her all along. Just try to get us outta here." "The door won't budge." "Dean, the damn thing is comin'." "You'll have to hold it off until we figure somethin' out. Find some salt." Sam held the phone to his ear with his cheek and drug Sarah into the kitchen to look for salt. They opened every cabinet and drawer, but found no salt. They then ran into the office to look for iron. "What kind of house doesn't have salt?" yelled Sam. "There's no iron either," said Sarah. Suddenly, the doors to the office slammed shut and papers began flying around the room. The little girl appeared, her doll in one hand and the razor on the other. Sam stepped in front of Sarah, blocking her with his body and he grabbed the fireplace poker from beside the fireplace. The ghost stepped closer and Sam swung the poker right through her, causing her to disappear.

"Sammy, you okay?" asked Dean through the phone. He and Alex were walking around the wrap-around porch outside. "Yeah. For now." "How we gonna waste her?" "She was already cremated so there's nothing left to burn." "Then how's she still around?" "There must be somethin' else." Alex stopped suddenly and grabbed Dean's arm. "What is it, Alex?" "The doll, Dean. Antique dolls were the image of the child who owned them. Hair, everything," said Alex. "Sammy, Alex says it's the doll," said Dean into the phone. "The one in the crypt," said Sam.

The lights flickered inside the house as the little girl returned. Sam was thrown against the wall and pinned behind a dresser. Sarah was thrown into the wall across from Sam and she rolled across the floor.

Dean and Alex ran into the crypt. They spotted the box full of the kid's toys behind a glass plate. Dean ran over and tried to smash the glass with his elbow. The glass didn't break and Dean cursed. "Fuck." "C'mon, Dean," said Alex. Dean turned to her as she pulled her gun out of her waistband and shot the glass. It shattered and Dean ran over to it as Alex put her gun back. Dean took out his lighter with one hand as he held the doll in the other. After a few tries, the doll's hair finally caught fire and Dean threw the doll to the ground once it was done burning. Dean took out his phone and called Sam. "You good?" asked Dean. "Not bad," said Sam. Dean smirked and hung up.

The next morning, the Winchesters and Sarah were at Sarah's house, watching as the painting got loaded into a large box. "So I found some county records. The Merchants adopted daughter Melanie. Know why she was up for adoption? 'Cause her real family was murdered in their beds," said Dean. "She killed them?" asked Sarah. "Yep. Isaiah's spirit's been tryin' to warn people." "Where's this one go?" asked one of the movers who was hired to move the painting. "Take it out back and burn it," answered Sarah. The men nodded and carried the box out back. "So why'd the girl do it?" asked Sarah. "When people die, their spirits are just as dark," said Sam. "I guess this means that you're leaving," said Sarah. Dean looked between Sarah and Sam, sighing. "Alex and I will wait in the car." Dean smirked at Sam and followed Alex out of the house. "There are a million things that I wanna say to you, but for the life of me, I can't think of one," said Sarah. "Yeah. I'll miss you too," said Sam. "You know, there's a lesson in all this. We got through this in one piece. I didn't get hurt." "Yeah, I'm glad for that." "Maybe you're not cursed. Maybe… you'll come back and see me," said Sarah. "I will," said Sam.

Dean and Alex were leaning against the car when the front doors opened. Sam walked out and Sarah shut the doors behind him. Dean sighed and turned to unlock his car door, but Alex smacked his arm and he turned around. They watched as Sam walked back up the steps and knocked on the front doors. Sarah opened them and smiled as Sam tilted his head down to kiss her. Alex smiled as she watched them kiss and Dean smiled too. "That's my boy," said Dean. He got into the car and Alex smiled as Sam kissed Sarah one last time. He let her go and walked down the steps to the car. "Good job, bro," said Alex. Sam laughed and followed Alex into the car.


	23. Chapter 23

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

**Chapter 23**

Alex grabbed two cups of coffee off of the counter in the café in Colorado. "Thanks," she said to the girl behind the counter. The girl smiled and Alex grabbed some sugar off of the counter to bring to the table that Sam and Dean were sitting at. She set down the other cup in front of Sam and handed him the sugar packet. He dumped it in his coffee and took a drink. Alex made a face and drank her black coffee. Sam went back to his computer and Dean set down the paper he had been looking at. "Nothing in the paper. You?" he asked Sam. "Nothing that seems too bad. A man, Daniel Elkins, was found mauled in his home in Manning, Colorado," said Sam. "Elkins? That sounds familiar," said Dean. He took out his dad's journal and began looking through it. "There were also signs of robbery," said Sam as he continued reading. "Here. Check this out." Dean handed Sam the journal. "You think it's the same Elkins?" asked Alex. "Colorado area code," said Dean. Alex shrugged. "Worth checking out," said Sam.

Dean pushed open the door of Daniel Elkins' home and entered behind Alex and Sam. They slowly walked through the house and entered an office. The office had been completely torn up. The desk was flipped on its side and papers were strewn all over the floor. Books were off their shelves and on the floor. Sam knelt down by the desk and ran his fingers through a substance on the floor. "There's salt over here." "To protect against demon slat or oops, I spilt the popcorn salt?" asked Dean. "Clearly a ring. You think this guy Elkins was a player?" asked Sam. "Definitely," said Alex. She walked over to her brothers with a journal in her hand. It looked just like their dad's. "This dates back to the sixties," said Dean, flipping through the pages. "Well, let's keep moving," said Sam. He stood up and followed his siblings into the living room. It was completely trashed with glass all over the floor. "Looks like he put up a fight," said Dean. Alex cocked her head to the side as she noticed spots on the floor. "Got somethin'?" asked Sam. He stood over her as she crouched to the floor. She grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper off of the side table and put the paper over the marks. She rubbed the pencil over the paper. "Looks like a message." She handed the paper to Sam. "Four letters, six digits. The location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop."

Dean opened the drop box using the combination that Alex had found at the house. He took an envelope out of the box and brought it to the car where Alex and Sam were waiting. He got in the car and handed the envelope to Alex. "J.W. Do you think it's John Winchester?" she asked. "I don't know. Should we open it?" asked Dean. A knock sounded on Dean's window and Dean looked out to see his father standing there. "Dad?" asked Dean. John opened the door and got in the car next to Alex. "Dad, what are you doing here?" asked Sam. "I read the news about Daniel. I got here as fast as I could. I saw you at his place," answered John. "Why didn't you come in, Dad?" asked Alex. "Because I had to make sure you weren't followed by anyone or anything." "So you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?" asked Sam. "Yeah. He was a good man." "You never mentioned him to us," said Sam. "We had a falling out. I hadn't seen him in years. Can I see the letter?" asked John. Alex nodded and handed John the envelope. He opened it and took out the letter inside, beginning to read. After a minute or two, John sighed. "When you searched the place, did you see a gun? A colt revolver?" asked John to his children. "There was an old case, but it was empty," said Dean. "They have it. We gotta pick up the trail." John got out of the car and spoke to Dean through Dean's open window. "Wait. You want us to come with you?" asked Sam. "If Elkins was telling the truth, we have to find that gun," said John. "Why?" "Because it's important. That's why." "What even killed Elkins?" "Vampires." "Vampires? I thought there was no such thing," said Dean. Alex rolled her eyes. "Please. Haven't you heard of the Twilight books?" Sam laughed and Dean chuckled. "I thought they were extinct. I was wrong," said John. Dean looked at his siblings, shocked.

At their hotel room, the police radio sat on the table. Two people were speaking about an attack and John listened intently. Sam, Alex, and Dean were asleep. Dean was on one bed and Alex and Sam shared the other. Alex was curled under Sam's arm and his chin rested on the top of her head. John reached over and turned off the radio. He threw his jacket on and hit each of his kids on the leg to wake them. "Get up. Just got a police call." Alex yawned and Dean groaned. "What happened?" asked Sam. "A couple called 911. They found a body in the street. Cops got there and everyone was missing. Vampires," explained John. "How do you know?" asked Alex. "Just follow me. Okay?" Dean sighed and followed his family out the door.

Sam was driving the Impala as they followed their Dad's truck. Dean was reading about vampires and Alex was listening to Dean. "Victims are kept alive for days, bleeding out. I wonder if that's what happened to that 911 couple," asked Dean. Alex made a disgusted face. "That's nasty." Dean nodded and continued looking through his information while Sam drove in silence.

That night, the Winchesters hid in the bushes and watched as the head vampire let another vampire into their hideout. "Son of a bitch. They're really not afraid of the sun," said Dean. "Direct sunlight hurts like a nasty sunburn. The only way to kill 'em is by beheading," said John. "So I guess walkin' right in isn't our best option," said Alex. "Actually, that's the plan," said John.

Dean opened the Impala's trunk and handed Sam and Alex each a machete and grabbing one for himself. "Daddy, what's the deal with this colt gun?" asked Alex. She blew a bubble with her gum as she waited for John to answer. "It's just a story. A legend, really. Back in 1835, the same night those men died at the Alamo, they say Samuel Colt made a gun. He made it for a hunter. A man like us, only on horseback. Story goes, he made thirteen bullets. This hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. They say this gun can kill anything." "Kill anything like supernatural anything?" asked Dean. "Like the demon," said Sam. "Yeah. Find the gun and we can kill it," said John. Alex whistled. "Well, let's go then," said Dean.

The Winchesters entered the warehouse where the vampires stayed through a large window. They stepped carefully and quietly through the large warehouse, looking at the sleeping faces of each vampire. Sam saw a woman tied to a wooden pole. He began untying her bonds. Dean found the other humans in large metal cages. He began unlocking the cages and letting them out. The woman stirred as Sam untied her. When she looked behind her and saw Sam, she screamed loudly. "Run, kids!" yelled John as the rest of the vampires awoke. Alex ran for the window that they entered through and quickly climbed out of it with Sam and Dean right behind her. They got to the top of the hill and caught their breath. "Where's Dad?" asked Dean. Alex shrugged. Suddenly, John came running up the hill. "They won't follow 'til tonight. Once a vampire has your scent, it's for life." "What do we do now?" asked Dean. "Find the nearest funeral home, that's what," said John. "Dead man's blood," whispered Sam and John nodded.

That night, Dean was working under the hood of his car on the side of the road. It was after midnight and the wind was the only sound Dean heard. He knew his family was hiding in the woods and he listened as footsteps approached. "Need a lift?" asked one of the female vampires that had been in the warehouse earlier. She had bright red hair and her eyes were a hazel color. Dean looked at her and smiled. "I'll pass." Her smile faltered slightly and she roughly grabbed Dean's chin in her hand. Her nails scratched his chin. "You know, we could have some fun," she said. She held Dean's chin and kissed him, forcing her tongue into his mouth. Dean stood still and when she finished, she let go of his chin and smiled at him. Dean smiled too as an arrow was shot through the vampire. She looked down at the arrow and passed out, falling to the ground. John, Sam, and Alex emerged from the woods and looked down at the girl unconscious on the ground. Dean reached down and picked up the girl in his arms. "Load her up," said John. Dean nodded and set her in the trunk of the Impala, slamming it closed.

John set fire to the roots that he had obtained to block their scents. The fire blazed high as the Winchesters stood around it. "You sure they'll come for her?" asked Sam, nodding to the Impala's trunk where the girl lay. "Vampires mate for life. When that fire burns out, I want you out of here. I'll take care of this myself," said John, his eyes never leaving the flames. "You can't keep treating us like children," said Sam. "You are my children. I'm trying to keep you safe." "Will all due respect, that's shit," said Dean sternly. John finally looked at his kids. "Look. Your mother's death almost killed me. I won't watch my children die. I won't." "What happens if you die?" asked Alex. John looked away from them and said nothing. "We're stronger as a family," said Dean. "You do your job and get out. That's an order," said John. He walked away from the fire and Sam sighed.

Dean, Alex, and Sam entered the warehouse quietly. Dean cut the head off of the lone vampire that was there. He followed his sister and brother to the cages where the humans were. He began unlocking the cages. "Hurry up, Dean! We gotta go help Dad!" yelled Alex.

Dean, Sam, and Alex ran to through the woods and got to the edge of the road in time to see their father get attacked. Vampires rushed toward John and Dean shot an arrow at one of them. The girl fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of her chest. The siblings ran onto the road with Sam holding his machete and Dean shooting in every direction. Alex pulled out an arrow and aimed for a vampire when the head vampire grabbed her by the arm. He spun her into his chest and held her around the neck. His face showed fear and Alex struggled against him. Alex moaned in pain, as he held onto her neck tighter. Dean and Sam aimed their weapons at him. "I'll snap her neck. Put the machete down," said the vampire. Sam didn't put down his machete and the vampire tightened his hold on Alex's neck even further, causing her to gasp for air. The vampire also held a knife in his free hand. He brought it up to Alex's cheek and cut her cheek, causing Alex to whimper in pain. Dean held up his hand then and the vampire looked at him. Dean hit Sam on the arm and Sam set his machete down on the pavement. "You people. Why can't you just leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do," said the vampire. Alex continued gasping for breath as the vampire got angrier and unconsciously tightened his hold around her neck. "I don't think so," said a voice from behind the vampire. The vampire turned, still holding Alex and faced John. John shot the vampire in the head with the Colt. The vampire fell to the ground, dead. Blood spattered on Alex. She grabbed her neck and gently massaged it, coughing. She walked over to Sam and Dean. Sam pulled her into him and looked at her cheek, which was still bleeding. Alex ignored the sting from the cut and looked at the dead vampire lying on the ground. The remaining vampires ran off into the woods.

Sam, Dean, and Alex were packing their bags when their father entered the motel room. He shut the door behind him and sat on Dean's bed. Sam and Alex sat on their bed and Dean sat beside John. "You disobeyed a direct order back there," said John. "Yes, sir," said Sam. "I mean, Alex was almost killed!" Dean hung his head and Sam looked at his dad. Alex nodded solemnly. "But you were right. We're stronger as a family. We'll take on this demon together." John smiled at his kids and they smiled back. "Now, c'mon. We're wastin' daylight." John grabbed Alex's bag and led her out to his truck. Sam and Dean followed with their bags over their shoulders. John climbed in his truck while Sam, Dean, and Alex climbed into Dean's Impala and followed their Dad down the highway to their next job.

John Winchester sat at a table in his motel room. Sam sat next to him and Dean sat across from him. Sam looked at Alex, who was asleep on the bed. Her neck still held finger marks from the vampire's hold that happened yesterday. Her cheek was better, but the cut still remained. She had a blanket covering her and she looked peaceful. Sam looked back at the table, which was strewn with papers. There were also papers taped and tacked onto the walls. Sam's laptop was open on the table next to Dean's elbow. "This is all I know," began John. "About a year ago, I picked up a trail." "That's when you took off," said Dean. John nodded. "The demon must've come out of hiding." "What's this trail you found?" asked Dean. "Starts in Arizona. New Jersey, California. Houses burned down to the ground. It's targeting families. Just like it went after us." "Families with infants?" asked Sam. "Yeah. The night of the kids six month birthday," answered John. "Alex and I were six months old that night?" asked Sam. "Exactly six months," said John, nodding. "So basically, this demon is going after these kids for some reason. Same way it came for Sam," stated Dean. John said nothing and looked out the window. "Mom's death, Jessica. It's all 'cause of me?" asked Sam. "We don't know that, Sam," said Dean. "Oh really? I'd say we're pretty fuckin' sure, Dean. What about Alex? Is she responsible for Mom's death too?" asked Sam, his voice rising. Alex stirred on the bed and Dean looked over at her. "Sam, shut up. What happened to them is not your fault," said Dean. "You're right, but it's my problem!" "No, it's our problem," said Dean. John stood up then. "Alright, that's enough. Your sister is trying to sleep. From what I can tell, she hasn't slept in days, maybe weeks. Is that true?" asked John. Dean nodded. "She's always worrying about us. You know how she is," said Sam. "Yes, I do. Now both of you need to shut up so that she can get some sleep. Got it?" "Yes, sir," said Sam and Dean at the same time. "Good." "What does it want?" asked Dean. "I wish I had more answers, I really do. I've always been one step behind it. I've never gotten there in time to save…" John trailed off. "So how do we stop it?" asked Dean. "There's a pattern. Signs pop up days before the fires. Cattle deaths, electrical storms. Then I went back and checked." "These things happened in Lawrence," said Dean. John nodded. "And now, the signs are starting again in Salvation, Iowa." "Well, let's get going then," said Dean. He stood up and grabbed his coat. John followed him and they began loading equipment in the Impala while Sam woke up Alex. "Alex, you have to get up. We have a job to do." Alex groaned and rolled over. "Please don't make this difficult. I promise, you can sleep in the car. Just please get up," begged Sam. Alex groaned, but stood up and put on her tennis shoes and her jacket. "Thank you," said Sam. Alex nodded and followed him to the Impala.

Dean passed the "Welcome to Iowa!" sign and watched as his father pulled over on the side of the road. Dean followed John's lead and pulled over as well. "What is it?" asked Dean, getting out of the car and walking over to his Dad's truck with Sam and Alex beside him. "I just got a call from Caleb," said John. "Is he alright?" asked Sam. "He's fine. But Jim Murphy is dead." Alex gasped. "Pastor Jim?" asked Sam. John nodded grimly. "How?" asked Alex. "Throat was slashed. He bled out. Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place." "A demon?" asked Alex. John nodded. "What do you wanna do?" asked Dean. "Make every second count. We split up and cover more ground. There are two hospitals in this county. I want records of every infant that'll be six months in the next week." "Dad, that could be dozens of kids," said Alex. "How will we know which one's the right one?" "Check 'em all, that's how," said John. Dean nodded and headed back for the car, but John paused as he opened his door. "Dad?" asked Sam. "It's just… Jim." John looked at them. "This ends now. I'm ending it. I don't care what it takes." John got in his truck and waited for his kids to get in the Impala before starting up his car and driving away, the Impala right behind.

Sam sat in the library at a table with Alex. They were copying down the names of the infants who would be six months old in the next week. Alex shook her hand out as it began cramping up. "My hand's cramping," she whined. "I'm sorry," said Sam, laughing at her. "Shut up. Jerk." Alex hit him on the arm with her good hand and Sam rubbed his arm while Alex smiled triumphantly.

A few hours later, Sam and Alex left the library with Sam looking through the small notebook with the names in it. Alex winced as pain shot through her head and Sam suddenly began to breathe heavily, holding his hands to his temple. "Sam?" Alex grabbed his hands from his face. "Sammy, look at me." Sam kept his eyes closed. "Sam, what do you see?" Sam opened his eyes, looking at her. "We have to go. I saw a woman with a baby. The demon is coming for her," said Sam.

Sam and Alex were walking on a sidewalk when they saw a woman who was stopped a few feet in front of them. A stroller was in front of her. "Hi," said Sam as he and Alex approached. The woman smiled at them. Alex took a look at the baby in the stroller. It was a girl and the baby looked at Alex intently. "She's gorgeous. Is she yours?" asked Alex. "Yeah," said the woman. She looked at Alex and Sam. "Are you two together?" Alex looked at Sam and nodded. "I'm sorry. We're being rude. I'm Alex and this is my boyfriend, Sam. We just moved in up the block." "Oh, hey. I'm Monica and the baby is Rosie." "Hi Rosie," said Sam, smiling down at the baby. "She's such a good baby," said Alex. "I know. She never cries. She just stares at people. I swear she can read your mind," said Monica. "How old is Rosie?" asked Sam. "She's six months today." Alex looked at Sam, who was looking at Rosie sadly. She put her hand through his and squeezed gently. "We've gotta get going, but take care of yourself, Monica," said Alex. "You too." Alex led Sam away from Monica and Rosie and watched as Monica and Rosie walked up their driveway to their garage where Monica's husband waited for them. Her husband held Rosie and pulled Monica into his side. Alex felt a jolt of pain and Sam let go of Alex's hand, put his hands to his temple, closed his eyes, and scrunched up his forehead. "Sam, are you okay?" asked Alex, hiding her own vision pain from Sam. After a few more seconds, Sam relaxed. "I'm fine. Let's get outta here." Alex nodded and followed Sam.

John and Dean were sitting on one bed while Sam and Alex sat at the table. "A vision," stated John. Sam sighed. "Yes. I saw the demon burning a woman on the ceiling." "And you think it's the woman you met because…" "Because these things happen exactly the way I see them," said Sam. "It started out as nightmares. Then he started havin' em while he was awake," said Dean, getting up and walking over to the sink to make coffee. "When were you gonna tell me about this? And do you have them, Alex?" asked John. "No," lied Alex. "I don't know when we were gonna tell you," sighed Dean. "Somethin' like this starts happenin' to your brother, you pick up the phone and call me," scolded John. "Call you? Are you kiddin' me? Dad, I called you from Lawrence. Sam called you when I was fuckin' dying. I got a better chance of winning the fuckin' lottery," said Dean. "You're right. I'm sorry," said John. "Okay. So the demon is coming tonight and this family is gonna go through the same hell we went through," said Alex. "No, they're not. No one is," said John. Sam's phone rang then and Alex reached out and grabbed it. She flipped it open and held it to her ear. "Hello?" "Alex?" Alex's brow furrowed. "Who is this?" asked Alex. "Think real hard. It'll come to you," said the voice on the other end. Alex looked up at Sam, biting her lip. Sam's forehead scrunched up in confusion and Dean and John stood up to stand by Alex at the table. "Meg. Last time I saw you, you fell out of a window," said Alex. "Yeah. Thanks to you. That really hurt my feelings by the way," replied Meg. "Just your feelings? That was a seven story drop." "Let me speak to your dad." Alex looked up at John. "I don't know where my dad is," lied Alex. "It's time for the adults to talk, Alex. Let me speak to him now." Alex looked at John, and handed him the phone. John held it to his ear and turned his back on his children. "This is John." "Howdy John. I'm Meg. I'm a friend of your kids. I'm also the one who watched Jim Murphy choke on his own blood." John paused. "Well, that was yesterday. Today I'm in Lincoln, visiting an old friend of yours. He wants to say hi." "John. Whatever they do, don't give…" "Caleb?" asked John. Sam, Alex, and Dean all looked at their father. "We know you have the Colt, John." "I don't know what you're talkin' about." Suddenly, John heard someone gasping for breath over the phone. "That's Caleb dying. We know you have the gun." "I'm gonna kill you, you fuckin' know that?" said John to Meg through his teeth. "Your friends will all die unless you give us that gun," said Meg. "Alright." John hung up the phone. "What do we do?" asked Dean. "I'm goin' to Lincoln," said John. He threw the phone at Sam, who caught it one-handed. "Dad, the demon is coming tonight," said Sam. "We're gonna give Meg a fake gun," explained John. "I just need to buy a few hours time." "For Sam, Dean, and me, you mean," said Alex. The boys turned to look at her. "You want us to stay here and kill this demon by ourselves." "No, Alex. I wanna stop losing people we love. I want Sam to go to school. I want you and Dean to have a home. I want Mary alive. I just want this to be over," said John. Alex nodded in understanding.

Dean pulled up behind his dad's truck on an old dirt road by railroad tracks. He got out of the car and handed the fake gun to John. "You know this is a trap, don't you?" asked Dean. "I can handle it," said John. He took the gun out of Dean's hand. John stuck it in his waistband and looked at Dean. "Finish this tonight." John handed the Colt to Dean and got in his truck, driving away.

Sam, Alex, and Dean were sitting in the Impala that night outside of Monica's house. The Colt was lying on the backseat next to Sam's thigh. "Maybe we can tell 'em there's a gas leak," suggested Sam. "How many times has that worked for us?" asked Dean. Sam nodded sadly and turned his attention to the nursery window. "We could tell 'em the truth," suggested Alex. Sam and Dean looked at her, their eyebrows raised. "Nah," they all said in unison. They turned their attention back to the window and looked for any odd signs. "Hey. I wanted to tell you that I love you guys," said Alex. Sam smiled. "We love you too, baby sis," said Dean. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Sam heard strange noises coming from the radio. The leaves began blowing around the lawn and the streetlights flickered. "It's coming," said Alex. She followed her brothers out of the car and they all ran up to the front door. Dean quietly picked the front lock and walked inside, only to be attacked by Monica's husband. "Monica! Get the baby!" he yelled. "No! Don't!" yelled Sam. He ran up the stairs two at a time. Dean punched the husband in the face, knocking him out while Alex waited in the middle of the room for Sam to return.

Sam ran into Rosie's room to see Monica being pushed up the wall by a shadowy figure with his back to Sam. The figure turned to Sam and Sam aimed the gun at it, shooting. It disappeared and Monica fell to the ground. "Where the hell did it go?" asked Sam to himself, glancing around. Monica looked at him and began screaming. Sam helped her stand up and Dean ran into the room, rushing over to the crib. Sam led Monica out of the room and Dean grabbed Rosie, rushing out of the room as it burst into flames.

Sam and Dean met Alex on the front lawn. They stood with her as Monica ran to her husband with Rosie in her arms. Sam and Alex turned and looked at the house that was now burning down in flames and saw a figure standing in the window. "It's still in there," said Alex. Sam ran forward, but Dean yanked him back. "Rushing into that house is suicide!" yelled Alex. "I don't care," said Sam. "I do!" said Dean. He looked at Sam and turned back to the house.

Dean sat at the table back in their motel room, trying to reach John. "C'mon, Dad. Answer your phone." When it went straight to voicemail, Dean hit the end button. "Somethin's wrong." Dean looked at Alex and Sam, who said nothing. "Did you hear me?" asked Dean. Alex nodded. "If you had let me go back, I could've ended it," said Sam. "I'm not gonna let you sacrifice yourself to kill this thing," said Dean. "This thing killed Jess. It killed Mom." "They're gone and they're never coming back," said Dean. Sam suddenly stood up and shoved Dean into the wall. "Don't say that," said Sam. "Sam, stop," said Alex. Sam looked over at Alex, who was crying. He let go of Dean. "You two are all I have left. And Dad. Please don't fight," said Alex. Sam nodded and turned away from Dean. "Dad should've called by now. Try him again," said Sam. Dean dialed the number again. "You really screwed up this time," said Meg on the other end of the phone. "Where is he?" asked Dean. Sam and Alex looked up at him. "You're never gonna see your father again." Dean looked at Sam, who tilted his head to the side in confusion. Dean hung up the phone. "They've got Dad." "Meg?" asked Sam. Dean nodded. "What'd she say?" asked Alex. "I just told you," said Dean. He picked up the Colt and stuck it in his waistband. "What are you doing?" asked Sam. "We gotta go." Dean put on his jacket. "We're leaving, now."

"Dean, we need help. Demons won't leave a trail," said Alex. Dean sighed and rubbed a hand across his face. "You're right." "Bobby," said Sam. Dean nodded and stepped on the gas pedal.

Dean pulled his car into Bobby Singer's driveway early in the morning. He turned it off and Alex rushed out of the car and up the front porch steps. She pushed the door open and ran into the house. A middle aged man stood in the middle of the room looking at Alex. He smiled and Alex ran into his arms. "Bobby!" "Hey, honey." He kissed the top of her head and looked at Sam and Dean as they entered the house. "Hey, boys. Let's get to work." The boys nodded and Bobby let go of Alex to follow the boys into the den where they began looking for where their father could be.

Dean was talking to Bobby while Sam flipped through the pages of a huge book. He sighed and threw it on top of the rest of the open books strewn across the table. He glanced at Alex, who was asleep on the couch with a blanket thrown over her petite frame. He picked up a new book and began looking trough it. "I'm glad you came. We have to get John back," said Bobby to Dean. "I've never seen anything like this book," said Sam. Dean and Bobby walked over to peer over his shoulder at the book. "Do these protective circles really work?" asked Dean. "Fuck yeah. You get a demon in one and they're trapped. Powerless," said Bobby. He leaned in closer to the book when the front door suddenly burst open. Meg sauntered into the room, an evil smirk on her face. "No more shit, okay?" Dean walked up to her and Meg flung him against the wall, knocking him unconscious. Alex startled awake and sat up on the couch. Sam and Bobby stood in front of the couch, protecting her. "Give me the Colt, Sam. Right now." "We don't have it on us. We buried it," said Sam. "Didn't I say no more shit?" Meg stepped closer to them and they stopped at the edge of the couch. "Did you think I wouldn't find you?" asked Meg. She smirked and Dean stood behind her. "Actually, we were counting on it." Meg turned around and followed his gaze to the ceiling where a protective circle was painted. Her smirk faded and Dean smiled.

Meg was tied to a chair as the siblings looked at her with disgust. "I salted all the doors and windows. Nothing's getting' in," said Bobby as he returned to the room. Dean stood up from his seat on the couch armrest and stood in front of Meg. "Where's our father, Meg?" he asked. "You didn't ask very nice," said Meg. "Where's our father, bitch?" "Geez, you kiss your mother with that mouth? Oh, I forgot. You don't." Meg smirked and Dean got right in her face. "You think this is a fuckin' game? Where is he? What did you do to him?" "He died screaming. I killed him myself." Meg smirked again and Dean hit her across the face, her head flying to the side. "Dean, c'mere," said Bobby. Dean walked over to him. "You gotta be careful with her. That's a girl that's possessed." Dean nodded and looked to Sam for the exorcism book. Alex handed it to Sam and Dean nodded. He walked back over to Meg. "Hit it, Sam." Sam began reading the exorcism and Alex sat next to him, watching. "Where is he?" yelled Dean over Sam's reading. "A building in Jefferson City. That's all I know, I swear!" said Meg. Sam quit reading and Dean looked at him. "Finish it, Sam." "You're gonna kill her. You said she fell from a building. Her body's broken. The only thing keepin' her alive is the demon inside her," said Bobby. "We'll put her out of her misery." Sam finished the reading and a large black smoke came out of Meg's mouth. It disappeared through the fireplace and Dean and Sam untied Meg as Alex dialed 911. The boys picked her up gently and laid her on the couch. Blood came out of her mouth and nose as Bobby rushed in with blankets and a glass of water. Meg said nothing and her eyes slowly closed. "I think she's dead," said Alex. Sam nodded grimly. "Y'all better get outta here. Go find your dad." Alex hugged Bobby tight and followed her brothers out the door.

The siblings were at a railroad track, Sam looking through Bobby's book. He took out a white colored pencil and began drawing symbols on the trunk of the car. "What the fuck are you drawin' on my car?" asked Dean, walking over to Sam. "It's called a Devil's Trap. Demons can't get through it or inside it," said Sam. "So?" "Basically, it turns the trunk into a lock box." Sam went to the other side and began drawing the symbol again while Alex and Dean inspected the first one. "So?" asked Dean again. "So we have a place to hide the Colt while we get Dad," said Alex. "What are you talkin' about? We're bringin' the Colt with us," said Dean. "We only got three bullets left. We gotta use 'em on the Demon," said Sam. He closed the book and looked at Alex and Dean. "We need all the help we can get," said Dean. "Dad would be pissed." "I don't care! I don't care what Dad wants," said Dean. Alex scoffed. "You pulled me and Sam out of our lives to find Dad. We just wanna finish it," said Alex. Dean looked up at them. "Fine." He took the Colt out of his jacket pocket and threw it in the trunk.

Each sibling had backpacks on as they walked to the building Meg had said their Dad was being held in. "How do we get in?" asked Dean. "Pull the fire alarm. Then we have exactly…" said Alex. "Seven minutes," said Sam.

Sam snuck into the apartment building and pulled the fire alarm. Water poured from the sprinklers and lights flashed as Sam waited.

Dean and Alex approached a fireman. "What's happening? Is it a fire?" asked Dean. "Yes, Please stay back," said the fireman. "We've got a Yorkie upstairs who pees when he's nervous," said Alex. The fireman led them away and Sam watched them be led away before walking to the back of the fire truck and breaking into it.

Sam, Alex, and Dean entered the apartment building in firemen gear. Dean had the EMF out and was holding it up to every door to check for supernatural presences. As they passed apartment 34B, the EMF went off and Dean stuck it back in his pocket to knock on the door. "We need you to evacuate. This is the fire department," said Dean. When the door was unlocked and opened a tiny amount, the siblings rushed in and sprayed the two demons in the room with holy water. Then they threw them in the closet and salted the closet door. The siblings took off their uniforms and cautiously opened the bedroom door. Their father was lying on the bed, unmoving. Dean ran to his side as Alex turned away crying. Dean leaned over to listen to his chest. "He's breathing." Dean took out his knife and began to cut his father loose. Alex ran to her father's other side. "Dad? Wake up," said Alex. John's eyes opened and he sighed in relief as he saw all three of his children. "Where's the Colt?" he asked hoarsely. "It's safe," said Dean. Sam and Dean helped John sit up and they positioned him between them so they could help carry him out. They were all walking toward front door in the living room when the door burst open. Two demons walked in, their eyes pitch black. "Go back," said Alex. They hurried back into the bedroom and slammed and locked the bedroom door. They heard a chopping noise as the door began to be cut down with an ax. Sam opened the window where the fire escape led to a back alley. Alex climbed out first, followed by John and then her brothers. They salted the window ledge. They quickly climbed down the stairs and Alex and Dean sat John against the side of the building. Sam walked forward, out into the street when he was tackled by a demon. The demon had driven the Impala into the alley. The demon sat on Sam's chest and began punching Sam in the face, Sam's head flinging to the side every time he was punched. Dean ran over to pull the demon off of Sam, but was flung onto the Impala's hood and the demon returned to punching Sam. Alex saw that Dean was slow to get up and Sam was bleeding profusely so she ran to the trunk and threw it open. She grabbed the Colt and aimed at the demon. It fell to the ground, a bullet hole straight through his forehead. Alex stuck the Colt in her waistband and walked around to the front of the car. She helped Sam stand up and Dean joined them. "Let's get outta here," said John and the boys walked over to help him stand up.

The Winchesters were back at Bobby's house, John sleeping in a back bedroom. The siblings were in the kitchen. Dean and Sam sat at the table while Alex sat on the edge of the counter, her legs dangling off the edge. "How do you feel?" asked Alex, looking to Sam. "Fine." He smiled and she smiled back. "Your eye looks like shit though," said Dean. Alex laughed and Sam threw a dishtowel at Dean's face. Alex hopped off the counter and leaned against the counter as John entered the kitchen. "You did good today," he said, looking at each of them. He looked down at his feet and Alex tilted her head to the side in confusion. When John looked back up at them, his eyes were yellow and an evil smirk played across his lips. Alex gasped, John smirked, and the three siblings flew into the wall. "I'm gonna kill you!" said Sam, struggling against the hold. "Well, your dad's in here with me. He says hi, by the way," said the demon. "Let him go!" said Alex. John sauntered over to her. "You know, the two demons you killed today? Those were my kids. How would you feel if I killed your family?" The demon smiled. "Oh. That's right. I already did." "I wanna know why. Why'd you kill them?" asked Sam. The demon looked at him and then between Alex and Dean. "You know, Sam was gonna propose to Jess. She got in the way of my plan for you, Sammy." The demon looked at Sam, smirking. Dean suddenly began screaming in pain, his shirt being soaked with blood from the wounds being put in his chest. Blood poured out of his mouth before Dean slumped to the ground against the wall. Sam and Alex fell to the ground also and the demon looked at them. Alex held the Colt in her hands and had it pointed at John. "You shoot me, you kill Daddy," taunted the demon. "I know." Alex shot John's knee and he fell to the ground, clutching his knee and moaning. Sam rushed over to Dean as Alex ran to John.

Sam was driving the Impala, John was in the passenger seat, and Dean and Alex sat in the back. John moaned in pain and Sam looked at him. "Dad, hold on. It's just ten minutes away," said Sam. He stepped on the gas and barreled through a four way stop. Sam glanced at his dad for a second and Alex yelled, "Sam, stop!" A semi-truck rammed into the Impala, pushing it to the shoulder of the road. It rolled over, but stopped right side up. Everyone fell into unconsciousness as the truck driver's eyes turned black and he grinned. 


	24. Chapter 24

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

**Chapter 24**

Alex sat up and took in her surroundings. She was in a hospital bed. Sunlight was streaming through her window in the corner of the room. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and walked into the hallway. There were no signs of her family anywhere so she walked until she found the nurses station. "Hi. I need to find my family." The nurse sitting behind the desk acted like she didn't even see Alex standing in front of her. Alex waved a hand in front of the woman's face, but still nothing happened. Alex walked back down the hall into her room and stopped in the doorway. Alex saw herself lying in a hospital bed. She was hooked up to a ventilator, unconscious. An IV was in her left arm and a bag dripped fluids above her head. Alex entered the room and stood off to the side of her body as Sam entered the room a few seconds later. "Sammy. You look good," she said. Sam walked up to the edge of the bed. "Tell me you can hear me," pleaded Alex. Sam said nothing and just stared at her in the bed. Dean entered the room then and walked over to Sam. They embraced and the doctor stepped into the room. "Your father's awake," said the doctor. "Doc, what about our sister?" asked Dean. "Well, she sustained serious injury. Contusions, broken limbs. But it's the head trauma I'm concerned about," said the doctor. "What can we do?" asked Sam. "We won't know her full condition until she wakes up. If she wakes up," said the doctor. "If?" asked Sam. The doctor nodded sadly. "Doc, you do everything you can to fix her. Do you understand?" asked Dean. The doctor nodded and left the room. Alex looked at herself sadly.

Sam and Dean were in their dad's room. John sat up in his bed. He had a band-aid over his right eyebrow and his lip was healing from when it had been busted open. "What else did the doc say about Alex?" asked John. "Nothin.' But we'll find someone," said Sam. "We'll check under every rock. Where's the Colt?" asked John. "Your daughter's dying and you wanna see the Colt?" asked Sam, his eyebrows raised. "It's in the trunk. Bobby's takin' care of it," said Dean. "You two go meet Bobby and bring back the Colt." The boys left and Alex's spirit watched them go.

Sam, Dean, and Bobby stood in front of the crushed Impala, silent. "Look. I say we empty out the trunk and throw away the rest of this crap," said Bobby. Dean glared at him and Sam grabbed his laptop from the passenger seat. He inspected it while he held it in his hands. "No," said Dean. Sam sighed as part of the laptop fell to the dirt. He set the remaining part on the hood of the car ad Bobby and Dean began walking around the Impala, inspecting the damage. "There's nothin' to fix. The frame's a pretzel, the engine's ruined. There's barely any parts worth salvaging," said Bobby. "Listen, Bobby. If there's only one working part, that's enough. We're not givin' up," said Dean, looking Bobby in the eye. Bobby sighed, but shrugged. "Okay. You got it." Dean nodded and Sam removed a list from his jean pocket. He unfolded it and handed it over to Bobby. "Dad wanted you to get this stuff for him." Bobby took the list and looked it over, his eyebrows scrunching together as he read it. "What's John want with this?" "Protection from the demon," answered Dean. Bobby looked up at him, his eyes finding Dean's from under the bill of his baseball cap. He said nothing, but resumed reading the list. "Bobby. What's goin' on?" asked Sam.

John sat in a chair at his daughter's bedside. He was staring off into nothing and wasn't saying a word. Alex's spirit stood beside him. "C'mon, Dad. You gotta help me. I've gotta get better. You haven't even tried. Aren't you gonna do anything?" Alex walked to the other side of the bed and began to hear a rumbling noise. "What is that?" She walked into the hall and something quickly brushed past her. She began walking down the hall, looking for the mysterious thing. She walked into a room and saw a nurse lying on the floor, gasping for breath.

Sam and Dean stepped into their father's hospital room. John was sitting up in his bed and he glanced at them as they entered the room. "Guys, tell me you can hear me. There's something in the hospital," said Alex. "Dad, the stuff you asked for summons demons. Not protects you from them!" yelled Sam. "I have a plan, Sam," said John. "That's exactly my point! Alex is dying and you have a plan!" "You care more about killing this demon than saving your own daughter," stated Dean. "Don't tell me how I feel. I'm doing this for Alex," said John. "How?" asked Sam. "I thought you would help. This demon killed your mother, your girlfriend," said John. "She was my mom too. Do you realize Alex looks exactly like her?" asked Dean. John nodded. "She's the spitting image of her," whispered John and a tear rolled gently down his cheek. Dean looked at Sam. "I should've never let you come on this hunt," said John to Sam. "Shut up!" yelled Alex. She knocked over a glass of water that was sitting on John's bedside table. The boys all looked at one another. "Dude, I full on Swayzed that mother," said Alex in shock. Suddenly, she fell to her knees in pain and began flickering in and out. Nurses ran past the room and down the hall. "Are they going to Alex's?" asked John. Sam and Dean ran out into the hallway and to the doorway of Alex's room. Nurses and doctors were at Alex's bed, trying to shock her heart into beating. The screen said that she was flat lined, her heart not beating. "No," whispered Sam. Alex watched as a spirit floated above her body in the bed and tried to take her life force out of her. "Get away from me!" yelled Alex. The thing didn't listen. "I said, get back!" yelled Alex. The spirit thing flew out of the room and Sam and Dean looked around, wondering why they had heard their sister's voice.

Sam and Dean stood outside Alex's room, looking at the nurses who were still tending to Alex. "Don't worry. I'll get that thing before it gets me," said Alex. She headed down the hallway when she heard someone yelling. "What now?" She got to the stairs and saw a cute guy standing at the top of the stairs and waving his hand in front of everyone that passed by. "Can you see me?" asked Alex. The guy spun around. "Yeah." Alex hurried up the stairs. "Just calm down. What's your name?" "Jack." "Good. I'm Alex. "What's happening to me?" asked Jack. Alex shrugged.

Alex and Jack stood in front of Jack's room to see Jack's body in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines. "I don't understand. I just came in for an appendectomy." "I hate to bear bad news, but… I think there were some complications," said Alex. "It's just a dream," said Jack, closing his eyes. "Jack." Jack opened his eyes and looked at Alex. "It's not a dream," said Alex. "So we're gonna die," stated Jack. "No. We'll be fine," said Alex.

"What do you mean, you heard something?" asked John. "I mean, we heard Alex's voice," said Sam. "Do you think her spirit could be around?" asked Dean. "Anything's possible," said John. "Well, there's one way to know for sure." Sam headed out the door, leaving Dean and John behind and confused.

Alex and Jack were walking down the hospital hallway together. "I gotta say, I'm impressed," said Alex. "With what?" asked Jack. "With you. You're taking this whole thing pretty well. Maybe a little better than me." They stopped walking when they reached the stairs and Jack looked at Alex. He smiled. "Don't get me wrong. I was pretty freaked at first, but now… I'm dealing." "So, you're okay with dying?" Jack scoffed. "No. Of course not. But it's out of my control." Alex smiled grimly. "That's shit. You always have a choice. You can either roll over and die or you can keep figh…" A team of doctors and nurses rushed past and Alex ran after them, Jack staying on the steps. Alex ran to a room where the doctors were trying to save a little girl. The same spirit that had tried to take Alex's life was hovering over the girl. "Get away from her!" Alex rushed into the room and over to the spirit, who disappeared. The doctors tried to save the girl, but it was too late. "Time of death: 5:11 P.M.," said one of the nurses. Alex sighed.

Sam pushed open the door to Alex's room and stood next to the bed, looking at Alex's still form and sighing sadly. Dean sat in a chair on the opposite side of the bed, looking at Sam. "Hey," Sam said to Alex. "I think maybe you're around. And if you are… there's one way we can talk." Sam pulled an oujia board out of a paper bag and sat in the middle of the room on the floor. Dean sat next to him, smirking. "I feel like I'm at a slumber party." Sam glared at him. "Alex, are you here?" Alex, in spirit form, sighed, but sat across from her brothers on the opposite side of the board. She touched the end of the pointer and moved it to yes. "Oh my God," whispered Dean and Sam smiled. Sam's hand that rested on the pointer was moved by Alex to spell out "hunt." "Hunt? Lex, what are you hunting?" asked Dean. "What is it?" asked Sam. "I don't think it's killing people. I think it's taking them. When their time is up," said Alex. "A reaper," stated Sam when Alex spelt it out on the board. "Shit. Alex, is it after you?" asked Dean. Alex moved the pointer to yes. "Fuck," said Dean. "If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it," said Sam. Alex looked at them. "You can't kill death. I'm fucked, Sam." "No. There's gotta be a way. Dad will know what to do." Sam headed for his father's room, Dean right behind him. They walked down the hall and turned the corner, stopping in the doorway. The room was completely empty, John nowhere in sight.

John pushed open the door to the hospital's boiler room. He walked far into it and set his duffel bag down on the cement floor. He took out a piece of chalk and began to draw symbols on the floor.

Sam and Dean returned to Alex's room and sat on the edge of her bed. "Dad wasn't in his room, but I got his journal. Maybe there's something in here," said Sam, opening the journal. He flipped through it, finally landing on a page about reapers. Sam and Dean skimmed the page with Alex looking over their shoulders. "Son of a bitch," muttered Alex, leaving the room.

Alex walked into Jack's room to see Jack sitting on the empty hospital bed. There were no machines and no Jack lying in the bed. "Hi, Alex." Alex walked over to Jack to stand in front of him. He was wearing an Armani suit and looked like a normal person. "Did you know that reapers can alter human perception? I didn't. So they can make themselves appear however they want. Like… a hot guy." "I was wondering when you'd figure it out." "I should've known. But I still can't figure out the body." "It's my sandbox. It was the only way you would talk to me," said Jack. "Fine. The hell do you wanna talk about?" asked Alex, anger in her eyes. Jack stood up. "It's your time to go, Alex." Jack touched her cheek and Alex stepped away and glared at him.

John Winchester sat in the middle of the symbol he had drawn on the hospital's basement floor, chanting in Latin. He grimaced as he cut his palm with his pocketknife for the ritual. The blood dripped into a small bowl and John stood up. He looked around and a hand touched his shoulder. "What are you doing down here?" asked a man. "I can explain," said John. "Right. Follow me." The man began heading toward the door, but John didn't follow. He pulled out the Colt and aimed it at the man. "Hey." The man turned around. "How stupid do you think I am?" asked John. The man smirked and his eyes turned yellow. "Do you really want an honest answer to that? You conjuring me, John. I'm surprised." "I could always shoot you." "You could always miss." The yellow-eyed demon laughed. "Did you really think you could trap me?" "Oh, I don't wanna trap you." John lowered the gun. "I wanna make a deal."

Sam and Dean stood in Alex's room, looking at her non-moving body. "Sis, are you here?" asked Sam. He looked around the room. "We couldn't find anything in the book. We don't know how to help you," said Sam. Dean sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "But we'll keep trying, alright? As long as you keep fighting," said Dean. "Alex, you're my twin. You gotta hold on. We were just starting to be a family again." Sam looked at Dean, who smiled sadly.

"You have to let me go. It's not my time," said Alex. She looked at Jack. "Stage 3. Bargaining." "I'm serious. My family needs me. We're kind of in the middle of this… war." "The fight's over," said Jack. "No, it isn't." "It is for you. Alex, you're not the first soldier I've taken. They feel the same. The battle goes on without them." "My brother's could die without me." "They might." Alex walked behind Jack toward the window. "It's an honorable death," said Jack. "There's no such thing. My corpse will rot in the ground. My family will die. I'm not going with you. I don't care what you do," said Alex. "Well, I can't make you come with me. But you're not getting back in your body. So, you can stay here for years," said Jack. "What are you saying?" "Alex, how do you think angry spirits are born? They can't move on. And you're about to become one."

"It's very unseemly. Making deals with devils. How do I know this isn't a trick?" asked the yellow-eyed demon. "It's no trick. I'll give you the Colt and the bullet, but you gotta help Alex. You gotta bring her back," said John. "If only your kids knew how much their daddy loved them." "It's a good trade. You care a hell of a lot more about this gun than you do Alex." "Don't be so sure. She killed people very close to me. But, you're right. She isn't a threat. Neither is Dean. Or Sam." John looked at the floor and the demon looked at John. "You know the truth, right? About Sammy and the other children?" "I've known for a while," said John. "But Sam doesn't, does he? You've been playing dumb." John looked at the demon. "Can you bring Alex back? Yes or no." "No. It's not a problem. I know someone who can." "Good. Before I give you the gun, I'm gonna wanna make sure Alex is okay with my own eyes," said John. "John, don't you trust me?" asked the demon. John looked him in the eye and the demon smirked. "Fine. You can see your precious little girl." "So we have a deal?" asked John. "No. You have to sweeten the pot," answered the demon.

Alex was sitting on Jack's hospital bed with Jack sitting beside her. "It's time to put the pain behind you," said Jack. "And go where?" asked Alex. "Sorry. I can't tell you. So what's it going to be?" asked Jack. Alex turned to answer him when she heard electricity buzzing. Alex stood up and so did Jack. "What are you doing that for?" asked Alex. "I'm not doing it," said Jack. Black smoke began to enter the room through the vent. Alex and Jack turned to it. "You can't do this! Get away!" yelled Jack. The black smoke entered his body and he turned to Alex, his eyes now yellow. "Today's your lucky day, kid." He touched Alex's forehead with the palm of his hand.

Alex gasped as she awoke in her own body and sat up. She continued coughing as Sam and Dean rushed into the room. "Alex!" yelled Sam. "Help! We need help!" called Dean out the door.

Alex was sitting up in her hospital bed, Dean and Sam by her side and her doctor at the foot of her bed. "I can't explain it. You have some kind of angel watching over you." The doctor smiled at Alex and left the room. Alex looked at her brothers. "You said a reaper was after me?" Sam nodded. "How'd I ditch it?" "You got us. You really don't remember anything?" asked Dean. "Nope. There's this pit in my stomach. I feel like something's wrong," said Alex. A knock sounded on her door and all three turned to look. John stood in the doorway. His arm was in a sling and his cheek had a healing gash on it. He smiled at his daughter. "How you feeling?" he asked in his rough, fatherly voice. "Fine, I guess. I'm alive," said Alex. "That's what matters." "Where were you last night?" asked Sam. "I had some things to take care of," said John. "Well, that's specific." Alex rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Sam," said Dean. "Did you go after the demon?" asked Sam, ignoring his pleading siblings. "No," answered John. "You know, why don't I believe you right now?" asked Sam. Alex sighed and counted the specks of dust on the floor. Dean looked between Sam and John. John stepped into the room. "Can we not fight? Please?" Sam's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Sammy, I've always done the best I could. I just don't wanna fight anymore, okay?" "Dad, are you alright?" asked Sam. John smiled. "Yeah. Hey, Sam. Would you mind getting me a cup of coffee?" "Yeah, sure." Sam glanced at Dean, who shrugged. Sam kissed Alex's forehead and left the room. John watched him leave. "What is it?" asked Dean. John looked at him. "You know, when you were a kid, I'd come home from a hunt and after what I'd seen, I'd be wrecked. And you'd put your hand on my shoulder and say, 'It's okay, Dad." John had tears in his eyes and so did Alex, who was looking at Dean. "I put too much on your shoulders. You took care of me and Alex and Sammy. And you never complained. I am so proud of you." "Why are you saying this stuff?" asked Dean. John walked over to Alex. He smiled at her and gently kissed her forehead, his lips lingering and his eyes closing as he did. "I love you, baby girl. So much," he whispered. "I love you too, Daddy," said Alex through her tears. "I want you to watch out for the twins," said John, looking at Dean once he had pulled away from Alex. "Dad, you know I will. You're scarin' me." John let a tear fall down his face and Dean looked at him. "Don't be scared, Dean." John leaned down and whispered into Dean's ear. Dean looked at him, shocked once he was done. John smiled sadly and left the room.

John entered his now empty hospital room. He set the Colt on a table in the center of the room. He looked at the shadowy figure in front of him. "Okay."

Sam walked down the hospital hallway with a coffee cup in one hand and his other hand in his jean pocket. He passed by his father's hospital room and glanced inside. John was lying on the floor, unmoving. "Dad?" He stopped and dropped the coffee cup, splattering it on the bottom on his jeans and his shoes. He rushed into the room, yelling for help.

John was lying in a hospital bed with a team of doctors and nurses around him. Dean, Sam, and Alex stood in the doorway and watched as an oxygen mask was put on their father's face. "That's our dad!" yelled Alex. She turned into Sam's chest and sobbed while Sam held back tears of his own. "Still no pulse," said one nurse. She removed the oxygen mask. "Okay. I'm calling it. Time of death: 10:41 A.M." Alex sobbed harder and Sam stroked her hair. They slumped to the ground in the doorway, Alex in Sam's lap as she sobbed.

Alex was lying on her side of the motel room bed that her and Sam shared. She was curled into a ball and staring off into nothing. She had been in a catatonic state for the last few hours, not sleeping, eating, or drinking. Sam and Dean were sitting at the table and Sam stared at Alex on the bed. "Dean, she's been like that since this morning. It's almost five now." "I don't know what to do, Sam. We're gonna give Dad a funeral tonight and she's gonna freak out." Dean looked at his little sister and sighed. He took a sip of his coffee and Sam sighed. He stood up and walked over to his sister. He knelt down next to the bed and looked her in the face. "Alex, honey, you have to get up. Dad wouldn't want you to be like this. Dean and I are worried about you. Please get up," pleaded Sam. He reached out and stroked her hair gently. She looked at him and nodded. She slowly sat up and brushed her hair off her face. "You're right. I'm gonna go shower and then we can look for a new gig." She smiled weakly at Sam and he smiled back. He kissed her forehead and she grabbed some clothes from her duffel bag. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. A minute later, Sam and Dean heard the water start to run and Sam looked at Dean, who smiled sadly.

Alex stepped into the shower and sighed as the hot water hit her aching muscles. She stood under the spray, thinking about the car accident that had cost her father his life. She began sobbing and she set her back against the shower wall. She slid down the wall slowly and sat on the floor of the bathtub. She put her knees to her chest and cried loudly, the shower hitting and pelting her body with water. After a few minutes of uncontrollable sobbing, she was soaking wet. She heard the door open and seconds later, the water was shut off. Someone wrapped her in a towel and pulled her out of the tub and onto the bathroom floor. "Ssh, it'll be okay," whispered Sam as he stroked Alex's wet hair. "No. It's my fault he's dead," said Alex. "No, it isn't. He died protecting us. Don't ever think it's your fault." Sam sternly looked at her and Alex nodded, burying her head in his chest. He continued to rock back and forth as he soothed her. Sam's shirt was getting wet, but he didn't notice. Dean stood in the bathroom doorway and watched his younger siblings. He sat down on the floor with them. "We have to stick together. We're all we have left. Each other," said Dean. Alex looked at him from Sam's chest and nodded. She held out her hand and Dean took it, squeezing her fingers gently.

Alex stood in between Sam and Dean as they burned their father's dead body. They were giving him a Viking funeral, so the body was wrapped in cloth and set on a raised platform. Alex stared at the burning body, tears streaming down her face. She looked at Dean, who was showing no emotion and just staring at the rising flames. She glanced at Sam, who was crying. She stepped over closer to his side and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his middle. Sam put his arms around her waist and cried with her. After a few minutes, Sam stopped crying and straightened up. "Before he…" Sam broke down again and Alex looked at him sadly. Sam composed himself again and turned to Dean. "Before he… did he say anything to you?" asked Sam. Alex glanced at her oldest brother, biting her lip. "No," said Dean. His eyes never moved away from the flames and the body. "Nothing." Sam looked at Alex. She hugged him tightly one last time and then let go, returning to stand in between them.

A week later, Dean was under the Impala. He was fixing the damage that had been done from the crash. His jean clad legs were sticking out from under the car as Alex and Sam walked outside and over to the car. They were both wearing jeans and t-shirts. "How's your car coming along?" asked Sam. "Slow," answered Dean. Alex and Sam inspected the car. "Yeah. Need any help?" asked Alex. Dean dropped the wrench he was holding and part of the car fell to the ground. Alex grimaced as Dean cursed. "What, you two under a hood? I think I'll pass," joked Dean. "Need anything else then?" asked Alex. Dean slid out from under the car and looked at her. "Stop it, Alex." He stood up and walked over to a table that had tools lying all across its surface. "Stop asking if I need anything. I'm okay, I promise." He began messing with some of the tools and Alex sighed. "Alright. But Dean, it's just that we've been at Bobby's for over a week now and you haven't brought up Dad once." Alex bit her lip as Dean set down the tools in his hands and turned to face her and Sam. "You're right. Maybe I should lay my head on your shoulder and we can cry together." He smirked and walked back over to the Impala. Alex threw up her hands in frustration and Sam rolled his eyes. "Dad's dead. The Colt is gone and it seems pretty damn likely the demon is behind all this and you're acting like nothing happened," said Sam, his voice rising due to his anger and his frustration. "What do you want me to say?" asked Dean. "Say something, alright? Say anything! But instead, all you do is stay buried underneath this damn car. Don't you want revenge?" asked Sam. Dean looked at him while Alex looked between them. "Revenge, huh? Well, you makin' heads or tails of Dad's research cause I sure ain't. We've got nothin', Sam, okay? So the only thing I can do is work on the car." Dean bent down to look in the hood and began working on the car. Alex pulled out a cell phone and looked at Sam, who nodded. She walked up to Dean. "Dean? I did find something. It's one of Dad's old cell phones. Sammy cracked the voicemail code. We think you should listen." She held out the phone to him and Dean dropped everything he held, taking the phone from her. He stood up, put it to his ear, and listened. "John, it's Ellen. Again. Look, don't be stubborn. You know I can help you. Call me." Dean handed Alex the phone, his eyebrows raised. "That message is four months old," said Sam. "Dad saved that chick's message for four months? Who's Ellen? Any mention of her in Dad's journal?" asked Dean. "No, but Sam ran a trace on the number. He got an address," said Alex. "Ask Bobby if we can use one of his cars," said Dean. Sam nodded and they filed into the house.

Dean pulled the rusty blue van up to an old bar. He parked right in front, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and sighed. "This is humiliating." Sam patted Dean's shoulder and they all got out. Dean slammed his door shut. "I feel like a freakin' soccer mom," said Dean. Alex laughed and Dean glared at her. "It's the only car Bobby had running," said Sam. He began inspecting the building as he walked around it. "Hello?" he called. Alex stepped onto the wrap-around porch and looked through the dark, dusty windows. Dean looked through the small window in the door. Sam came back around to the front and shook his head. Dean nodded and picked the lock using a nail file Alex gave him. He pushed open the door and they all walked inside. Sam shut the door behind him and followed his siblings to the poll tables. A man was lying on one of them, unconscious. He reeked of booze and smoke. "I'm guessing that's not Ellen?" asked Alex, wrinkling her nose at the stench. "Nope," said Dean. They turned away and walked down a dark hallway. Alex was behind both of her brothers when she felt something pushing into her back. "God, please let that be a rifle," she pleaded. "Nah, I'm just real happy to see you," said a deep male voice. Alex rolled her eyes. "You know, you shouldn't put a rifle right against someone's back." Alex quickly spun around and grabbed the rifle from the man's hands. She then brought back her fist and punched him in the nose. "Sam! Dean!" The man grabbed his nose and glared at her. "Sorry, sis. We're a little tied up," said Sam. He and Dean rounded the hallway corner with their hands on their heads. A woman had a rifle pointed at Dean and another boy had a rifle pointed at Sam. "Nice job, Lex," said Dean, smirking at his sister holding the rifle. The man she punched was bent over, holding his nose and groaning in pain. Blood seeped through his fingers. Alex beamed. "Sam? Dean? Alex? Winchester?" asked the woman. "Yeah," said the siblings in unison. The man holding a rifle to Sam's back peeked his head around Sam to look at Alex. "Alex?" he asked. Alex looked at him and her eyes went wide. "Kellan?" He smirked and nodded. Alex set the rifle down on the bar and ran to Kellan. He opened his arms and she ran into them. He hugged her close and closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. "I knew he looked familiar," said Dean to Sam. The woman lowered her rifle. "Mom, you know these three?" asked the guy with the broken nose. "I think these are John Winchester's kids," said the woman. Alex finally let go of Kellan and stood beside him. "I'm Ellen. That's my son, Joe, and his best friend, Kellan," said the woman. "Hey," said Joe.

"I'm sorry about punching you," said Alex. Joe held a towel full of ice to his nose. He smiled. "Not a big deal." Alex smiled. "You told our dad you could help him. What did you mean?" asked Dean to Ellen. "Well the demon of course," said Ellen. Alex looked away from Joe and over to her brothers. "How do you know all this?" asked Dean. "I just run a saloon, but hunters have been known to pass through now and again. John was like family once," said Ellen. "He's never mentioned you before," said Alex. "Why exactly do we need your help?" asked Dean. "Don't do me any favors, but John wouldn't have sent you if-" Ellen stopped, looking at all of their faces. "He didn't send you." Alex looked away. "He's alright, isn't he?" pushed Ellen. Dean looked away too. Sam leaned his elbows on his knees and looked at Ellen, Joe, and Kellan. "No. No, he isn't. It was the demon, we think. It, uh, just got him before he got it, I guess," said Sam. Joe looked at Alex. "I'm so sorry." "It's okay. We're alright," said Dean. "We could use all the help we can get," said Sam. "Ash can help. Ash!" yelled Kellan. The guy who was lying on the pool tables sat up, looking over at them. "That's Ash?" asked Alex, her eyebrows raised. Joe nodded, a smirk playing on his lips. "He's a genius," said Kellan.

The siblings were sitting at the bar with Ash sitting next to them. Ellen, Joe, and Kellan were behind the bar getting drinks for everyone. Dean slid a manila folder across the bar to Ash. "This is about a year of our dad's work. Let's see what you make of it," said Dean. He watched Ash pick up the folder and look through the contents. Alex snuck a glance at Kellan, who was looking at her also. She smiled and he winked at her. "This stuff ain't real. Nobody can track a demon like this," said Ash. "Our dad could," said Alex. "They're signs. Omens. Crop failures, electrical storms." "Can you track it or not?" asked Sam. "I think so. But it's gonna take time. Gimme 51 hours," said Ash. He grabbed the folder and headed toward the back of the bar, leaving the confused Winchesters at the bar. Ellen walked out from behind the bar and Joe followed behind her. Kellan watched as Joe smiled at Alex and his face fell as Alex smiled back. "Ellen, what's that?" asked Sam, pointing to a radio looking thing that sat on a dusty shelf. "A police scanner," answered Ellen. "No, the folder," said Sam. Ellen looked at Sam. She grabbed the folder and walked over to him. "I was gonna give this to a friend of mine. Take a look if you want." She handed him the folder and Dean looked over Sam's shoulder at the contents of the folder. Joe and Ellen also leaned in to look and Kellan grabbed Alex's hand, leading her to the back of the bar where Ash had gone.

Kellan led Alex into a storage room. He flicked on the lights and Alex sat on a crate. Kellan turned to her and smiled. "I thought I'd never see you again," said Kellan. He pulled her close and Alex wrapped her arms around his middle. "Kellan, can I ask you something?" Kellan nodded and stepped away from her. "Who was the girl I heard on the phone with you last time we talked?" Kellan sighed. "That was Bethany. She's an old friend. We're not together, I swear. We weren't together that day you called either. She's a hunter, like you." Alex smiled. "You know about this stuff then?" Kellan nodded. "How'd you get into this with Ellen and Joe?" "Joe's dad was a hunter. He was like my own dad." Kellan looked down. "He passed away." Alex sighed and reached out, grabbing Kellan's hand. "I'm sorry." "It was a long time ago. We were just kids." Kellan looked up at her then. "I'm sorry to hear about your dad." "Yeah." She looked at Kellan and reached a hand up to touch his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. "I've missed you so much," said Kellan, opening his eyes to stare into Alex's. "I've missed you too." Alex smiled at him and she leaned up so that her lips met his in a tender kiss.

"Hey, Alex, come check this out," called Sam. When he heard no response, he turned around and saw that she wasn't in the room. Dean turned around too. "Mother fucker. Where did she go?" "Maybe she's hanging with Ash. I mean, she seemed pretty interested in the demon stuff," suggested Ellen. "Um, maybe. But where's Kellan?" asked Joe. Dean and Sam looked around the bar again and now noticed that Kellan was gone. "Shit," said Dean. He tore out of the bar and Sam was right behind him.

Alex leaned her forehead against Kellan's and breathed in his scent. "My brothers are probably looking for me," whispered Alex. Kellan grinned. "Yeah, you're probably right. We better go." Kellan grabbed her hand and opened the door. Sam and Dean were right outside and glared at Kellan. "We need to talk to our sister. Alex, let's go," said Dean. Alex squeezed Kellan's fingers and followed her brothers out into the bar.

"We wanted you to check this out," said Sam. He spread the folders contents across the bar and Alex looked them over. "A few murders not far from here that Ellen caught wind of. Looks to me that there might be a hunt," said Sam. He watched Alex read over the information. "So?" asked Alex. "So, I say we check it out," said Dean. Sam nodded and Alex sighed. "Okay." "Alright. We'll leave in a few hours," said Dean.

Kellan and Ellen were stocking the bar as Sam read over the information and Dean nursed his beer at the bar. Joe was sitting at a table and Alex walked over to him, sitting across from him. "So. I'm really sorry about your nose," said Alex. Joe smiled and waved her off. "It's fine. I've had worse." Alex smiled too and Joe took a swig of his beer. "So how'd your mom get into this stuff anyway?" asked Alex. "My dad was a hunter. He, uh, passed away," said Joe. Alex nodded. "Yeah, Kellan told me that. I'm sorry." "It was a long time ago. I was just a kid. Sorry to hear about your dad." "Thanks." She smiled at him and Joe smiled back. Kellan walked in from a back room of the bar and looked over to see Joe and Alex smiling at one another. He glared and set the box he was holding down. He wiped off his forehead that was full of sweat and walked over to them. "Hey y'all. What's up?" Joe quit smiling and Alex looked up at Kellan. "Just talking. But I have to use the bathroom so I'll be back," said Alex. She stood up, kissed Kellan's cheek, and left for the bathroom. "Joe, you're like my brother. But if you go after Alex, I'll hurt you, I swear." Joe shook his head and stood up, slapping Kellan's shoulder. "You have no worries, bro. She's yours." He walked over to help his mom at the bar and Kellan followed.

Dean was behind the wheel of the van that night as he and his siblings headed toward the town to investigate the murders. It was storming and rain was pelting the windshield hard. Thunder shook the sky and lightning lit up the sky every few minutes. "C'mon? A killer clown?" asked Dean. "Yeah," said Sam. He read the information in the file by the light of his flashlight. "He left the daughter unharmed and killed the parents. Cut them in pieces, actually," said Sam. Alex grimaced and stretched out on the backseat. "And this family went to some carnival that night?" asked Dean. "Right. The, uh, Cooper Carnival," read Sam off a piece of paper. "So how do you know we're not dealin' with some psycho carnie in a clown suit?" "The police have no viable leads and all the employees were tearin' down shop. Plus, the girl said she saw a clown vanish into thin air," said Sam. "Well, I know what you're thinkin', Sammy." Dean looked at him through the rearview mirror. "Why did it have to be clowns?" "Give me a break," said Sam. Dean laughed. "Sam's got a legitimate fear. Clowns are freaky sons of bitches," said Alex from the backseat. "Right. You didn't think I remembered, did ya, Sammy? C'mon, you used to bust out cryin' when you saw Ronald McDonald on television," said Dean. "At least I'm not afraid of flying," said Sam, looking at Dean. "Hey, planes crash," said Dean. "Yeah, and apparently, clowns kill!" said Sam. Dean shook his head and turned his attention back to the road while Sam looked over the papers in his lap. Alex remained stretched out on the backseat, falling in and out of sleep. "So these murders ever happened before?" asked Dean, after a few moments of silence. "Uh, according to the file, 1981. The Bunker Brothers Circus. Same M.O. It happened three different times. Three different locales," answered Sam. "That's weird. If it was a spirit, it's usually bound to a specific locale. A house or a town," said Dean. "Could be a cursed object. Spirit attaches itself to something and the carnival carries it around," murmured Alex. "Great. Paranormal scavenger hunt," said Sam. "This case was your idea, brainiac," said Alex. Dean nodded and they all lapsed into silence again, Alex beginning to fall asleep. "Hey, Sam," said Dean. Alex opened her eyes and listened to Dean. Sam looked at his brother. "At least we're not afraid of spiders." Sam laughed. "Hey, those are nasty little fuckers," said Alex. Dean and Sam both chuckled and Alex flipped them off. She turned around and faced the seat so she could fall asleep. "Just shut up and drive, dick," said Alex. Dean smirked.

Dean pulled up to the carnival in town. They all got out of the car and Dean saw two police officers talking to some carnival-goers. "I'll be right back," he said to his siblings. They both nodded and Sam and Alex waited by a kiddie ride as Dean talked to the policemen. As they waited, a woman dressed as a clown walked past them. She looked at Sam. Sam grimaced and Alex looked at him. The clown walked away as Dean headed toward them. "Did you get her number?" asked Dean. Sam glared at him and Alex held back a laugh. "More murders?" asked Sam. "Two more last night. Apparently, they were ripped to shreds and they had a little boy with 'em," said Dean. "Guys, looking for a cursed object is like looking for a needle in a stack of needles. It could be anything," said Alex. "It's bound to give off EMF, so we'll just scan everything," said Dean. Sam scoffed. "Yeah, cause that's _real _inconspicuous." Dean looked around the carnival. "I guess we'll just have to blend in." He pointed to the "Help Wanted" sign on a pole. "Fuck," muttered Alex. Sam sighed.

The siblings walked into a large tent to see a man wearing sunglasses throwing knifes at a large target. "Excuse me," said Dean. The man turned to them. "We're looking for Mr. Cooper. Have you seen him around?" asked Dean. "What is that, some kind of joke?" asked the man. Alex and Sam looked at each other, confused. The man removed his sunglasses and they saw that he was blind, his eyes white. "Oh God, I'm sorry," said Dean. "I'd give anything to see. The sunset, Mr. Cooper…" The man rambled on and Dean looked at his siblings. "Wanna give me a little help here?" he whispered. "Not really," said Sam and Alex at the same time. Dean gave them a sarcastic smile as they laughed. "Barry, is there a problem?" asked a voice from behind them. They all turned and looked down at the man who had asked the question. "Yeah, this guy hates blind people," said Barry. "No, I don't," said Dean. "Hey, buddy, what's your problem?" asked the little man. "It's just a little misunderstanding," said Dean. "Little?" You son of a bitch!" Alex and Sam cracked up laughing. "No. Can someone please tell me where Mr. Cooper is?" pleaded Dean.

The siblings walked behind Mr. Cooper as they entered his office. "You three picked a hell of a time to join up. You see, we got all kids of local trouble," said Mr. Cooper. He took a seat behind his desk. Dean looked around and noticed that there were only two chairs. One chair was a normal size chair. The other chair was normal size, but a clown's face leered up at them. Dean rushed over and sat in the normal looking chair. He smirked at Sam's glare. Alex rolled her eyes at his immaturity. Sam looked at the clown face chair and grimaced. He sat on the very edge of it, not touching his back to the clown's face at all. Dean smiled and looked at Alex. He patted his thigh and Alex sat on his lap. "What do you mean trouble?" asked Dean. "Couple of folks got themselves murdered. Cops seem to start here first. So, you three ever worked the circuit before?" asked Cooper. "Yes, sir. Last year through Texas and Arkansas," lied Sam. "Doin' what?" "Little bit of everything," said Alex. Mr. Cooper looked them over. "You three have never worked a show in you life, have you?" He smirked. "Nope, but we really need the work," said Dean. Mr. Cooper nodded and pointed to a black and white picture hanging in a frame on the wall. It was of a young man with a Ferris wheel in the background behind him. The siblings turned to look at it. "That's my daddy." "You look just like him," said Sam. "He was in the business. Ran a freak show till they outlawed him. You see, this place is a refuge for outcasts. You three should go to school. Have families. Live regular," said Mr. Cooper. The siblings turned back to face Mr. Cooper and Sam leaned in toward him. "Sir, we don't wanna go to school. We don't want regular. We want this." Mr. Cooper smiled. "Well, okay then."

The three siblings were walking around the carnival to get used to where they would be working. "Sammy, did you mean what you said? About not going to school?" asked Alex. "I don't know," said Sam, his back turned to them. "You don't know? I thought that once the demon was dead, you were gonna take off," said Dean. "I'm having second thoughts." They stopped walking and Sam faced them. "Really?" asked Alex, looking up at him. "Yeah, I think. Dad would've wanted me to stick with the job," said Sam. "Since when do you give a damn what Dad wanted?" asked Dean. Alex looked at the ground, nudging the dirt with her toe. "Since he died, okay? You have a problem with that?" asked Sam. "Stop it," whispered Alex. She pushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. Her brothers looked at her. "Nah. I don't have a problem at all." He grabbed Alex and kissed the top of her head before walking away, Sam and Alex watching him leave.

Sam was now wearing a Cooper Carnival jacket over his black t-shirt. Alex and Dean were somewhere else in the carnival, looking for the cursed object. Sam had one ear bud in his left ear and it was attached to an EMF reader. While he swept trash into his dustpan, he came across a House of Mirrors. He looked around and saw no one. He leaned his broom and dustpan against the railing and entered the House of Mirrors. He slowly walked through it, his headphone always in his left ear and the EMF always in his hand. As Sam walked down a hallway, a skeleton flew down from the ceiling and Sam jumped back, startled. He sighed when he saw that it was fake and continued through the exhibit.

Dean and Alex were dumping their dustpans into a trashcan when Dean's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open, holding it to his ear. "Hello?" "Hey, man," said Sam on the other end of the phone. "You okay? You sound like you saw a clown," said Dean. He chuckled at his own joke and Alex rolled her eyes. "Very funny. It was a skeleton, actually," said Sam. "Like a real human skeleton?" "In the Fun House. Listen, what if the spirit is attached to its own remains instead of an object?" "Did the bones give off EMF?" "Well, no, but-" "We should check it out anyway. We're headed to you," said Dean, cutting off Sam. He hung up, sticking his phone back in his jeans pocket and Alex and Dean began walking toward where Sam was. As they were walking, a hand reached out and grabbed Dean's elbow. They both turned and saw that it was Barry, the blind man from before. "What are you still doin' here, kid?" "I was just sweepin'," said Dean. "Bullshit. What were you talkin' about, skeletons?" "Dude, your hearing is out of control," said Dean, surprised. "Why were you talkin' about bones?" asked Barry. "My brothers and I are writing a book about ghosts," said Alex. Barry let go of Dean's elbow.

10 minutes later, Dean and Alex finally found Sam in front of The House of Mirrors/Fun House. "What took you so long?" asked Sam, throwing his hands up in the air. "It's a long story," said Dean. "Mommy, look at the clown!" yelled a little girl standing a few feet from them. She pointed through the crowd of people. Sam, Alex, and Dean stepped closer to her. "What clown?" asked her mother, who was looking where the little girl was pointing. The Winchesters also looked in the same general direction, but saw nothing. The mom grabbed her daughter's hand and led her away to a different part of the carnival and the siblings exchanged glances.

That night, the Winchesters were parked outside the house of the little girl from the carnival who said she saw a clown. Sam and Dean were in the front and Alex was looking out the window in the back. "God, I hate stakeouts. They're so boring," whined Alex. She stretched out on he backseat and closed her eyes. "Yeah, me too. But we gotta keep people safe," replied Dean. Alex opened her eyes and sat up again, continuing to look out her window.

Dean was asleep a few hours later, his head resting against his window and a gun on his thigh. The lights turned on in the house and Alex sat up straight, looking at Sam. Sam hit Dean's shoulder and Dean shot up. Sam pointed to the house. The little girl walked past the front room window and opened the front door.

Sam, Dean, and Alex climbed up the rain gutter on the side of the house and entered through a guest room window. They hid behind a wall in the hallway and listened for footsteps. The little girl and the clown walked past them and the girl was opening her parent's bedroom door when they stepped out of the shadows. "Hey!" yelled Sam. The clown froze and Dean shot at it. The little girl began screaming at the top of her lungs and the clown fell to the ground after being shot by Dean. Alex scooped up the little girl into her arms. "Ssh," said Alex, comforting her. The clown stood up quickly and jumped out the hallway window, smashing the windowpane. "What the hell is going on out here?" asked the little girl's father. He and his wife emerged from their bedroom and looked at the Winchesters. Alex set down the little girl and ran out of the house with her brothers.

The next morning, Alex, Dean, and Sam were walking along the side of the road, having ditched the van. Each one of them had a duffel bag in one hand. "Well, we're not dealin' with a spirit. That rock salt hit somethin' solid," said Dean. "Say anything in Dad's journal?" asked Alex. "Nope," answered Dean. Sam took out his cell phone and Dean looked at him. "Who you callin'?" "Maybe Ellen or Ash will know something," said Sam, punching in the number. "Do you think Ellen and Dad ever had a thing?" asked Alex. "No way," said Dean. "Then why didn't he tell us about her?" "I don't know. Maybe they had a falling out." Sam held the phone to his ear, getting no answer. He hung up and stuck it back in his jacket pocket. "Don't you think Dad had a falling out with everybody?" asked Sam. Dean said nothing and Alex shrugged. "Good point." Sam looked at Dean. "You know? This strong, silent thing of yours is crap. I'm over it." "Oh God, Back off, alright?" said Dean. "Look, I don't care how you deal with this, but you have to deal with it. I'm your brother and I just wanna make sure you're okay." "I'm okay! These are your issues. Quit dumpin' 'em on me." Sam stopped walking and faced Dean, who had also stopped walking. Alex stood beside Sam. "What are you talkin' about?" "I just think it's really interesting the sudden obedience you have to Dad. Sam, you spent your entire life sluggin' it out with that man. Now, you wanna make it right? Well, I'm sorry, but you can't. It's too late." Alex looked between them, tears in her eyes. "Why are you saying this to me?" asked Sam. "Because I want you to be honest with yourself! I'm dealin' with Dad's death. Are you?" yelled Dean. Alex's tears trailed down her cheeks as she looked at her family unraveling. "I'm gonna call Ellen," said Sam, walking away. He turned his back to his brother and sister and walked a few feet away. Dean looked at Alex, pain in his eyes as he saw her tears. "Oh, baby girl. I'm sorry." He pulled her close and she rested her head on his chest, her tears soaking his t-shirt. "Why do you have to fight with him?" she asked. "It just happens. I'm sorry," said Dean. "I know you are. It's just, you two are all I have left. Every time you fight, our family starts to unravel." "I know, I'm so sorry." Dean kissed her temple, letting his lips linger. Sam rejoined them. "Ellen's best guess is a rock shaza. Ancient Hindu creature. Disguise themselves in human form. They sleep on a bed of dead insects and feed a few times every 20 to 30 years," said Sam. He looked at Dean and Alex, who were still embracing. "Oh, Alex. I'm so sorry," said Sam. Alex nodded and stepped out of Dean's arms and into Sam's. He hugged her tight and Alex hugged him back. "Cooper worked both carnivals. That's what Barry told us," said Dean. "Right, but how do we kill it?" asked Alex. She stepped out of Sam's embrace. "Dagger made of pure brass," said Sam. "I think I know where we can get one of those," said Dean. "We have to make sure it's Cooper first," said Alex. "Me and Lex will get the blade. Make sure Cooper has bed bugs," said Dean.

At the carnival that night, Dean and Alex were with Barry outside of his trailer. "Brass blade? I think I got one of those," said Barry. He unlocked the trailer door and they followed him inside. "Check the trunk," said Barry. Dean and Alex went to the trunk in the corner and opened the lid. They began rifling through the stuff inside. Alex paused as she came across the outfit that the killer clown always wore. "Dean," she whispered. He looked back at her and saw the outfit. He froze. They looked up in time to see Barry smirk and then disappear into thin air.

Dean and Alex were pushing against the locked trailer door with no success. A sharp knife came flying at their heads and landed above their heads, sticking into the door. "Alright!" yelled Dean. The door swung open and they ran out into the cool air. "Hey!" yelled Sam from a few feet away. Alex relaxed when they saw him and they walked over to Sam. "It's the blind guy. He's here somewhere," panted Dean. "We didn't get the brass blade," said Alex, biting her lip. "I've got an idea. C'mon," said Sam. He led them to the Fun House. They entered and began walking through it. Sam and Alex were walking behind Dean when a panel shot down from the ceiling, separating Sam and Alex from Dean. "Dean!" yelled Alex, banging on the panel. Sam and Alex tried to pry open the panel, but nothing worked. "Dean, find him, okay?" yelled Sam. "Got it!" yelled back Dean. Sam looked at Alex. "Alright, c'mon." He grabbed her hand and they walked through the maze, creepy music playing over the speakers as they walked. They entered a small area with an organ in the corner. The organ was emitting smoke from six brass pipes. Sam let go of Alex's hand and grabbed one of the pipes, but it was too hot to touch. He yanked his hand back and shook it. "Hey," said Dean, walking up behind them. "Where is he?" asked Alex. Suddenly, Dean was flung against the wall and pinned there by knifes in his jacket sleeves. Sam managed to pull an organ pipe free and turned to look for Barry. Alec ran to Dean, trying to help him get free. A knife went whirring past Alex's head and barely missed Dean. Alex began pulling on the knives harder. "Where is it?" asked Sam. "I don't know!" yelled Alex, getting Dean free. Dean looked up and saw a lever that if pulled, would emit smoke. Dean reached up and pulled it and smoke poured into the room. "Sam, behind you!" yelled Alex. Sam rammed the organ pipe into the killer and he screamed, disappearing. "I fuckin' hate fun houses," said Dean.

The nest day, the Winchesters were with Ellen, Joe, and Kellan at Ellen's bar. Ellen handed them each a beer. "Nice job. Your father would be proud of you," said Ellen. She smiled at them and walked away. Kellan kissed Alex on the cheek and walked in the back of the bar to help Ellen unload boxes. Joe walked up to Alex and Alex raised her eyebrows at Sam. "Oh! Dean, we need to go to the pool tables. Now." Sam grabbed Dean's elbow, dragging him over to play pool. "No, we do fuckin' not," said Dean, glaring daggers at Joe. "So. Am I ever gonna see you again?" asked Joe. Alex sighed. "Joe, you're a great guy. But Kellan and I have a… thing, I guess, and I really like him," said Alex. Joe nodded. "I know. But, I like you, Alex. Can we at least be friends?" Alex nodded. "I'd like that." "As long as I don't get punched in the nose again, I think we'll be okay," said Joe, smiling. Alex laughed and smiled with him. Kellan entered the room again and walked up to them. "Joe, Ma needs you in the back," said Kellan. Joe nodded and walked to the back of the bar. "So…" said Alex. "So…" repeated Kellan, smirking. Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed Kellan by the front of the shirt, pulling him into her. She kissed him on the lips and he kissed her back. Sam approached and tapped Kellan on the shoulder. "Sorry to interrupt, but we just talked to Ash. He's got some pretty intense stuff." "Yep, he's a genius," said Kellan. He winked at Alex and walked behind the bar to help Ellen and Joe. "Dean wants to go work on the Impala. We better go," said Sam. Alex nodded and she followed her brothers out of the bar.

Back at Bobby's house, Alex looked out the kitchen window into the backyard to see Sam and Dean standing by the Impala talking. She went outside to join them. "I miss him, man. And I feel guilty as hell. And I'm not alright at all," said Sam. He glanced at Alex as she approached. "I'll let you get back to work," said Sam. He looked at Alex and walked back into the house. Dean stood in the same place, unmoving. Alex walked up to him. "I love you, big brother." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. She went back inside. Once she was gone, Dean grabbed a crowbar from the dirt. He smashed the driver's side window with it and beat the trunk with it as well until there were two large holes in the trunk. Dean threw the crowbar aside when he was finished and stared off into nothing.


	25. Chapter 25

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 25AC/DC's "Back in Black" was blaring through the Impala's speakers as Sam, Dean, and Alex cruised down the road. Dean was grinning from ear to ear. "Whoo! Listen to her purr," said Dean. He took one hand from the wheel and gently rubbed the newly restored Impala's dashboard. Alex rolled her eyes and Sam smiled. "Just get a room already," said Alex. "Don't listen to her, baby. She doesn't understand," said Dean, still rubbing his hand over the dashboard. "Right. How far until we get to Montana?" asked Alex. "About 300 miles," said Sam. Alex sighed and laid down on the backseat. Sam looked out the window at passing scenery as Dean stepped on the gas.

They were in the city of Red Hatch, Montana. Dean, Alex, and Sam were sitting in the police chief's office, posing as reporters. Sam and Dean had on nice suits while Alex was wearing a pencil skirt and a ruffled white blouse. "The murder investigation is ongoing and that's all I can say to the press," said the police chief. "Right, but just for the record. You found the first head last week?" asked Sam. The chief nodded. "And the second one, Christina Flanagan was found…" "Two days ago." A knock sounded on the police chief's open door. They all looked up at the disruption. A woman looked at the chief and tapped her wrist, indicating time. The chief nodded and the siblings turned back around to him. "Sorry, your time's up," said the chief. "What about the cattle?" asked Dean. "'Scuse me?" asked the chief, leaning forward in his chair. His mustached quivered in anger at Dean's question. "The cattle, split open, drained." "What about 'em?" "You don't think there's a connection?" asked Alex. "With what?" asked the chief. "The murders," stated Sam. "No, none at all. Now get out of my office." The Winchesters stood up and filed out of the office.

The Winchesters walked into the morgue. They were there to inspect the victims for any sort of odd markings. A young man was sitting at the front desk when they entered. He looked up at them and glared. Dean sighed. "Be right back," said Alex. She pushed past her brothers and walked up to the front desk. Sam and Dean watched her from the door. "Hi. What's your name?" asked Alex, batting her eyelashes at the man. "Josh." Alex sat on the desk and Josh watched her every move. "I noticed that the office down the hall is empty," said Alex. She reached out and grabbed his tie and gently began playing with it. "Yep. Uh, Dr. Drakin is on vacation," said Josh. Alex smiled and reached out to touch Josh's chest. "You know, I've always had this fantasy of doing it in an office," said Alex. She leaned in to Josh's ear. "I'll make it good for you," she whispered. She licked her lips and Josh gulped. "I'll meet you in there in ten," she said. Josh jumped out of his chair and ran down the hall into the office. Alex hopped off the desk and walked over to her brothers. She grabbed the keys from off the desk and threw them to Dean. He used them to lock the office door and followed his siblings through the door marked "Morgue." "That was impressive. But I still didn't like it," said Dean. Sam laughed. "Whatever. You juts wish you could do that," said Alex. She threw him a pair of latex gloves and Sam pulled out the body. There was a box containing the head and Sam held it out to Dean. "Open it," said Sam. Dean groaned, but slowly pulled back the lid. "Poor girl," said Alex. Sam nodded. "Open the mouth," said Alex. Dean and Sam both looked at her, their eyebrows raised. "You gotta make sure there's nothin' in there!" "You do it," said Sam, looking at Dean. "No, you do it," said Dean. Alex rolled her eyes at their banter and grabbed the box from Dean's hands. "You're a bunch of pussies." She set the head on a table and opened the mouth. Sam's face turned a slight shade of green and Dean looked away. "Nope, nothin'," said Alex. She dropped the girl's lip and turned to face her brothers. "Wait, I think I saw something," said Sam. Dean finally looked back at the head as Sam opened the mouth and pressed on a small bump in the girl's gum. A fang popped down from the hole. "Vampire fangs? Are you serious?" asked Alex. Dean let go of the mouth. "Well, this changes things," said Sam. "You think?" asked Dean, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

That night, the siblings walked into a slightly crowded bar called Spinner's. Alex wrinkled her nose at the low-lifes that inhabited the place. They were all nursing beers and most leered at her as she passed by them with her brothers. She clung to Sam's side as they walked to the bar in the corner. The bartender looked up at them as they approached, drying a glass that he held. "Three beers, please," said Dean. The bartender grabbed three mugs and filled them to the brim with foaming Miller Lite. "So, we're lookin' for some people," said Sam. He slid a fifty-dollar bill across the bar and the bartender stuck it in his pocket. "They would've moved here about six months ago. Like to drink," said Dean. "Real night owls," said Alex. "The McFarland's have been in here a few times. Pretty rowdy, just moved here," said the bartender. "Thanks," said Dean. He led the way to a table where they sat to finish their beers.

As Alex clung to Sam's side and Dean led the way through an alley beside the bar, the hair on Alex's arm stood up as if someone was following them. She looked up at Sam, who imperceptibly nodded. They quickly sped up their pace and hung around a corner. A black man entered the alley and the boys jumped out from behind the corner, pinning him against the wall. Dean held a knife to his throat. "I'm not a vampire," said the man. He lifted up his lip to reveal a fangless mouth. Dean removed the knife from his throat. He and Sam let go of the man and the man shook off his clothes. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, looking at them.

The siblings had followed the man to his car. He opened his driver's side door and popped the trunk. Inside the trunk was a pull out rack full of weapons. He pulled it out and Dean's eyes widened at the man's collection. "So you're the Winchesters. You know, I met your old man once. Great hunter." The man looked up at them. "I heard he passed. I'm sorry. But, I hear you fit his shoes well." "You seem to know a lot about our family," said Alex, her eyes narrowing. "Word travels fast. You know how hunters talk." The man returned to looking through his weapons. Dean looked at Sam and Alex, shrugging. "So those two vampires were yours," stated Sam. "Sure were." The man shoved the weapons rack back into his trunk and Alex watched his every move. "Where's the nest?" asked Dean. "Look, it was a pleasure to meet y'all. But I'll finish this." "We could help," said Sam. "Thanks, but I've got it." The man shot them a quick smile, his white teeth gleaming in the dark. He got into his car and waved to them as he drove away.

At the boat docks around midnight, the Winchesters were hiding around the corner of a building as the man they had met earlier at Spinner's fought a vampire. Alex held her breath as the man began to lose. As the vampire shoved the man underneath the power saw and turned it on, they rushed out to help. Sam grabbed the man's legs and pulled him out from under the still running saw. At the same time, Dean grabbed the vampire and began beating it with a harpoon. He knocked it under the saw and lowered it to the creature's head. Alex looked away as the vampire's head was chopped off. Dean felt blood spatter onto his face as the vampire was beheaded. Dean turned off the saw and looked at the people around him. "Eww," said Alex, looking at his blood covered face. Dean shrugged.

Back at Spinner's bar, the siblings and the man, who was named Gordon Walker, were sitting at a table drinking beer. Dean and Gordon each had a shot and Gordon raised his up in cheers. Dean followed suit and they threw back their shots. Alex glanced at Sam. He was leaning back in his chair, looking between Dean and Gordon. Alex stood up from her chair and walked over to him. She knelt down next to his chair. "You okay?" she asked. Sam ignored her and continued staring between Gordon and Dean. Alex sighed and stood up. She sat down on Sam's lap, her legs dangling off his lap and her feet not touching the floor. She forced Sam to look at her by grabbing his chin. "Are you okay?" she asked again. Sam tried to nod, but couldn't due to Alex's grip on his chin. Alex let go of his chin and he nodded. "Lighten' up a little bit, Sammy," said Gordon. "My siblings are the only ones that get to call me that," said Sam, his tone full of venom. "Sorry. I just think you should have fun with your job," said Gordon. "Decapitations aren't my idea of fun," said Sam. "Okay. We're going back to the motel," said Alex. She stood up and got off Sam's lap. He stood up as well and followed her. "See you later," said Dean. He dug the Impala keys out of his pocket and handed them to Alex. She kissed his cheek, smiled at Gordon, and walked out with Sam, his arm around her shoulders. "Something I said?" asked Gordon. "Nah, he just gets that way. They'll be okay. Alex will think of something to do. The twin thing, you know?" said Dean. Gordon nodded and took a drink from his beer.

Alex and Sam were lying on the floor in their motel room. They were leg wrestling. Alex's head was facing toward one end of the room and Sam's faced the other end. They both were using their right leg. "One," said Alex and they both lifted up their right leg and brought it back down to the floor. "Two," said Alex and they repeated the action. "Three!" Their legs lifted up and intertwined, both of them trying to bring the other's leg to the ground using only their right leg. They both sat up slightly to see what was happening. Sam grabbed Alex's leg with both of his hands and pushed it to the floor. "Cheater!" yelled Alex. They both sat up, laughing. "Whatever it takes to win," said Sam. Alex rolled her eyes and stood up. "I gotta shower." Sam nodded and Alex entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. Sam reached for his phone and dialed Ellen's number. "Ellen? It's Sam." "Sam! How are you?" "Good. Uh, I was wondering if you've heard of a man named Gordon Walker," asked Sam. "Yeah," replied Ellen. "And?" "He's a real good hunter. Why you askin', sweetie?" "We're, uh, kinda workin' with him," said Sam. "Don't do that, Sam. He is dangerous to everyone around him. Just let him handle his job and you three move on," said Ellen. "Ellen…" "Sam, just listen to what I am telling you." Alex opened the bathroom door and looked at Sam. "Okay. Thanks." Sam hung up and threw his phone onto a bed. "Ellen?" asked Alex. Sam nodded. "Well, I'm gonna get some soda. Want anything?" asked Sam. "Diet Coke, please," said Alex. Sam nodded, grabbed a few one-dollar bills off the bedside table, and headed out the door to the vending machines.

Alex was sitting on the bed as the window above the heater began to slowly open. Sam was still at the vending machines getting drinks. Alex stood up and backed up into the door, watching as two male vampires crawled through the window and into the room. They narrowed their gaze on her, sneering. "Get away, you motherfuckers!" yelled Alex as they came towards her. She punched one of them in the face, but the other one grabbed her around the waist. He threw her into the wall, causing Alex's head to hit the wall and her vision went blurry for a few seconds. The door opened as Alex grabbed her now pounding head. "Alex!" yelled Sam, rushing over to her. One of the vampires grabbed him around the torso and Alex saw him struggle to escape as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Alex came to and saw that she was in a room with Sam. They were tied to chairs that belonged around a dining room table. They had gags in their mouths and a male vampire was looking down at them, sneering. He bared his fangs and began to lower his mouth to Sam's neck when another vampire walked into the room. "Stop," she said and the male vampire stood up to look at her. He stepped away from Sam and the girl vampire walked over to Sam and Alex, removing their gags. "My name's Lenora. We just want to talk," she said. Alex rolled her eyes. "Listen bitch, you're not the first vampires we've met." "We're not like the others. We don't kill humans," said Lenora, ignoring Alex's "bitch" comment. Alex began to struggle against her bonds, trying to break free. "What is this, some kind of joke?" asked Sam. "Notice you're still alive," said Lenora. Alex stopped struggling and looked at her. "We kill animals to get by. No missing locals mean none of us can die." "Why are we explaining ourselves to these killers? They murdered Conrad and then celebrated," said the male vampire who was leaning against the fireplace. Alex turned her head to look at him. "Sorry, I can't understand you with your fangs all bared," she said. He hissed at her and Lenora raised her hand at him. "Eli, that's enough." "Yeah, Eli, that's enough," said Alex, smirking. Eli sneered at her and Alex stuck her tongue out at him. "We're leaving tonight," said Lenora. "Then why are we here?" asked Sam. He looked at Alex, who had begun trying to free herself again. "We don't want to be followed. We have a right to live," explained Lenora. "Right, you keep saying that. Give me one good reason why I should believe you," said Sam. Lenora bent down to his eye level, her hands on the arms of his chair. Sam diverted his gaze, not looking at Lenora. "Fine. I'm going to let you go." Sam looked at her. The vampire Eli untied them both and pushed them out the front door and into the truck. Another vampire joined them in the truck and Eli stepped on the gas, driving them away from the nest.

Alex and Sam entered the motel room to find Dean and Gordon sitting at the table. They had maps set out on the table and they were hunched over them. Their heads snapped up and over to the doorway when Sam and Alex entered. "Dean, can we talk to you alone?" asked Sam. Dean nodded, got up from his chair, and walked outside with his siblings.

"Where you two been?" asked Dean. "In the nest," said Alex. Sam nodded. "You found it?" "They found us, bro," said Sam. "How'd you get out? Did you kill any?" asked Dean. He walked alongside his siblings across the motel parking lot. Sam shrugged. "None." "They just let us go," said Alex. "Where is it?" asked Dean. "We couldn't see anything," said Sam. "We did go over that bridge outside of town, but we shouldn't go after 'em," said Alex. "They're not like other vamps," said Sam. "You're joking," said Dean. He stopped walking and looked between Sam and Alex. Their faces were serious. "No way. We find 'em and we waste 'em." Dean began walking back to the motel room and they followed him. "Why?" asked Alex. "If it's supernatural, we kill it. That's our job." "No, it's not. Our job is hunting evil," said Sam. "Gordon's been hunting them for a year," said Dean. "Ellen says Gordon's bad news," said Sam. "We barely know her," shot back Dean. "Right and Gordon's such an old friend," said Alex sarcastically. Dean turned to look at her. He shook his head and continued to the motel room. "I'm going to that nest." "Dean…" Dean turned the doorknob and they all entered the room to find Gordon was no longer there. "Think he went after 'em?" asked Alex. "Yep. C'mon, I'm driving," said Dean. They shut the door and Sam locked it. He joined Alex and Dean in the Impala and they headed for the nest.

The Winchesters walked into the farmhouse that was the nest of the vampires. They checked the barn attached to the house first, but found nothing. They entered the house next and stepped into the kitchen. Gordon had Lenora tied to a chair and he held a knife that was dripping with blood in his left hand. "Gordon. What's going on?" asked Dean. "Just poisoning Lenora here with some dead man's blood. Grab a knife," said Gordon, his eyes never straying from Lenora. "Gordon, put the knife down," said Sam. "Step away from her," said Alex. Gordon nodded and threw the knife in the middle of the dining room table. "You're right. This bitch will never talk." Gordon grabbed a machete from his bag that was resting on the corner of the table and held it up. "I'm letting her go," said Sam. He walked toward Lenora, but Gordon reached out and put the machete against Sam's chest. "Gordon, the vamp that killed your sister deserved to die, but this-" began Dean. "The vamp didn't kill my sister. He turned her. So I hunted her down and killed her myself," said Gordon. "You what?" asked Dean. "She wasn't human anymore. Hunting animals doesn't change what they are. Watch." Gordon grabbed Alex from behind him and quickly cut a slit on her arm using the machete. He drug her over to Lenora and held Alex's arm above Lenora's head. He held the machete back to Sam's throat and Dean held his gun to Gordon's head. Lenora's fangs came out as Alex's blood dripped onto her face. "Still think she's worth saving?" asked Gordon. Alex looked away as Lenora's fangs got longer. Dean watched as Lenora shook her head and looked away. Her fangs retreated. Sam pushed the machete away from his neck and looked at Gordon. He picked up Lenora and began heading for the door, Dean's gun still trained Gordon's head. "Gordon. Don't touch my sister again," said Dean. Alex walked over to Dean and ducked as Gordon threw a punch at Dean. Dean decked Gordon first and they fell to the ground, Dean punching anywhere on Gordon he could reach. After a few minutes, Dean finally had Gordon under his arm. He threw him onto a chair and Alex grabbed the ropes, tying Gordon up. "Gordy, we'll call someone to find you in a few days." Dean threw his arm around Alex's shoulders and they walked out the door, leaving Gordon behind them.

At the motel room the next morning, Alex was packing up her duffel bag. She had a bandage wrapped around her arm that had been cut the night before. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows, lighting up the room. She zipped up her bag and turned to look at her brothers. Sam was packing up his bag and Dean was sipping a cup of coffee while leaning against the doorframe. "I wanna go see Mom's grave," said Alex. She closed her eyes and counted to twenty in her head before opening her eyes again. She looked at Sam, who had stopped packing and was staring at her. Dean looked at her like she was crazy. "Why?" asked Sam. Alex shrugged. "Because I miss her. Can we please just do this one thing for me?" She looked at Dean, her blue eyes pleading with him. He sighed, but nodded. Alex blew him a kiss and Sam smiled.

Alex stood at her mother's headstone, Sam by her side. Dean was off wandering around in a different section of the cemetery. "I miss you, Mom," said Alex. Her eyes filled with tears and she stepped closer to Sam's side. He wrapped his arm around her and they turned away, heading off to find Dean.

Dean was leaning against the car as Sam and Alex approached from the cemetery. "I found a hunt," said Dean. Alex rolled her eyes. "Really? Here of all places?" asked Sam. "Yeah. Around this girl's grave, everything is dead and in a perfect circle. She died 3 days ago. Angela Mason." "Do we have to do this job?" asked Alex. "Yes. Here dad's a professor at the local college. C'mon." Alex and Sam begrudgingly got in the car behind Dean and they headed for the local college.

Angela Mason's father heard a knock on his office door as he sat in dim lighting staring at the photos of Angela on his desk. He slowly stood up and walked over to the door, opening it to reveal Sam, Alex and Dean. "Mr. Mason, I'm Alex. These are my brothers, Sam and Dean. We were friends of Angela's." Mr. Mason smiled sadly. "Come in." He stepped aside to let them in.

Mr. Mason sat behind his desk, looking through photos of Angela with Sam and Alex. Dean was looking at all of the books on Mr. Mason's bookshelves. "She was beautiful," said Alex, as she set a picture of Angela down on the desk. Dean pulled a book off the shelf and held it up. "This is interesting," he said. Mr. Mason squinted to see the title. "It's Ancient Greek. I teach a course," answered Mr. Mason. Dean nodded and returned the book back to its place on the shelf. "It must be hard losing someone so close to you," said Dean. Mr. Mason nodded. "I'm just lost without her," said Mr. Mason. "We're very sorry," said Sam. Alex put her hand on top of Mr. Mason's and Mr. Mason smiled at her sadly.

That night, Alex was lying in the motel room bed that she shared with Sam. Sam was brushing his teeth and Dean was looking for clues about Angela's death. "I'm telling you, there's somethin' goin' on here," said Dean. Sam rolled his eyes as he spit in the sink. Alex watched as Dean got up, stretched, and sat beside her on the bed. She put her hand on his back and rubbed his back. Dean rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands as Alex rubbed soothing circles on his back. "Is this about Mom's grave?" asked Alex. Dean stiffened and Alex removed her hand from his back. Sam looked at them through the mirror. "I mean, you didn't go near it. Maybe you're imagining a hunt so you won't have to think about Mom. Or Dad," said Alex. She put her hand on Dean's shoulder again and Dean moved away from her touch. Alex flinched and lowered her hand. Dean stood up and grabbed his keys from the bedside table. "Dean, where are you going?" asked Sam. He turned off the bathroom light and walked over to Alex. "To get a drink. Alone," answered Dean. He shrugged on his coat and slammed the door behind him. Sam looked at Alex, who sighed.

Alex woke up the next morning to sun streaming in through the windows. She looked over at Dean's bed and saw that it was empty. There was no impression left from a sleeping body, which meant that Dean had not yet come back. She looked at the alarm clock and saw that it was 5:15 AM. She sighed and got up. "Sam, get up," she whispered. Sam rolled over and rubbed his eyes. "Dean back yet?" he asked in a gravelly voice. Alex shook her head. Sam sighed and stood up. He stretched his arms over his head and headed into the bathroom. Alex got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt while Sam was in the bathroom. She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her phone while Sam got dressed. She smiled when she saw that she had one text from Kellan. It said, _Good morning beautiful. :) _"You want some coffee?" asked Sam. Alex looked up from her phone and nodded and Sam walked over to the coffee pot to start brewing some coffee. While he waited for the coffee to be made, Dean walked through the door. Alex stood up, her text message from Kellan forgotten for a moment, and Sam looked at Dean. "Where you been?" asked Sam. "Working my imaginary case," said Dean. Dean watched Sam pour coffee into cups for Alex and himself before he started speaking again. "Matt, Angela's boyfriend, killed himself last night." Alex gasped. "Did you check his apartment?" asked Sam. "Pile of dead plants like in the cemetery. Hell, a dead goldfish too." Dean pulled a small, pink journal from inside his jacket pocket and held it out to Sam. "You stole her diary?" asked Sam. "Yep. And I got the name of her bestest friend in the whole world," said Dean. Sam flipped through the journal. "Let's go visit this bestest friend then," said Alex. She grabbed her phone, typing back a quick message to Kellan, and followed her brothers out the door.

The Winchesters were standing on the front porch of Angela's best friend's house. His name was Neil and he looked scared and nervous as he talked to them. "I didn't know the college employed grief counselors," said Neil. "Oh, yeah. We listen, help you out," said Dean. "Well, I think I'm okay." Neil began stepping backwards to get inside his house, but Alex spoke. "You heard about what happened to Matt Harrison, right?" asked Alex. Neil nodded and looked up at them. "Yeah, but Matt didn't kill himself out of grief. It was guilt. The night of the accident, Angela caught him with another girl," said Neil. Sam's eyebrows rose and Alex coughed. "Anyway, thanks for the concern." Neil walked inside, shutting and locking the door behind him. The Winchesters walked back to their car.

"So, do you think this is over now that Matt's dead?" asked Sam. "There's only one way to be sure," said Dean. He looked at them. "Burn the bones." Alex laughed. "Are you high, Dean?" asked Sam. "Angela died last week," said Alex. "So?" asked Dean. "So there's not gonna be bones. There'll be a rotting body in the coffin," said Sam. "Since when are you afraid to get dirty?" asked Dean. Alex made a face of disgust and Sam's face fell. "Fine. But you're the one doing all the work," said Alex.

Alex held the flashlight over Sam and Dean as they dug up Angela's body. When Dean's shovel hit something solid, he handed it to Sam. Sam handed the shovels to Alex and she set them beside her. Sam climbed up out of the hole and stood next to Alex as Dean opened the casket's lid. Alex's expression became confused when she saw an empty casket. "They buried her four days ago," said Dean. Alex jumped down into the hole and pointed to symbols that were drawn on the inside of the casket's lid. "I've seen those before," said Dean. "Where?" asked Sam. He reached down and grabbed Alex's hand, yanking her out of the hole they had dug. Dean climbed out of it too and Alex and Sam looked at him. "Well?" asked Alex. "Mr. Mason's office. In that Ancient Greek book," said Dean.

Dean pounded on the front door of the Mason's home the next morning. "Dean, chill out," said Alex. Dean raised his hand to knock again, but Mr. Mason opened the door. "Angela's friends," said Mr. Mason. "Dr. Mason- " began Sam, but Dean cut his brother off. "We need to talk," said Dean forcefully. Mr. Mason opened the door wider to let them in. Dean entered first and Alex and Sam followed. Dr. Mason shut the front door behind him and followed them to the living room.

Dean grabbed a paper out of his jacket pocket and held it up to Dr. Mason's face. "What are these?" asked Dean. Dr. Mason took the paper from him and looked at the symbols written on them. They were the symbols from the coffin's lid. "I don't understand. You said this had to do with Angela," said Dr. Mason. "It does. Please, humor me," said Dean. Dr. Mason looked at the symbols again. "It's Ancient Greek used for necromancy." "We heard these could even bring back the dead," said Dean. "Yeah. According to the legends." Dr. Mason looked up at Dean. He handed him back the paper full of symbols. "Look, I get it. There are people I would give anything to see again," said Dean. "Dean!" yelled Alex and Sam. "What are you talking about?" asked Dr. Mason. "What's dead should stay dead!" yelled Dean. "Stop it!" yelled Sam. "What you brought back isn't your daughter anymore," continued Dean, ignoring his screaming siblings. "You're insane," said Dr. Mason. He grabbed his cell phone off his coffee table and dialed 911. "Where is she?" asked Dean. He grabbed the phone from Dr. Mason's hand. "Dean, stop it! That's enough," said Alex. She grabbed Dean's shoulder and spun him around to face her. "Look." She pointed to the plants around the room. "Beautiful, living plants," said Sam. Dean looked at the plants and shrugged off Alex's touch. "We're leaving," said Sam. Dean dropped the phone on the coffee table and followed his siblings out the door.

"How do we kill this thing?" asked Alex. "That's the thing. There's tons of lore about the living dead. Some say to set them on fire. Who knows what's real?" asked Sam. "Is there anything in common?" asked Dean. "A few said silver might work," said Alex. "Okay. Now we gotta find who has her," said Dean. "It's that kid, Neil," said Alex. Dean and Sam looked at her, skepticism on their faces. "How'd you come up with that?" asked Sam. "He was her best friend. He naturally loved her, but she had no clue. Typical **Pretty in Pink** stuff," said Alex. Dean and Sam still looked skeptical. Alex rolled her eyes. "Let's get a second opinion," said Alex. She dialed Kellan's number and put him on speakerphone. "Hello?" asked Kellan. "Hey, I have a question. We're working this case and can't figure out who raised this girl from the dead. Would you say it was Daddy Dearest or her male best friend, Neil?" asked Alex. "Oh, male best friend for sure. **Pretty in Pink**, hello?" said Kellan. Alex smiled. "Thanks babe." She hung up and smirked at her brothers. "Alright. Neil it is," said Dean.

Dean picked the lock to Neil's house and let Alex and Sam inside first. He followed after them. "Neil? It's your grief counselors. We've come to… hug," said Dean. No one answered. Dean took out his gun and held it in front of him as he checked every corner for Angela. "Silver bullets?" asked Sam. Dean nodded. Alex looked at the windows and saw dead plants in the windowsill. They all entered the kitchen and saw a heavy, black door that was latched shut. "Unless this is where he keeps his porn…" said Dean. Alex opened the latch and let Sam go first down the stairs. She went after him and Dean brought up the rear. They stepped into the room at the bottom of the stairs. A bed was in the middle of the room and the sheets on it were crumpled as if someone had slept there earlier. "Think Angela went after someone?" asked Sam. Dean opened a panel in the wall to reveal an open window. The cool night air wafted through the room. "Nah, I think she went to rent Beaches," said Dean. Alex snickered. "Hey, smartass. She might kill someone," said Sam. "Yeah. She killed Matt cause he was cheating, right?" asked Dean. Sam nodded. "Well, it takes two to have hardcore sex," said Alex. Sam looked at her, his head cocked to the side. "What?" asked Alex. "Angela's roommate seemed pretty broken up about Matt's death," said Dean.

The Winchesters kicked down the door to Angela's former house and entered the living room. Angela was on top of her roommate, Lindsay, with scissors in her hand, ready to stab her. "Hey!" yelled Dean. Angela turned to face them and then bolted out the living room window. Dean shot at her and ran after her. Alex and Sam rushed over to Lindsay and helped her stand up. Dean crawled back through the window. "I couldn't get her. She was too quick," said Dean. "Now what?" asked Alex. "I say we talk to Neil," said Sam.

Neil looked up as Sam, Dean, and Alex entered Dr. Mason's office, where he was working. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "You know, I've heard that people do some pretty desperate things to get laid, but you take the cake," said Dean. "Okay, who are you guys?" asked Neil. "We know what you did. The ritual, everything," said Alex. "You're crazy," said Neil. He shuffled the papers on the desk, avoiding their eyes. Dean knelt down to his level. "When someone's gone, they should stay gone," said Dean. "Angela killed Matt. She just tried to kill Lindsay," said Alex. Dean stood up and grabbed Neil by his shirt's collar. "Cut the shit. We can make this right, but you gotta tell us where she is," growled Dean. Neil looked at Dean, fear in his eyes. "My house. She's at my house." Dean let go of Neil and stepped back. He glanced at the windows and saw the dead plants. Alex and Sam saw them too. "You sure about that?" asked Dean. Neil nodded. Dean followed his siblings out the door. When he reached the doorframe, he looked back at Neil. "Stay safe, Neil." Dean closed the door behind him.

At the cemetery, Alex and Dean were lighting candles around Angela's grave while Sam kept watch. They all looked up as they heard rustling from the front of the cemetery. "I'll go check it out," said Sam. He headed off into the darkness and Alex and Dean continued lighting candles. Once Alex was finished, she stood up and wiped the dirt on her hands on her jeans. She looked up and screamed as she saw Sam come running back toward them, Angela close behind him. Dean threw Alex the silver knife and ran over to Sam. Angela jumped on Sam's back, knocking him down to the ground. Sam fell hard on his arm and groaned in pain. Angela grabbed his head to break his neck, but Dean shot her with a silver bullet. She gasped and stood up. Dean kept shooting her until she fell into her casket. Alex jumped into the casket and shoved the silver knife through Angela's chest. Angela became still and her eyes closed. "What's dead should stay dead," said Dean. Alex shut the casket's lid and Dean helped Alex out of the grave, handing her a shovel. They began piling the dirt back onto the grave while Sam held his throbbing arm.

The next day, Alex looked at her brothers. She was sitting in the back seat of the Impala. Dean was driving and Sam was in the passenger seat. "I'm sorry," said Alex. Sam turned to look at her, confusion etched on his face while Dean pulled the car over to the side of the road. "For what?" asked Sam. "For Dad's death. I made a miraculous recovery. Five minutes later, Dad's dead and the Colt's gone. Dad's dead because of me," said Alex. She looked down at her feet, tears shining in her eyes. "We don't know that," said Sam. Alex nodded. "I just wanted to get that off my shoulders," she said. She looked up at them and wiped her tears off her face. "You didn't do it, baby girl. I promise," said Dean. He kissed her forehead and started the car again, pulling back onto the road.

A few hours later, Sam awoke from his sleep and sat up. Alex looked at him, knowing that he had a vision. She had one too. "Dean, we have to go to the roadhouse," said Sam. Dean looked at Sam, sighing. "I just don't think going to the roadhouse is the best idea," said Dean. "I do! I wanna see Kellan," said Alex. "We're not going there so you can make out with your boyfriend or whatever he is. I'm telling you, it was a premonition. And it could have a connection with the demon," said Sam. "That's true. Your visions always do," said Alex. "I'm just saying that walking into a bar full of hunters and announcing that you have weird visions like some freak isn't a great idea," said Dean. Alex gaped at Dean and Sam frowned at him. "So I'm a freak now?" asked Sam. Dean looked at him and slapped his knee in comfort. "You've always been a freak." Alex sighed at Dean's immaturity and leaned forward to Sam's face. She kissed his cheek and Sam smiled at her.

Dean, Alex, and Sam entered the roadhouse with Alex standing in between her brothers. A table was by the door and two hunters were sitting there. They looked up as the Winchesters walked in. One of them leered at Alex and Sam pulled her close to him, his arm over her shoulders. He glared at the man over Alex's head and the man looked away from Sam's glare. They walked up to the bar where Joe was pouring shots and had a rag over his shoulder. He smiled at them as they approached. "Just couldn't stay away, huh?" asked Joe. "How you doing, man?" asked Dean. Joe opened his mouth to answer, but Sam spoke first. "Where's Ash?" "In his back room," answered Joe. He watched as Sam practically ran to the back and then turned his attention back to Alex and Dean once Sam was out of sight. "Sorry about him. We're in a little bit of a rush," said Alex. "I'm gonna go see what they're up to," said Dean. He walked to the back and Alex looked around the bar for Kellan. "He's on an errand," said Joe from behind her. Alex turned to him. "When will he be back?" "A few hours. Probably not until early morning though. He had to go two towns over to get the right beer," said Joe. Alex's face fell and Joe smiled sadly. "Sorry." Alex nodded and walked to the back room.

"We have a match in Guthrie, Oklahoma," said Ash. "Do me a favor and check Guthrie for any signs of demonic presence," said Sam. He was sitting next to Ash at the table and he rested his broken wrist on the table. Joe noticed and nodded to it. "What happened?" "Got attacked by a zombie," said Sam. "No, sir. No demon," said Ash. "Try checking Guthrie for a house fire. Would've been in 1983, kid would've been 6 months old." Ash stared at Sam. "Why the hell would I look for that?" "'Cause there's a PBR in it for you," said Sam. "Give me fifteen minutes," said Ash. Alex left the room and went to the bar area to talk to Joe.

Alex took a drink of her beer as she watched Joe clean up the bar. The roadhouse had been closed for a few hours now, and Ellen had left to get some sleep while Joe volunteered to clean up. He wiped down a few tables and walked over to Alex once he was done. "That profile you've got Ash looking for. Isn't that how your mom died?" Alex looked down at the bar and picked at the label on her beer bottle while answering. "It's kind of a family thing." "But I could help," said Joe. Alex avoided his eyes and Joe tilted her face up to his with his finger under her chin. "I know, but we have to do this as a family," said Alex. Joe nodded and gently let go of her face. "Besides, if you come along, my brothers might kill me. Look." Alex nodded to Dean, who was sitting in the corner at a table and was giving Joe a death stare. "Not to mention Kellan. He'd kill you," said Alex. Joe nodded and turned as Sam came out of the back room, a piece of paper in his hand. "C'mon, we got a lead." He bolted out the door with Dean right behind him. "See you around, Joe," said Alex. She kissed his cheek, letting her lips linger a little longer than necessary, and followed her brothers out the door. "I'm in deep shit," muttered Joe as he watched her leave.

"I'm sorry, but you won't get anything out of Andy. They never do," said the waitress at the diner. Sam, Alex, and Dean allowed her to pour coffee in their cups before they spoke to her. "They?" asked Alex. "You must be debt collectors," said the waitress. "Actually, we're lawyers. His great aunt passed and left him a good chunk of change so we're here to sort it out," said Dean. "Are you a friend of his?" asked Sam. The waitress looked down at the table. "I don't see him much anymore." Alex looked at Sam, her eyebrows raised. "If you wanna find him, head over to Orchard Street and look for the van with the Barbarian Queen pained on the side." The waitress walked away and Sam looked at his siblings. "Barbarian Queen?" he asked.

Across the street from where the Winchesters were sitting in the Impala was the van with the Barbarian Queen painted on the side of it. It was a purple van and the queen looked ferocious. Dean had his rearview mirror tilted toward it across the street and he looked at it through the mirror. "That van is fuckin' sweet," said Dean. He looked away from the van and looked at Sam, who had a sort of sad look on his face. "What's wrong?" Sam shook his head and Alex leaned forward from the backseat to look at him. "Babe, you look like you're suckin' on a lemon. What's wrong?" she asked. Sam sighed. "This guy is the second kid we've found like this. The demon comes to them as kids and now they're killing people," said Sam. "Are you trying to say you're one of them?" whispered Alex. "The demon said he had plans for me and children like me," said Sam. "You're not a murderer, Sam," said Dean. "Why did the demon only say that to you?" asked Alex. Sam shrugged. "I'm glad it wasn't both of you. I couldn't deal with two Sams," said Dean. Alex laughed and Dean looked out the window again to watch for Andy. "Got him," said Dean. Alex and Sam watched as a young man walked down the sidewalk. He stopped and talked to a man. The man gave Andy his coffee cup and walked off. Andy continued on and stopped to talk to an older black man a minute later. "That's the shooter from my vision," said Sam, watching as the man continued down the sidewalk and around the corner. "You follow him. We'll take care of Andy," said Dean. Sam got out of the Impala and crossed the street to subtly follow the older man while Alex and Dean stayed in the car and trailed Andy.

Andy pulled his van over to the shoulder of the road and put it in park. Dean did the same, parking behind Andy's van. Andy stepped out of the car and walked up to Dean's side of the car. Dean rolled down his window to talk to him. "Is this a '67 Impala?" asked Andy. He looked at the car reverently. "Yeah. I just rebuilt it myself," said Dean. "Can't let a car like this go," said Alex, looking at Andy suspiciously. "Damn straight!" said Andy. He looked straight at Dean, his eyes boring into Dean's. "Can I have it?" "Sure man!" said Dean. Andy stepped back and Dean got out of the car. Alex looked at Dean, confused. Andy glared at her and Alex glared back. "C'mon, Lex. Get out," said Dean. Alex gave Andy one last glance before reluctantly getting out of the car and standing by Dean as Andy drove off in the Impala.

Sam was sitting on the curb when Alex and Dean spotted him. They ran up to him and saw that he was staring at the ambulance to the right of him. They looked and saw paramedics covering up the old man's dead body. "I kept him out of the gun shop. I thought he was safe," said Sam. Alex sat down beside him. "How'd he die, Sammy?" "He stepped in front of a bus." Alex sighed. Sam looked at Dean. "Hey, where's the Impala?"

Dean sighed in relief as he rounded a street corner and saw the Impala parked in an alley. He rushed over to it and began inspecting it for any imperfections. Sam and Alex rounded the corner as he inspected it. "I'm sorry, baby," said Dean, patting the hood of the car as he said it. Alex rolled her eyes. "He left the keys in it," said Sam, pointing to the keys dangling out of the ignition. Dean finally decided that the Impala was fine and stood up from his crouched position to talk to Alex and Sam. "Looks like Andy has to give verbal commands to use his mojo." "The doctor had just gotten off his cell phone when he stepped in front of that bus," said Sam. "Andy must've called him," said Dean. "I don't know, maybe," said Alex, biting her lip. Both Sam and Dean looked at her. "What?" asked Sam. "He just doesn't seem like the killer type," said Alex. She looked up at Sam's uneasy expression, her lip still between her teeth. "Either way, we'll have to track him down. We'll follow his van. C'mon," said Dean. Alex stared at Sam for a second longer before following Dean into the car.

Andy's van was across the street as the Winchesters sat in the Impala. Dean sighed as he finished his greasy cheeseburger. "What I don't get is the motive. The doctor was squeaky clean. Why would Andy kill him?" asked Sam. "If it is Andy," said Alex. "The doctor was mind controlled in front of a bus. Andy has the power to mind control. Do the math," said Dean. Suddenly, Andy appeared at Sam's window. He tapped on it and Sam slowly rolled it down. "Why are you following me?" asked Andy. "You see, a relative of yours died-" began Sam, but Andy cut him off. "Tell the truth." Sam began to speak again, but Dean answered. "We hunt demons." Sam turned to Dean, his eyes wide and Alex choked on her drink. "Demons and spirits. Sam and Alex are twins. They're my brother and sister." "Dean, shut up!" yelled Alex. "See, Sam's psychic. Kinda like you, but not. He thinks you're a murderer and that he'll turn into one too." "Okay. Just leave me alone," said Andy. He walked away from the window and Sam quickly got out, following him. Alex smacked Dean on the back of his head. "Ow!" Dean rubbed the spot where she had hit him.

"I said, leave me alone," said Andy. He began walking backwards so as to face Sam. Sam towered over him and continued walking towards him. "Keep driving and never stop," said Andy, looking into Sam's eyes. Sam held his arms out to his sides in a sweeping motion. "Doesn't seem to work on me, Andy." Andy stopped walking and his face held a nervous expression. "What?" "You can make people do things, can't you? Tell them what to think," said Sam. Sam pointed to Dean, who was walking up to them. Alex was behind Dean, but her head began hurting. She stopped walking and turned away from the boys as she had a vision. "You alright?" asked Dean, putting his hand on her back. Alex waved him away. "I'm fine, just a headache. Go help Sam." Dean nodded and continued on toward his brother. "It happened a year ago, didn't it? After you turned 22. Little stuff at first," said Sam. "How do you know all this?" asked Andy. "My mom died in a fire, too. I have abilities, too," said Sam. Alex joined them then, her face giving nothing away about her vision. Andy's face was pale as he sat on an overturned bucket in the alley. "Why did you kill the doctor?" asked Dean. Suddenly, Sam cried out and fell to his knees on the ground. Alex and Dean flanked his sides. Sam put his hand to his forehead and began breathing heavily. "A woman burning alive. She gets triggered by a call on her cell," relayed Sam. Alex helped him stand and he leaned against her side slightly. "Look, I didn't kill anybody," said Andy. "Not yet," said Sam. They all turned as fire trucks passed by the alley. Dean looked at his siblings. "Go," said Alex. Dean ran to the Impala and took off after the fire trucks. Alex and Sam sat beside Andy, waiting for Dean to return.

An hour later, Dean pulled up to the alley. He got out and walked over to Alex, Andy, and Sam, who stood up when he reached them. "Her name was Holly Beckett," said Dean. "41, single." "Who is she?" asked Alex, turning to Andy. "Never heard of her," said Andy. "Well, I called Ash on the way here. Turns out, Holly gave birth when she was 18 in 1983. Same day you were born, Andy," said Dean. "Andy, were you adopted?" asked Sam. Andy nodded. "Holly could be your mom," said Alex. "Birth certificate was sealed in county records," said Dean. Sam cursed under his breath and Alex sighed. "Fuck that," said Andy.

In the local courthouse, Andy was talking and hypnotizing the security guard while Dean pulled a box of records off a shelf. Alex and Sam were poring over papers on the table. "Got it," said Sam. Andy shook the guard's hand and walked over to the Winchesters. The guard walked upstairs. "It's true. Holly Beckett was your birth mother," said Sam. Andy's face fell slightly, but he smiled sadly. "It also says Dr. Jennings was her doctor. You have a connection to both of them," said Alex. "But I didn't kill them," said Andy. "We believe you," said Dean. Alex nodded. "Yeah, but who did then?" asked Andy. "I think I've got a pretty good guess," said Sam. He turned to look at the three of them. "Holly Beckett gave birth to twins." Alex's face turned pale and Dean looked at her. Andy saw her face. "Whoa, are you okay?" he asked. "Um, I have to go… to the bathroom," said Alex. She began to rush out of the room, but Dean grabbed her wrist and pulled her farther into the shelves of records, out of earshot of Andy and Sam. "I have an evil twin," said Andy. "Uh, Holly gave you up for adoption to the Gallagher's, obviously. Your brother went to the Wesley family from Upstate," said Sam. He handed Andy the file and sat him down. "I have to go check on my sister. Read up on your brother." Sam rushed to find Alex and Dean while Andy read about his twin brother.

Dean drug Alex into the stacks of records in the very back of the room and looked at her. Alex bit her lip as she looked back at him. "Alex, please tell me you don't have psychic abilities," said Dean. Alex looked down at her feet. "Fuck," mumbled Dean. He ran a hand over his face. Sam ran into the aisle they were in. "Alex, what's going on?" He took her hands in his and she looked up at him. "I have visions like you." Sam sighed. "I'm sorry you didn't know. They just don't bother me," said Alex. "Sweetheart, you have to tell us that," said Dean. Alex nodded and Dean pulled her into his chest. "Let's go take care of this and we'll talk later." Alex nodded into his chest and they headed toward Andy.

"What's your brother's name?" asked Dean. Andy turned to them and closed the file. "Ansom Wesley. He's got a local address," said Andy. He held up a sticky note that he had scrawled the address on. "Well, let's take a look at him first," said Alex. She opened the file and looked at Andy's twin, Ansom. She looked at her brothers. "Let's go," said Dean.

"Andy, tell us everything you know about this guy," said Sam. They were in the Impala, heading for the diner that Ansom was employed. "Wesley shows up one day a couple months ago at the diner. He acts like he's my best friend in the world, but trying too hard." "He must've known you were twins," said Alex. She rubbed her eyes and wrinkled her forehead as if in pain. Sam grabbed his head and hunched over in the passenger seat. Alex moaned in pain as her headache grew in intensity and both Sam and Alex cried out in pain. "Are you okay?" asked Andy, who was sitting next to Alex in the backseat. Alex grabbed her head and screamed in intense pain. Andy's eyes widened. "Motherfucker, Alex!" yelled Dean. Sam cried out again. Dean looked at him and a few seconds later, Sam stopped. He sat up in his seat. Alex whimpered and looked at Sam. "Alex, did you see something?" asked Dean. She nodded. "Fuck," muttered Dean.

Dean pulled the car up to the bridge where Andy's twin brother, Ansom Wesley, was with the waitress from the diner that Andy used to work at. Andy had a crush on the waitress, Tracy. Ansom and Tracy were sitting in Ansom's car. "Dean, stay back," warned Sam. "Agreed. I've had my head messed with too much," said Dean. He handed Alex a gun and grabbed her wrist once she grabbed the gun from him. He pulled her into him and kissed her forehead. "We're not off the hook, but be safe." She nodded and stood by Sam. "I'm going with you," said Andy. Alex and Sam looked at him. "If it's Tracy out there, then I'm coming," said Andy. Alex looked at Sam, who nodded.

Sam smashed the driver's side window of Ansom's car. Sam pointed his gun at Ansom's dead. "Get out of the car now." "You really don't wanna do this," said Ansom. Sam punched Ansom in the nose and Tracy yelped in fear. Andy ran around to the passenger side and opened the passenger door. He grabbed Tracy around the waist and helped her out of the car. Sam ordered Ansom out of the car and told him to lay face down on the ground. Andy left Tracy standing by the car and ran over, kicking Ansom in the ribs while he was down. "Andy, stop!" yelled Alex, running up to him. Suddenly, Sam fell to the ground beside Alex and she turned to see Tracy holding a large tree branch and crying. "Tracy, stop it!" said Andy. Alex crouched down to her brother, who was out cold. He had a medium sized cut on his forehead that was oozing blood onto the asphalt. "You son of a bitch!" yelled Andy. He grabbed Ansom's shirt collar and hauled him up from the ground. Alex, still crouched down by Sam, turned her body and saw Tracy standing on the edge of the bridge, crying and getting prepared to jump off the edge. "Please don't hurt her," said Andy. He let go of his twin brother and backed away a few steps, his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry. I just felt that Tracy was coming between us," said Ansom. "You're insane," said Andy. "We can make them do whatever we want!" yelled Ansom. "You don't start killing people when you find out you have a twin!" yelled Andy. Alex stood up slowly and kept her eye on Tracy, but also glanced at Sam, who was beginning to sir and move around. "I wanted to tell you, but he told me I had to wait," said Ansom. "Who?" asked Andy. "The man with the yellow eyes." Alex gulped as she heard Ansom mention the demon that haunted her family. Andy glanced at her then and Ansom noticed his stare. He grinned at her. He took a step towards her, but Andy distracted him with a question. "Why did you kill our mother?" Ansom turned his attention and his back to Alex and Alex mouthed "Thank you" to Andy for the distraction. He nodded slightly, his eyes never leaving his brother's face. "Because she split us up! Her and Dr. Jennings ruined our lives!" Alex turned when she heard a noise and saw Dean rustling in the bushes with a sniper's rifle in his hand to shoot Ansom. Andy and Ansom heard him too and they both turned in Alex's direction. "I see you," said Ansom. He used his mind control powers and told Dean to put the gun under his chin. Dean did as he was told and Alex quickly pulled the gun Dean had given her out of her waistband. She pointed it at Ansom. Alex pulled the trigger, felt the gun kickback, and closed her eyes. She opened them after a few seconds and saw Ansom dead on the asphalt. She sighed in relief and watched as Andy ran to Tracy, helping her down and pulling her in for a hug. Alex smiled and helped Sam stand up. They glanced behind them at Andy's reunion with Tracy and headed toward Dean.

The next morning, Alex was putting her clothes into her duffel bag when a hand reached out and gently grabbed her wrist. She dropped the shirt she was holding into her duffel bag and turned to face her brothers. Sam let go of her wrist and sat on her right side as she sat on the bed. Dean sat on her left side. "So are these psychic abilities just like Sam's?" asked Dean. "Yeah, but they were never as bad as they were last night in the car. That was the worst," said Alex. "Have you seen everything I've seen?" asked Sam. "Every single thing," said Alex. "And it doesn't hurt?" asked Dean. "It didn't. All I had were nightmares up until last night." Sam stood up and knelt in front of Alex. "Alex. If you saw everything, does that mean you saw Jessica's death?" Alex's eyes teared up as she looked at Sam. "Yes." Sam nodded, standing up and turning his back to her. "I didn't know that was her though. Not until the night she died did I know she was your Jessica," said Alex. Sam nodded and turned back to her. "I know. I'm not mad. It's just hard to talk about." "I also saw the car crash," said Alex. Dean and Sam looked at her. "That's why I sat by the window. It was supposed to be Dean, but I took his place. Please don't be mad," pleaded Alex. "We're not mad, we just don't want you to have to go through this. But we can deal with it together," said Sam. Alex looked at Dean. "I'm so sorry that you have two Sams now." Dean smirked. He stood up and Alex stood up with him. "C'mere here, you little freak." Dean pulled her in close for a hug and she sighed contentedly. Dean kissed the top of her head. "Just please tell me if you have a vision, okay?" Alex nodded and Dean let go of her. "C'mon. Let's go see Ellen and Joe."


	26. Chapter 26

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. The italics are flashbacks.

Chapter 26

The Winchesters walked into the empty roadhouse bar to see Ellen storm away from Joe to answer the ringing telephone behind the bar. Joe saw the Winchesters and grabbed a manila folder off the bar. He walked over to them and handed it to Dean. "Two weeks ago, a girl goes missing from her Philadelphia apartment." Dean sat at the bar and began flipping through the pages in the folder while Joe continued talking. "That's not the first either. In the past 80 years, six women have vanished from the same building. All young blondes." "Who put this together? Ash?" asked Dean. "I did it myself," said Joe. "We've hit the road with a lot less," said Alex, looking at Dean. "Good. You take it then," said Ellen, hanging up the phone. She turned to them. "Mom!" said Joe. "Jonathon Brite, this family has lost enough. I won't lose you too." Alex smiled sadly at Joe and Joe tentatively smiled back.

After a few hours, the Winchesters were in the missing girl's apartment. Sam had gotten out his EMF reader and was now holding it in his right hand as he walked around, scanning the apartment. "Got anything?" asked Dean. "Not yet," said Sam. He turned to the wall closest to the front door and saw black goo oozing from the electrical outlet. He touched it. "Oh my God," said Sam. Alex and Dean walked closer to him and touched the black goo as well. "Ectoplasm," said Alex. "I've only seen this stuff twice. You have to be a majorly pissed off spirit to make this stuff," said Sam. "Alright. Let's find this bad ass before he snags anymore girls," said Dean. He turned off the lights as he followed his siblings out of the apartment.

They were walking down the apartment complex's hallway when they heard an oddly familiar voice. They stopped and not a second later, Joe rounded the hallway corner with the apartment building's landlord. Joe smiled at them and walked over to Alex. He kissed her cheek and snaked his arm around her waist. "This is my girlfriend, Alex." The landlord smiled at her. "Oh and these are her brothers, Sam and Dean. They're helping us apartment search," said Joe, still smiling. He looked at Alex. "Did you check out the apartment?" "Yes. It was fabulous," said Alex. "Right. Now Ed, when did the last resident move out?" asked Joe. "About a month ago," said the landlord, Ed. "Well, we'll take it." Joe handed Ed a huge wad of cash and he headed to the apartment while Ed walked downstairs to the lobby.

"You shouldn't be here," said Dean, once they were in the apartment and the door was closed. "Dean, stop. He's an adult," said Alex. Joe sat down beside her on the couch and their thighs touched slightly. "And stay away from my baby sister," said Dean, glaring at Joe. Joe nodded and scooted away from her, sitting on the opposite end of the sofa. Alex flipped Dean off and Sam chuckled. Joe smirked. Dean's cell phone began ringing and Alex grabbed it off the coffee table in front of her. "Hello?" she asked. "Is he with you?" asked Ellen. "Oh, hey Ellen." Alex looked at Joe, who motioned that he wasn't there. "Uh, I haven't seen him." "You sure?" asked Ellen. "I'm sure," said Alex. "Okay. If he shows up, have Dean drag his sorry ass back here," said Ellen. "Will do," said Alex. "Thanks sweetie. Here, Kellan wants to talk to you." Alex heard the phone being exchanged and then Kellan's deep voice was on the other end of the line. "Alex?" "Kellan! What's up?" "Is he there with you? Be honest, Ellen's not in the room with me." Alex bit her lip. "Yeah, he's here." Joe's eyes got wide and his face fell. "It's Kellan," whispered Alex. Joe relaxed and sunk into the couch. "Alright, I'm coming to you. Be there in a day or two." "Okay, see you soon. Bye baby." Alex hung up and set it on the table. "Kellan's coming," said Alex. "Great. Another person to compromise our job," said Dean.

Alex looked down as the vent sputtered and quit blowing air into the living room. "There's something in the vent," she said to Dean. Dean lay on his stomach and pulled the vent cover off of the vent. Alex stood beside him and Sam and Joe were behind him as he reached inside and felt along the walls of the vent. A few minutes later, Dean removed his hand from the vent and held a clump of blonde hair in between his fingers. "Oh, that's nasty," said Alex, twirling a lock of her own blonde hair around her fingers. "Someone's keeping souvenirs," said Dean.

After they had all eaten dinner, Dean flopped down on the couch. He kicked off his boots and stripped down to his boxers. He pulled a blanket around himself and quickly fell asleep. Alex set her Chinese takeout container on the counter when she was finished. "I'm gonna shower." She kissed Sam's cheek and he grabbed her still half- full Chinese container, finishing the rest of her Chinese food. She smiled at Joe before walking to the back of the apartment and entering the master bedroom. She shut the door behind her and a few minutes later, the water was turned on. "Hey, you can take the bed tonight. The rest of us can crash out here," said Sam to Joe. "Thanks. I'm gonna go ahead and crash," said Joe. Sam nodded and Joe walked to the back of the apartment. He walked into the master bedroom and shut the door behind him.

After stripping down to his boxers, Joe climbed into the king sized bed and turned on the TV. He flipped through all of the channels and found nothing on so he turned it off and lay down on his left side, facing the bathroom. His eyes closed and he began drifting off to sleep.

Alex wrapped a towel around her body and realized that she left her clothes in the bedroom. She quietly opened the door and peeked around it. She didn't see Joe's still form in the bed, nor did she see his eyes pop open as she stepped into the room silently, wearing only her towel. Alex was halfway to her duffel bag to grab her clothes when Joe sat up in the bed. Alex looked at him. "Joe, I didn't even see you in here." Joe nodded and stared at her, his eyes blackened with lust as he took in her nearly naked body. Alex looked down, suddenly realizing that she was only wearing a towel. Her breathing quickened as she heard Joe get off the bed and walk towards her. She backed up into the dresser and Joe stalked towards her. "Alex," whispered Joe once he was inches away from her. Alex looked into his face and he leaned in towards her. His lips lightly touched hers and she grabbed the back of his neck, forcing him impossibly closer. He grabbed her hips and hoisted her onto the dresser. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he began kissing down her neck. Alex threw her head back and closed her eyes, reveling in the sensations Joe was causing her to feel. He came back up to her face and kissed her again. His tongue met hers and Alex moaned. When she separated from his lips to breathe, she felt Joe's hand travel onto her thighs and inch higher. When they reached the bottom of her towel, Alex grabbed his hands. "Joe, stop." He let go of her and stepped back, shaking his head. "Oh my God, Kellan. Shit, fuck, fuck," cursed Joe. He sat down on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. Alex got off the dresser and sat next to him. "Look, we just won't tell him. Let's just pretend this never happened, okay?" said Alex. Joe looked at her, nodding. "Good." She patted his knee and grabbed her duffle bag. She left the room and went to change in the bathroom off the hall. Joe lay back on the bed and sighed.

The next morning, Alex was sitting at the countertop looking through photos of the case they were working. She picked up one photo of an empty field, which was located next to the hotel across the street from the apartment building they were staying in. She glanced at the building on the left side of the picture and noticed bars on the windows. "We've been looking at the wrong place this whole time," she whispered. She grabbed Joe's phone off the counter and dialed Ash. As Alex waited for Ash to pick up, there was a knock on the apartment door. The boys were all transfixed on the television so Alex stood up and walked to the door. She opened the door and Kellan stood on the other side of it, his duffel bag in one hand and his other hand poised to knock on the door again. "Kellan!" yelled Alex, hanging up the phone and putting it in her jeans pocket. She jumped into his arms and peppered his face with kisses. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he wrapped his arms around her back, dropping his duffel bag to the floor. "Hey baby," said Kellan. He kissed her and she responded to the kiss eagerly. Once they separated for air, Kellan set her down and he picked up his bag. She grabbed his hand and led him into the apartment. "Hey boys," said Kellan. Dean nodded at him, Sam waved slightly, and Joe stood up. He walked over to Kellan and hugged him. "Man, I can't believe you left Ma like that. She's worried sick," said Kellan. "I just… had to get away," said Joe. Kellan nodded and Joe glanced at Kellan's hand that was intertwined with Alex's. He looked away and Alex pretended not to notice. "Where should I put my stuff?" asked Kellan. "In the bedroom, man," said Sam. Kellan let go of Alex's hand and went to the bedroom. Joe returned to his spot on the couch and the phone in Alex's pocket began to vibrate. She pulled it out and saw that Ash was calling. She stepped into the hallway and answered.

"Look at this." Alex set the picture she had found earlier in front of the boys. "It's just an empty field," said Dean. "No, look at the windows on the building to the left," said Alex. "Bars," noted Sam. He grabbed the television remote and turned off the TV. "Yep. La Mamel Prison. And they executed people in the field next to the hotel," said Alex. "We need names," said Kellan. Alex smiled and set the laptop in front of them. Kellan began scrolling through the names of executed prisoners. "157 names," said Kellan. He clicked on a certain name, Herman Webster Mudgett. "Wasn't that H.H. Holmes' real name?" asked Joe, looking over Kellan's shoulder. "You gotta be kiddin' me," said Dean. "Who is he?" asked Alex. "America's first serial killer," said Joe. "He confessed to over 27 murders," added in Sam. "Victim of choice? Pretty, petite blondes," said Kellan. Dean looked at Alex, who fit that description to a T. "He used chloroform to kill 'em. At his place, police found human bone fragments and locks of blonde hair," said Kellan, reading the article on the computer. "We just salt the bones and burn 'em, right?" asked Joe. "No, it's not that easy. His body is encased in concrete," said Dean. Alex's face paled as she looked over Kellan's shoulder and read another article he had found. Sam looked at her pale face. "Alex?" Kellan handed him the computer and Sam skimmed through the article. "Fuck. Holmes built this complex and hid his victims within its walls," said Sam. "We gotta tear down any walls big enough to hide a girl. C'mon," said Dean. He led them all out of the apartment.

Dean and Alex were climbing within the walls of the apartment complex. Sam, Kellan, and Joe were on the first floor looking for more entrances into the walls. Both Alex and Dean had a flashlight with them. Alex slid her cell phone back into her jeans pocket and looked at Dean. "Sam said they're almost done with the first floor. They haven't found anything yet." Dean rounded a corner in the wall and grunted. "What is it?" asked Alex. "It's too narrow for me to fit," said Dean. "Lemme see." She squeezed in between him and the wall and shined her flashlight down into the space that Dean couldn't fit into. "I can fit in there," said Alex. "You're not goin' in there by yourself." "Dean, I can do this." She slid into the opening and moved forward, out of Dean's eyesight. After a few minutes, Dean called her cell phone. "Where are you?" he asked. Alex looked at her surroundings. "By the North wall." She put her phone on speaker mode and set it down on the floor as she climbed into an even smaller space. When she was in the air duct, she grabbed the phone from above her and held it to her ear. "I'm climbing down some sort of air duct." "No, stay up here," said Dean. "We've gotta find this girl, Dean. I'm okay," reassured Alex. "I'm headin' to you." Dean began walking back the way that they had come and he kept the phone to his ear.

Alex jumped down farther into the air duct and grabbed her phone from where she had left it. She held it to her ear again. She shined her flashlight down another hallway to see what lied ahead of her when she heard a strange noise above her head. She looked up to see black goo oozing by her head. She shone the flashlight above her head and saw ectoplasm oozing from the wall. Her eyes filled with tears and she sucked in a deep breath. "Oh God," she said into the phone.

Dean was still on the phone with Alex when he heard her mutter "Oh God." He was on the stair's landing and he stopped walking. "Alex? What is it?" he asked. Dean heard Alex screaming through the phone. He quickly hung up and began racing down the stairs. He found the North wall and began tearing it down with the sledgehammer he had left down there. Once he had a hole big enough to fit through, he stuck his head into the hole in the wall. He looked down and saw Alex's phone lying on the ground. "Fuck," he muttered. He grabbed her cell phone and headed down the hall.

Dean walked down the hallway, not looking where he was going, and ran straight into Sam's shoulder. Joe and Kellan were on either side of Sam and Dean looked up at all of them. "He's got Alex." Joe's mouth fell open in shock. Kellan punched the wall. "How'd the fuck that happen?" asked Sam. "I left her alone. Dammit!" yelled Dean. "Hey, calm down. We'll find her," reassured Joe. "Inside the walls, yeah," said Sam. He pushed open the door to their apartment and they all filed inside. "Maybe we've got Holmes' M.O. wrong," said Joe. " And Alex will know what to do," said Kellan. He walked with Joe and they looked at a map together on the counter. Dean's phone began ringing and he pulled it out of his jacket pocket. "Yeah?" "You lied to me. Joe's there. Put him on the phone," said Ellen. "Ellen, we need him to help us find Alex. The spirit we're hunting took her," explained Dean. Ellen gasped. "I'm on the next flight out." Ellen hung up and Dean stuck his phone back in his pocket. "There's a sewer syst-" began Joe. "Let's go," said Dean, not letting Joe finish his sentence.

Alex opened her eyes and came about in a small, enclosed space. She grabbed her flashlight from beside her right hand, clicked it on, and looked around. She was in a wooden box with scratch marks on the top of the box. Alex touched them reverently and covered her mouth with her hand as she began to cry silently. She turned her head to the left and saw a small slit in her box. She peeked out of it. "Hello?" she called out. "Is anybody there?" called out another girl. Alex looked out the best she could and saw another pair of eyes peeking out from a different box across the room. "Teresa?" asked Alex. "Yes," sobbed the girl. "This won't make you feel better, but I'm here to rescue you," said Alex. "Oh God," moaned Teresa. Footsteps sounded in the room suddenly and a hand reached into the slit and pulled Alex's hair out as Alex screamed in pain.

Dean and Joe had their shirt sleeves rolled up to their elbows as they dug a hole to the sewer system. Sam and Kellan stood by, acting as lookouts. They finally hit the sewer entrance and Dean reached down, pulling the lid up. He threw his shovel to the ground and climbed in first, followed by Sam, Kellan, and finally, Joe.

Alex scooted farther into her small box as the spirit's hand reached in and touched her side. She gagged in disgust and when his hand scooted toward her hip, she lunged out and stabbed him with the small knife she had been carrying in her pocket. He quickly pulled his hand out and cried out in pain. "That's pure iron, you creepy son of a bitch!" yelled Alex. The spirit didn't respond so Alex scooted closer to the slit and stuck her knife back into her pocket. She looked out of the slit when suddenly, his hand reached in and covered her mouth. She grabbed his wrist, trying to pull him off of her. "Hey!" yelled Dean. The spirit pulled his hand out of Alex's box and turned to face Dean. Dean shot him with rock salt and he vanished. Dean stepped farther into the large, cave-like room with Sam, Joe, and Kellan behind him. "Alex!" yelled Sam. "Over here!" called back Alex. Dean followed the sound of her voice and grabbed a crowbar from beside the wall. He pried Alex's box open and Alex tumbled out of it. Sam grabbed Alex before she fell onto the floor and Joe and Kellan helped Teresa out of her box. "Let's get outta here," said Alex into Sam's chest. Sam looked at Dean as he stroked her hair. "Alex, sweetie, we need you to be bait," said Dean. Alex looked up at her oldest brother and nodded. He kissed her temple and Kellan hugged Alex close. "We'll be right here," he promised and kissed her on the lips. He joined the other boys and they left the room.

Alex sat on the stone cold floor of the huge cavernous room, listening to water drip from the ceiling. She kept concentrating on her breathing as she heard the ghost approach her from behind. She closed her eyes as he got closer and exhaled every deep breath she took in. As the spirit reached out to stroke her hair, Dean yelled. "Now!" Alex took off running for the door as Sam and Dean shot at the bags of salt hanging in the large room. Joe grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her from the room as Holmes finally realized that he was trapped in a never-ending circle of salt. He began screaming and Dean and Sam shut the door.

Outside, Sam pulled Alex into his chest as she began to sob. "Shh, you're fine now." He rubbed her back up and down and watched as Dean backed up the borrowed cement truck so they could fill the sewer. Joe began to smile, but stopped when he saw Ellen marching toward them. "Hey, Ellen," said Sam, still holding Alex. Dean stopped the truck and hopped out of it. "Ellen, I'm sorry we lied to you. But Joe did good out there. His father would've been proud." "Don't you dare say that! I'm taking him home. Kellan, you too." Ellen grabbed Joe's arm and walked him across the street to the car she had rented. Kellan followed and Alex watched them get into the car and drive away.

At the motel that night, Alex was sitting on her bed. She was dressed in her pajamas, which consisted of a pair of Dean's boxers and one of Sam's Stanford t-shirts. She dialed Kellan's number and waited for him to pick up. "Hello?" answered a gruff voice. "Kellan? What's the matter?" "Oh, nothing. Except for the fact that you made out with my best friend!" Alex winced at his tone. "Look, I was going to tell you. It just happened. And we stopped before it went too far." "Whatever. Look, just give me some time. Don't call me for a while. Here, he wants to talk to you." The phone was passed over and Joe got on the line. "Hey, Alex." "Joe, how are you?" "I'm fine. Kellan punched me, but it's just swelling a little bit. Look, I'm sorry, but I felt guilty. I had to tell him." "No, I understand. Is he really mad?" "Yeah, he just needs time to cool down. He really likes you, Alex. Give him time." Alex nodded and she heard Joe take in a deep breath before he spoke again. "Listen, my mom told me today why she was so upset about me going on the hunt with y'all." "And?" "Well, turns out that your dad's mistake on a hunt cost my dad his life." "What? That can't be right," said Alex. "It is. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, I really am. I've gotta go, but I'll see you around. Goodbye, Alex." Joe hung up and Alex ended the call. She threw her phone on the nightstand and sighed.

Sam stepped into the motel room and saw Alex lying on her bed. She looked upset. He sat on the other side of the bed and took off his shoes. He put them next to the bed and lay next to Alex. His arms were folded across his chest and he stared at the ceiling like Alex was doing. "Ellen didn't want Joe to go on the hunt with us because our dad went on a hunt with Joe's dad and got him killed. Plus, I made out with Joe and Kellan's pissed off." Alex looked over at Sam, who hadn't moved. "Ellen was afraid we would get Joe hurt or… killed," said Alex. Sam nodded. "And I made out with my boyfriend's best friend." Sam nodded again. "Aren't you gonna say anything?" asked Alex, sitting up. "That sucks," said Sam. Alex scoffed. "Well, it's over now. Dad got him killed. There's no changing that," stated Sam. Alex nodded. "And Kellan will be okay. He's obviously hurt. Just give him some time." Alex sighed and lay down next to him again. "You're right." Sam smirked. "What was that?" Alex hit his arm, smiling. Suddenly, the motel room door was kicked down and they both sat up quickly. A SWAT team rushed into the room, surrounding them and Sam and Alex jumped up from the bed. "Going somewhere, twins?" asked a blonde woman in the middle of the SWAT team.

Alex and Sam were sitting next to each other in a police interrogation room. They were across a table from the blonde woman that had arrested them in their motel room. A silver table sat in between them and the blonde woman and their chairs were pulled up to the table. She set two cups of coffee on the table and slid them across the table's surface to Sam and Alex. "I thought you might be thirsty," she said as she sat down across from them. Sam and Alex didn't touch the coffee. "So you're the good cop. Where's the bad one?" asked Sam. "He's with your brother." "Why are we being held?" asked Alex, venom lacing her words. "He's being held on suspicion of murder. You two, we'll see." "Murder?" asked Sam, his eyebrows raised. "You sound genuinely surprised," said the woman. "Who the fuck did he supposedly murder?" yelled Alex. "We'll get to that," said the woman, calmly. "You can't just hold us here without charges," said Sam. "Sure we can. For 48 hours. You being a pre-law student should know that, Sam," said the woman, smirking. Both Sam and Alex visibly stiffened and the woman's smile grew larger. She opened the file folder that she was holding, stood up, and began reading from it while pacing in front of the table. "I know all about you two. 23 years old, no job, no home address. Your mother died when you were babies and your father's whereabouts are unknown." Alex put her hand on Sam's knee with her palm down and Sam covered it with his own hand. "Your family moved around a lot when you were kids. Sam, you got into Stanford with a full ride." The woman stopped pacing and set the folder on the table in front of them. She looked at them. "A year ago, there was a fire in your apartment, Sam. Jessica Moore, your girlfriend, died and then you fell off the grid." "I needed some time to deal. So, I'm taking a road trip with my siblings," said Sam. "How's that goin' for ya?" asked the woman. "Great. Just awesome," said Alex, smiling sarcastically at the woman. "We ran Dean's fingerprints through the database. Found over 12 possible hits. Makes you wonder what we'll find when we run your prints." "Please. Let us know," said Sam. Both he and Alex smiled sarcastically at the woman. The woman sat on the edge of the table and Alex and Sam looked away from her. "Dean's a bad guy. His life is over. But you two can be free." "You want us to turn on our own brother?" asked Sam. "No. We already caught him cold. At Karen Guiles' murder. We just need you to fill in some missing pieces." The woman climbed off the table and sat down in her previously vacated chair. Alex sighed and gently squeezed Sam's fingers. He laced their fingers together on his knee and began to talk. "My dad and Tony Guiles were old friends. Known him since we were kids. So we came when we heard about his death."

_Sam walked up to the booth where Alex and Dean were sitting. He handed them each a coffee cup and sat down across from Dean and next to Alex. He sipped his own coffee cup as Dean slid the paper across the table's surface to Sam. "Anthony Guiles," said Dean. Sam skimmed the obituary. "Who's Anthony Guiles?" "Baltimore lawyer," said Alex. "Huh. Sounds like an invisible killer," said Sam, once he had finished reading the obituary. He set the paper down on the table and looked at Dean across from him. "Let's check it out," said Alex. She stood up and the boys followed her out the door. _

"It would've been hard for Dean to kill Tony considering we weren't in town at the time," said Alex. "Yeah. Then we went to see Karen. She was barely holding it together. We talked for a while, gave her hugs, and then left. That's it," said Sam. "Look. We have an eyewitness that saw two men and a woman fitting you two and your brother's descriptions, breaking into Guiles' office," said the woman. "Okay, look. Karen wanted some pictures out of the office, but the cops wouldn't let her in," said Sam.

_"Hey, look at this." Alex held up a paper from Tony's desk. "Dana Schulps. Huh. Karen said he saw a girl in his dream the night before he died. Maybe that's her," said Sam. He sat down at the desk behind the computer and began trying to crack Tony's password as Alex and Dean looked through file cabinets. After looking through everything, they had found nothing about Dana Schulps. "Alright. I'm gonna go check on Karen. You two stay and keep workin'," said Dean. He walked out the front door and Alex pulled up a chair next to Sam. _

"You two were with your brother the whole time you three were in Baltimore. Why separate now?" asked the woman. Alex removed her hand from Sam's as they both shrugged their shoulders. The woman sighed. "So he could murder Karen?" she asked. "He didn't murder anyone, you fucking bitch," seethed Alex. Sam grabbed Alex's hand again and squeezed it tightly. Alex relaxed, keeping her hand in Sam's and intertwining their fingers. Sam let his hand relax around hers and the woman glared at Alex before storming out of the room.

Sam watched as the door slammed shut behind the woman. Once it was fully closed, he stood up and grabbed a piece of paper from off the table. Alex grabbed a pen and Sam handed her the sheet of paper. She wrote Dana Schulps at the top of the paper. "Anagram maybe?" asked Sam. Alex nodded and they began writing out different name combinations using the same letters in Dana Schulps' name.

A lawyer entered the room that Alex and Sam were sitting in. He set his briefcase on the metal table that they were sitting behind. He handed Sam a note and Sam took it, opening it. Alex read it over his shoulder and smirked. 'Hilts- It's a street, Ashland. – McQueen' "I hope that was meaningful. Can we discuss your case now?" asked the lawyer. "Sure thing, Matlock," said Alex and Sam at the same time. The lawyer shook his head and sat down across from them at the table. He took out a pen and a piece of paper from his briefcase as a knock sounded on the door. The woman cop entered the room and the lawyer looked at her. "We need you with the other one."

The man cop set up a video camera in front of Dean. He hit record and pointed at Dean to begin. Dean took a deep breath and looked straight into the video camera. "My name is Dean Winchester. I'm an Aquarius. I enjoy sunsets and frisky women. I did not kill anyone. But I think I know who did. Or what. I think we're dealing with a vengeful spirit." "Excuse me?" asked the woman cop, Diana. She shut off the video camera. "Like Casper, the unfriendly ghost. You see, it's trying to tell us something." Dean held up a piece of paper. "At first we thought it was a name. Dana Schulps. But now, we think it's a street. Ashland. Whatever's goin' on, I'm bettin' it started there," explained Dean.

As soon as Diana and the lawyer had left the room and the door had firmly shut behind them, Sam and Alex burst out of their chairs. "Hilts is Steve McQueen's character in **The Great Escape**," said Sam. "I know. Let's get outta here," said Alex. She opened the window and crawled out onto the fire escape with Sam right behind her.

Diana entered the interrogation room where Dean was being held. "Let's pretend for a minute that you're not insane. What would one of these spirits want?" she asked. "Well, they're created by violent deaths. Then they come back for a reason, usually a nasty one. Like revenge," said Dean. Diana reached up and scratched at her neck. This action caused her shirtsleeves to ride up and Dean noticed bruises around her wrists. "You've seen it, haven't you?" he asked. "How'd you know?" asked Diana. "Cause Karen had the same bruises on her wrists. It's got somethin' to do with the spirit." "You think I'm gonna die?" asked Diana. "You need to go to Alex and Sam. They'll help. Go to the first motel listed in the Yellow Pages. Look for Jim and Alice Lockford."

Alex opened the door and Diana stepped inside the motel room. She held up her wrists to show Alex and Sam the bruises. "Tell us exactly what you saw," said Sam. Diana put her arms at her sides and began to speak. "She was, uh, pale, and her throat was cut. And her eyes were a deep, dark red. It appeared she was trying to talk to me, but she couldn't." Alex walked over to the table and picked up a stack of photos. She held them out to Diana. "Tell us if you recognize any of these girls." Diana looked through the photos and about halfway through the pile, she stopped. "This is her. I'm sure of it." She handed the pictures back to Alex with the photo of the girl on top. "Claire Becker. 28 years old, disappeared 8 or 9 months ago," said Sam. "I don't even know her. Why would she come after me?" asked Diana. "Well, before her death, she was arrested twice for dealing heroin. You ever bust her?" asked Alex. She held the mug shot of Claire up to Diana. Diana shook her head. "Let's head over to Ashland Street. Maybe we'll find something there," said Sam.

Sam led the way down the stairs to the basement. They were in the house on Ashland Street where the drug bust of Claire Becker had taken place. They stepped into the basement and Alex and Sam walked slightly in front of Diana. Diana let out an ear-piercing scream and they turned around. There was nothing there. "She was just here," said Diana. "Did she attack you?" asked Sam. "No. She was reaching out to me. She was over by the window," said Diana. Alex and Sam moved a shelf out of the way to see sunlight streaming through a window that said, "Ashland Supply." Alex turned around and saw it written on the wall as well as the window. "Now the extra letters make sense," said Alex. Sam nodded and took out his EMF reader. They all walked toward the wall. The EMF began blinking rapidly when they were right beside the wall. Sam grabbed a metal bar from behind the stairs and began smashing the wall. "Why the hell would Claire lead us to her remains?" asked Alex. When Sam had a hole in the wall big enough to reach into, he reached inside and pulled out a black body bag. He set it on the floor and Sam cut the ropes around it with his pocketknife. He pulled the bag open and inside were Claire's remains. Diana reached in and grabbed Claire's necklace. "Does that mean something to you?" asked Sam. "No, but I have one just like it." Diana grabbed the necklace from around her own neck. "Pete gave it to me." "Your partner, Pete?" asked Alex. Diana nodded. "It all makes sense," said Sam. He stood up and began pacing while Alex and Diana sat beside the body. "Claire's a death omen. She's not killin' anyone. She's trying to warn them," said Alex. Diana looked between them, confused. "She wants justice. That's why she led us here," said Sam. Alex stood up with Diana. "Detective, how much do you know about your partner?" Diana thought for a minute. "Oh, my God. About a year ago, a heroin addict went missing from lock-up. It was obviously a cop, but we never found out who did it," said Diana. Sam and Alex exchanged a glance.

Pete threw Dean onto the ground. Dean spit out the mouthful of grass he had gotten and sat up on his knees, looking at Pete. "You're gonna die trying to escape for St. Louis," said Pete. He pulled out his gun and aimed it straight at Dean's forehead. "Wait, wait. Let's talk about this," said Dean. Pete smirked, but kept his gun trained on Dean's forehead. "Pete! Put the gun down," yelled Diana from behind Pete. She had her own gun trained on Pete. "I don't think so," said Pete, his gun still on Dean. Alex bit her lip, nervous for Dean. Dean looked at her. "Diana, I still love you. Let me do this," pleaded Pete. Diana lowered her gun and Pete smiled at her. "Thank you." He turned his attention back to Dean and aimed once again. Diana quickly brought her gun up and shot at Pete. She hit him in the thigh and Dean rolled away as Pete grabbed his thigh, falling to the ground in agony. Diana walked over to Pete and he lunged for her, grabbing her legs and knocking her to the ground. Sam went to help Dean, but Pete grabbed his gun and held it at Sam. Pete stood up while Sam held his hands up and Alex glanced at Diana, who was next to her. Diana, her eyes trained on Pete, slowly handed Alex her gun. Once she had the gun, Alex looked at Sam, who nodded imperceptibly. Alex aimed and shot at Pete. Pete fell to the ground, dead. Sam helped Dean stand up and Alex walked over to her brothers. Diana stood up and looked at the three siblings. "Go on. Get out of here before I call the cops." Alex handed Diana her gun and Diana stuck it in her gun holster. She watched as Alex stood in between her brothers as they walked down the road.

Alex sat next to Sam in a booth at a local diner. She picked at the fries that were in front of her. Dean sat across from them in the booth and Sam was on his laptop. He found Dean's criminal record. "Way to keep a low profile, dickhead," said Alex. Dean glared at her and Sam laughed. "What about the case?" asked Dean. "Sean Boyd jumps off a high-rise he built, killing himself. Claims he saw a big, black dog for two days before his death," said Sam. "Alright. Let's check it out," said Dean. He left a few bills on the table and walked out of the diner with Sam and Alex behind him.

"Do you know where the doctor went?" asked Sam. They were visiting the home of a woman who had filed a complaint about a black dog. The maid shook her head. "She seems pretty young to be Chief of Surgery," said Dean. "Youngest in the business. She had like, an overnight success," said the maid. "And how long ago was that?" asked Alex. She picked a picture up off the counter and looked at it. It was of Sophia, the doctor. "About 10 years ago," said the maid. Alex flipped the picture over and looked at the back of it. It said, "Lloyd's Bar." Alex showed the picture to Sam. "Guess that's where we're headed next."

Dean parked the Impala a few feet from Lloyd's Bar and he and his siblings got out. They headed towards the bar and Alex noticed flowers blooming among the weeds on the side of the road. "Aren't these flowers used for summoning rituals?" she asked. She crouched down to get a closer look at them. "Yeah," said Sam. "You think this is a crossroads?" asked Dean. "Let's find out," said Sam. He walked to the center of the road while Dean headed back to the Impala to grab shovels from the trunk.

Dean had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows as he dug a hole in the middle of the road. His shovel hit something hard and he pulled his shovel up and threw it beside him on the ground. "Yahtzee." He reached into the hole and pulled out a small, metal box. He opened the lid and pulled out a small bone from inside it. Sam and Alex crowded around him to look inside the box. "Bet that's graveyard dirt," said Sam. He pulled out a bottle of black dirt from the box. "And a black cat bone," said Alex, nodding to the bone in Dean's hand. Dean tossed the bone back in the box. "Crossroads are where pacts are made. You summon a demon, they come and make a deal," said Dean. "They're seeing hell hounds. Demonic pit bulls," said Sam. "That doctor lady sure ain't runnin' fast enough away," said Alex. She stuck her hands in her sweatshirt's pocket and squinted at her brothers, the sunlight blinding her. "So it's just like the Robert Johnson legend," said Sam. "Yeah, except that wasn't a legend. You know his music," said Dean. He looked at Sam. Sam frowned and Alex looked away. "You two don't know Robert Johnson's songs?" asked Dean. Alex shook her head. "There's cult references all over them! 'Crossroad Blues, Hell Hound on my Trail'," said Dean. Alex shook her head and Sam shrugged. Dean took in a deep breath. "Story goes, he died chokin' on his own blood. He was muttering about big, evil dogs." "We gotta find out if anyone else struck a bargain around here then," said Sam. "Right. You gotta put your own picture inside, so…" Alex reached inside the box and grabbed a picture of a young, black man out of it. "Let's go inside and see if anyone knows this guy," said Dean. He led the way to the bar with Alex and Sam right behind him.

Alex knocked on the apartment door of a man named George Darrow. He was the man who had his picture in the crossroad's box. "Look at this," said Sam. He crouched down and touched black dust that was lying outside the apartment door. He stood up and held his hand out to Dean. Dean smelt the substance. "Pepper?" asked Dean. The door opened then and they all looked at the man standing in the doorway. "Looks like you grabbed the wrong shaker. Usually when you wanna keep out something evil, you grab the salt," said Dean. "I don't know what you're talking about," said George. Dean reached in his pocket and held up George's photo from the crossroad's box. George's expression turned to shock. "Tell me, have you seen the hell hound yet?" asked Dean. George's lip quivered slightly. "Look, we wanna help," said Alex. George nodded and opened the door wider to let them in.

George poured himself a glass of whiskey before facing Dean, Alex and Sam. "So what was that stuff out there?" asked Alex. "Goofa dust," said George. He grabbed a bag off his coffee table and threw it to Dean. Dean caught it with one hand and opened it, peering inside. "What is it?" asked Sam. "Keeps out demons," said George. "Mr. Darrow, we know you're in trouble. But it's not hopeless. There's gotta be somethin' we can do," said Sam. "I appreciate it, but I called the demon myself. The worst part was that it stuck around, making deals with other people." "Who else, George?" asked Alex. "Think," said Dean. "Hudson. Evan Hudson," said George. He took a drink from his whiskey and flinched at the sting as it went down his throat.

That night, Alex, Sam, and Dean walked up the steps of a front porch. The house was very nice and the lights were on inside. Dean knocked on the front door and a tall man answered the door. "Evan Hudson?" asked Alex. He nodded. "You ever been to a bar called Lloyd's? About 10 years ago?" asked Dean. Evan's face showed panic and he quickly slammed the door shut. Dean sighed. He kicked the door in and they all rushed upstairs, looking for Evan. They heard noise from the office and they entered the office. Evan stood in the middle of the room, his face pale white and sweaty. "We're here to help," said Sam. "Can you stop it?" asked Evan. He ran a hand over his face. "Don't know. We'll try," said Alex. Evan shook his head. "I wanna die." "Oh, c'mon. What'd you ask for anyway?" asked Dean. "My wife," said Evan. Dean chuckled sarcastically. "That's worth goin' to hell for." "Dean, stop," said Alex. "No, he's right. I made the deal. I was desperate." Evan had his back to them and his hands were holding onto the edge of the desk. He took in a deep breath. "Julie was dying. They kept saying a matter of days." Evan turned to face them. "So yeah, I made the deal." "So now she has to live without you? Did you think of her at all before you made the deal?" asked Dean. "Okay, that's enough. Evan, sit tight. We'll be back," said Sam. Evan sat behind his desk and the siblings walked out into the hall.

Sam closed the door behind him and Dean walked downstairs to check for signs of a hellhound. "Sam, I'm gonna summon the demon," said Alex once Dean was safely out of earshot. "Alex, no. That's crazy," said Sam. "Look, I need to do this. It'll buy us time. Please, let me go." Sam sighed and closed his eyes. He opened them, looked at her sternly, and pulled the car keys out of his pocket. She hugged him and he kissed her temple. Alex snuck downstairs, past Dean, and out the front door.

Back at the crossroads, Alex threw one of her many fake ID's into the box. She closed the box's lid, set it back in the hole she had just dug up, and piled the dirt back on top of the hole. She stood up from her crouched position and felt a presence behind her. She turned and saw a cute guy smiling at her. He walked a few steps toward her. "First time?" he asked. "You could say that," said Alex. "Aw, don't sell yourself short. I know all about you, Alex Winchester." "So you know my name. What else did you hear?" The demon stepped closer. "What can I do for you, Alex?" Alex smirked at his avoidance of her question. She turned and walked toward the Impala, the demon following.

"Where's Alex?" asked Dean as he walked back upstairs and only saw Sam in the hallway. Sam finished sprinkling a line of Goofa dust across the door of the office and he stood up to look at Dean. He bit his lip nervously, a habit he and Alex shared. "Uh, she went to summon the demon," whispered Sam, looking down at the floor. "Excuse me? It sounded like you said she went and summoned the demon," said Dean. Sam looked up at him and released his lip from between his teeth. "She did." "Are you serious?" Sam nodded. "What the fuck, Sam! Why'd you let her go?" "She wanted to, Dean! She's a big girl. We can't always be around to protect her." Dean nodded. "I don't like it, but we've got a man to protect. Let's focus on our job." Dean entered the office and Sam followed him.

"I want Evan Hudson released from his contract," said Alex. "Sorry, darling. That's not negotiable," said the demon. "I'll make it worth your while." Alex stopped walking and faced the demon. "What are you offering?" Alex closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. "Me." The demon smirked. "You'd offer your life for someone else's. Like father, like daughter," said the demon. Alex's expression faltered and she looked at the ground. The demon moved closer to her. "You did know about your father's deal, didn't you? His life for yours?"

Sam and Dean stood with Evan in his office. A circle of Goofa dust surrounded them. The hell hounds were barking and howling at the office door and one burst through an air vent, invisible to Sam and Dean. "It's here!" yelled Evan and Sam and Dean looked around, seeing nothing.

"Can you bring my dad back?" asked Alex. The demon smirked and walked even closer to Alex. He stopped a few feet from her face. He looked up above at the belly of the water tower they were standing under and saw a Devil's Trap drawn on it. Alex had drawn it on before she had summoned him and now he was trapped in it. "Alex. Let me out now," said the demon. "Sure. We just gotta make a little deal first. You call off your hounds and let Evan go." "I can't break a binding contract." "You mean can't or don't want to?" The demon looked at Alex, anger on his face. "Okay then." The demon watched as Alex pulled out her dad's journal and opened it.

The hellhound stood at the edge of the circle that Dean, Sam, and Evan was standing in. It was still invisible to the brothers, but Evan was trembling. There were visible scratches outside of the circle. "C'mon, Alex," whispered Sam.

Alex tightened her grip on the rosary she was holding in her left hand. "Look, forget Evan. Think of your dad," said the demon. Alex paused for a few seconds. She began reading from the journal again and the demon began screaming in pain and agony. "Wait," he gasped out. Alex stopped and the demon reached out, grabbing her. He pulled her in close and attached his lips to hers roughly. He stuck his tongue in her mouth and his fingers wrapped in her hair. Alex pushed him away after a few seconds. "What was that?" asked Alex. "Me sealing the deal. Evan's free. Now let me out." Alex reached up and rubbed away a spot of chalk, breaking the Devil's Trap bond. The demon looked at her. "See you later, babe." He walked off into the woods, leaving Alex alone by the Impala.

Alex pulled the car into Evan's driveway and put it in park. She had barely stepped out of the car when Sam and Dean came bounding down the front porch steps to meet her. "Don't you ever do that again," said Dean. He pulled her into a hug and breathed in her scent. Alex looked up at him and there were tears pooling in her eyes. "Alex, what's wrong?" asked Dean. "Dad sold his soul to save me," whispered Alex. Her tears finally spilled over and Sam sighed as he walked up on Dean's left. "It's my fault he's gone," sobbed Alex. She buried her head in Dean's chest and her tears soaked his shirt. "Shh, it'll be okay. We'll be okay," reassured Dean. He stroked her hair gently and looked at Sam over Alex's head.

_Dean loaded his gun and entered the room. The man in the chair was crying and looked up at Dean as he stepped into the room. "It's not in me, I swear. Please," begged the man. Dean aimed the gun at the young man in the chair. "I've got no choice." Dean pulled the trigger and shots rang out. _

Alex jolted awake at the same time as Sam. They were breathing heavily. "Dean?" asked Sam. Alex nodded. The door opened then and Dean stepped into the motel room. "What's going on?" he asked them. "We've gotta go to Riverview, Oregon," said Alex. She jumped out of bed and began throwing things into her duffel bag. "Dean, we gotta go now," said Sam. "Okay, okay. I'll get us checked out." Dean left the room and Alex and Sam quickly threw their belongings into duffel bags.

"What else did you see?" asked Dean. He had his eyes on the road and one hand was resting on the steering wheel. "A guy tied to a chair," said Sam. "And then you shot him, Dean. You thought something was inside him," said Alex. "What, like a demon?" "I don't know," whispered Alex. Dean glanced at Sam, who shook his head. Dean turned his attention back to the wheel, his grip suddenly tighter and his knuckles turning white with force.

Dean pulled the car to a stop by the sidewalk's curb. Alex got out and stretched her arms above her head, yawning. Sam yawned also and stretched out his back. A chill swept through the air and she opened the passenger door, reached into the backseat, and grabbed a sweatshirt. She pulled it on over her head. It was way too big, seeing as it was Sam's old Stanford hoodie. She looked down, shrugged, and joined her brothers on the sidewalk. She glanced at an electrical wire pole and noticed the word "Croatoan" was carved into the wood. She grabbed Sam's arm and pointed to the pole. Dean squinted at it to see. "Huh. Croatoan," said Dean. Alex and Sam looked at him. "Roanoke?" asked Sam. His eyebrows were raised. Dean shrugged and Alex groaned. "Roanoke was one of the first colonies of America. Late 1500's," said Sam. Dean snapped his fingers. "Yeah, I do remember that. They only left behind one word carved in a tree. Croatoan." "Yeah," said Alex, her face relieved. "C'mon. We gotta find the kid from our vision," said Sam.

Dean knocked on the front door of Dwayne Tanner's house. This was the home of the kid that Sam and Alex had seen in their vision. A teenage boy answered the door, but it was not the son that they were looking for. "Hi. Is Dwayne Tanner here?" asked Sam. "No, actually. He's out fishing," said the boy. "Are your parents here?" asked Dean. The kid nodded and a man appeared next to the boy in the doorway. He smiled politely at them. "Hi. Can I help you?" "We're looking for Dwayne Tanner," said Sam. "Oh, he's on a fishing trip." "Do you know when he'll be back?" asked Alex. "No, I don't," said the man. "Maybe your wife does. Can we talk to her?" asked Dean. "She's out shopping. I'll let her know you came by." The man retreated into the house and the son shut the front door. The Winchesters looked at one another once the door was shut. "That was way too Stepford. C'mon," said Dean. He jogged down the steps, Alex and Sam following him. They went around to the right side of the house. There was a window, but it was high above them. Sam crouched down and helped Alex sit on his shoulders. He held onto her legs and stood up so Alex could see in the window. Dean watched them and spotted her, making sure she didn't fall. "Uh, the son just cut his own forearm. He's trying to get his blood into the mom's bloodstream. She's tied to a kitchen chair, crying. The dad is standing over her, watching. Oh fuck, the kid's getting closer to the mom. Go Dean, now!" Dean ran around to the front of the house and up the porch steps. He kicked in the front door and headed for the kitchen. Sam held up his hands and Alex grabbed them. Sam tightened his grip on her hands and flung her backwards off his shoulders and over his head. Alex flipped through the air once, doing a back tuck and landing steadily on her feet. They ran around the house to the front and up the porch steps. They ran inside and to the kitchen. Dean had his gun trained on the son and Sam pulled his own gun out, pulling it from his waistband and aiming it at the father. Alex pulled out her gun and held it in front of her, looking between the son and the father, ready to shoot either one of them. The father looked at all three of them. He charged at Dean. Dean shot him and he fell to the floor. The son ran out the front door and the Winchesters ran to the window. They watched him run across the front lawn and into the neighboring woods.

Dean parked the Impala on the curb once they were back in the city. He parked by a doctor's office and helped Sam haul Mrs. Tanner out of the car. Alex shut the door behind them and followed them into the doctor's office. Dean opened the office's door and Sam led Mrs. Tanner inside. "We need a doctor!" yelled Sam. A blonde nurse entered the lobby and gasped when she took in Mrs. Tanner's appearance. Her arm was cut and still bleeding and her face was streaked with tears. "Mrs. Tanner! What happened?" she asked. Mrs. Tanner began crying again and Sam looked at the nurse. "She's been attacked." "Dr. Lee!" yelled the nurse. A brunette woman rushed into the lobby and looked at Mrs. Tanner. "Bring her back." Sam nodded and helped Mrs. Tanner walk down the hall to an examination room. Alex waited in the lobby with the blonde nurse. Dean walked into the room with Mr. Tanner hefted across his shoulders. "Is that-" began the nurse. "Mr. Tanner? Yeah," said Dean. "Was he attacked too?" "No. You see, he did the attacking and then got himself shot," said Alex. "And you two are?" "U.S. Marshals." Alex reached into her pocket and pulled out her fake badge. The nurse looked at it and nodded. "Alright. Bring him back here." The nurse led them into a different room.

"Do you know why they did this to you?" asked Dr. Lee. Mrs. Tanner shook her head, her tears beginning to fall again. "One minute, they were my husband and my son. The next, they had the devil in them." Sam's brow furrowed and Alex cocked her head to the side, confused. "We need to talk," whispered Dean. He quietly left the room and his siblings followed.

Once they were in the hallway and the door to the room was shut, Dean faced his siblings. He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. "What do you think?" asked Sam. "Could be demons," said Alex. "Yeah, but there are no signs of possession," said Sam. Dean opened his mouth to speak, but the door opened and Dr. Lee walked up to them. "What the hell happened out there? You just killed my neighbor!" she yelled. "Sorry," said Dean, no hint of sympathy in his tone at all. "Well, now I need the sheriff, the coroner…" "Phone's are down," said Sam. "How far is it to the next town?" asked Dean. "About 40 miles," said Dr. Lee. "Okay. I'm gonna go check it out. These two will stay here and keep you safe." He patted Sam's shoulder, kissed Alex's forehead, and walked out of the office. "Safe from what?" asked Dr. Lee. Alex shrugged.

Alex was sitting in the exam room, keeping an eye on Mrs. Tanner as she slept. The door opened and Dr. Lee and Sam stepped into the room. San pulled on Alex's arm and Dr. Lee took her place as Alex and Sam stepped out into the hallway. Sam shut the door and looked at his sister. "The doctor says there are traces of sulfur in Mr. Tanner's blood," said Sam. "Serious?" Sam nodded and Alex pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream was let out from the exam room. Sam opened the door and they ran inside to see Mrs. Tanner attacking the doctor. Sam grabbed Mrs. Tanner around the waist, but she shoved him into the glass cabinet that contained the medical supplies. She turned to Alex next. Alex grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall and hit Mrs. Tanner over the head. She crumpled to the floor and Alex looked at Sam.

Alex walked into the lobby, exhausted. She heard the door creak open and she waited to see who rounded the corner. A black man rounded the corner and Alex's face fell when she didn't see Dean. She looked up again when she heard boots scuffing the tile floor. She smiled and ran up to Dean, hugging him tight. He hugged her close and his arm went around her waist. The black man that had walked in before Dean walked into the exam room and Alex let go of Dean, looking at him. Sam joined them in the lobby. "What's going on out there, Dean?" "I don't know. Sarge is the only sane person I could find." He nodded to the black man that was in the exam room. "Doc thinks we're dealin' with a virus," said Alex. "And the infected are trying to infect others with blood to blood contact," added Sam. "Oh! The virus also leaves traces of sulfur in the blood." "Jesus, it's like a Biblical plague," said Dean. "And… the wife's infected," said Alex.

"Is there any cure for this?" asked Sam. The doctor shrugged. "You can't just shoot her like an animal!" yelled the blonde nurse, Pam. Dean ignored her and walked to the closet where Mrs. Tanner was being held in. Sam followed and Alex stood with Sarge, Pam, and Dr. Lee. Seconds later, three shots were fired and Pam flinched. Alex looked at her sadly.

A pounding on the office doors startled everyone inside it. Sam, Dean, and Sarge went to the lobby to see the commotion. Alex stood in the exam room doorway, Pam and Dr. Lee behind her. "It's Dwayne Tanner," said Sarge. He opened the door and let Dwayne inside. He locked the door once he was inside and followed Dwayne into the lobby. "Who else is here?" asked Dwayne. Dean led him into the exam room. "Doc, can you check him out?" asked Dean. Dr. Lee nodded and slid on a pair of latex gloves. She bent down and saw a cut on his knee. "You're bleeding." "Where'd you get that?" asked Dean. "I was running and I must've tripped." "Tie him up." Sarge grabbed the rope and directed Dwayne to a chair. "Is there any way of knowing, Doc?" asked Sam. "Not unless Dwayne turns." Sam nodded and he left the room.

The Winchesters walked into the exam room across the hall, Alex leaning against the doorframe. Sam and Dean stood in the middle of the room. "We can't kill him, Dean. He might not have it," said Sam. "His whole family had it, Sam. What choice do we have?" Dean loaded his gun. "We can't know unless he turns. He could be innocent." Dean nodded. Sam relaxed and Dean quickly shoved Sam into the room. He pushed Alex out of the way, slammed the door shut, and locked it. "Dean!" yelled Alex. "Alex, do you wanna be locked in there?" Alex shook her head and followed Dean into the exam room, ignoring the pounding on the door by Sam. Dwayne saw the gun in Dean's hand and began pleading. "It's not in me, I swear." Dean pointed the gun at Dwayne, but Alex touched his wrist. She stepped in front of him and he lowered the gun. "Dean, he's clean. Let him live." Dean looked at his sister for a few seconds before nodding. He stuck his gun back in the waistband of his jeans and Alex walked across the hall to let Sam out of the closet.

Four hours later, Alex, Sam, and Dean were sitting in Dr. Lee's office making explosives. "Dwayne's blood is clean. Can we untie him?" asked Dr. Lee. Alex nodded and Sam got up, walking across the hall to get some more rubbing alcohol. When his back was turned, Pam entered the room. He turned to face her when she suddenly lunged at him, knocking him to the floor. She climbed atop him, cutting her palm with a scalpel. She then cut Sam's collarbone and stuck her palm on his open wound. Dean ran in the doorway and shot Pam three times. She fell off of Sam, dead. "She bled on him. He's got the virus," said Sarge.

Sam sat on the examination table in an exam room. Gauze was covering his wound and he was staring off at nothing. Sarge and Dwayne stood by the doorway. Alex stood with Dean, her face in his chest. "Doc, check his wound again." "Did her blood actually enter your wound?" asked Dr. Lee. "C'mon, of course it did!" yelled Sarge. "We don't know that for sure!" yelled Dean. The vibrations from his voice rumbled in his chest and Alex began to cry. Dean stroked her back. "We can't take a chance," said Dwayne. "Nobody is shooting my brother," said Dean. Alex looked up at him. "Dean, they're right," said Sam. Everyone looked at him and Alex shook her head. "I'm infected. Give me the gun and I'll do it myself." "Forget it," said Dean. "I'm not gonna become one of those things!" "I'm not letting you die!" yelled Dean. Alex reached into Dean's jacket pocket and pulled out the Impala keys. She put them in Dwayne's palm and closed his fingers around them. "Get the hell outta here. Take Dean's car. The explosives are in there and other stuff too. Take Sarge and Doc with you." "What are you gonna do?" asked Sarge. Alex looked behind her at her brothers and looked back at Sarge. "Alex, no. No. Go with them," said Sam. Alex shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. "He's right. You tow should come with us," said Dwayne, looking at Alex and Dean. Dean looked at Sarge, who nodded in agreement. Dean shook his head and Sarge ushered Dwayne and Dr. Lee out of the room. Dean shut and locked the door behind them. He turned to his brother and sister. "Please don't do this. Just get the hell outta here," begged Sam. Tears were forming in his eyes. "No way," said Dean. "I'm sick. It's over for me. You two can keep going," pleaded Sam. "We don't want to. We're tired, Sam," said Dean. Alex nodded. She sat on the table next to Sam and wiped away his tears. A knock on the door startled all of them. Dean opened it and Dr. Lee stood on the other side. "The whole town is gone. Completely vanished."

The next morning, Dr. Lee was looking at Sam's blood under a microscope. "It's clean. No trace of the virus," she said. Sam nodded and walked outside. He got in the Impala and Dean drove off.

On an old, abandoned road, Dean was leaning against a fence. Alex and Sam were sitting on the same fence and they were each drinking a beer. "Are you really tired of the job?" asked Sam. "I don't know. I just think we should take a break and live a little," said Dean. He began walking toward the car. Sam and Alex jumped off the fence and followed him. "Dean, whatever weight you're carrying, let us help," said Alex. Dean turned to face them. "I can't. I promised." "Promised who?" asked Sam. "Dad." Alex gasped and Sam's brow furrowed. "What are you talkin' about?" "In the hospital room?" whispered Alex. Dean nodded. "Right before Dad died, he told me something. Somethin' about you two." "Dean, what did he tell you?" asked Alex. "He said he wanted me to watch out for you two. Take care of you." "He told you that a million times," said Sam. Dean looked at the ground. "Nah, this time was different. He said that I had to save you two. That nothin' else mattered. And that if I couldn't, I'd have to kill both of you." "Kill us?" asked Alex. Dean nodded, looking up at them again. Alex's eyes began to water and fill with tears. "Did Dad know the demon's plans? What else did he say, Dean?" asked Sam. "Nothin'. That's it, I swear." "You had no right to keep this from us!" yelled Sam. "I think we should lay low for awhile," said Alex, sniffling. She looked at Dean, who nodded. Sam turned away from them. "Whatever."

That night, Alex woke up, the motel room almost pitch black. Moonlight was filtering through the windows, the curtains sheer enough to let the light through. Alex looked over and saw Dean's figure lying in the bed next to her bed. She reached over on the other side of her bed, but felt no one. She sat up and saw a tall figure standing in the middle of the room. She blinked, getting the sleep out of her eyes. "Sam?" she whispered. The man turned toward her voice. Alex stood up, walking to the man. She saw that it was Sam. He had one bag in his hand and another bag over his shoulder. "Wha- what are you doing?" asked Alex. "Alex, I have to leave. I wanna know what the demon has planned for us." "But we have to lie low. Please, Sam. Don't do this." "I let you go to the crossroads. Please, let me do this." Alex nodded and Sam pulled her close. She breathed in his musky scent and he kissed her forehead gently. "Don't tell Dean I went to the roadhouse." Alex nodded once again and Sam walked to the door, opening it. A cab was waiting for him outside. Before he stepped outside, Sam turned to Alex. "Love you sis." "Love you too," said Alex. She watched him shut the door and she climbed back in her bed. She grabbed the pillow Sam had used, pulled it close to her body, and went back to sleep.

Sam set down his beer and looked at Ash. "I got five people. Born in '83, mother died in a nursery fire," said Ash. "Five? That's it?" asked Sam. "Alex Winchester, Lawrence, Kansas. Sam Winchester, Lawrence, Kansas. Andrew Gallagher, Guthrie, Oklahoma. Jason Smit, Detroit, Michigan. And, uh, Scott Carry." "You got an address for the last guy?" asked Sam. "Kinda. Plock Hills Cemetery, Indiana." "You mean he's dead?" asked Sam. "Yep. About a month ago, he was stabbed." Sam downed the rest of his beer and nodded at Ash. "Thanks." He grabbed his jacket and flung it on, walking to the front door. Kellan and Joe came strolling into the roadhouse and they stopped when they saw Sam. "Sam! Fancy seeing you here. What's up?" asked Joe. "Just workin' on a case," said Sam. Joe nodded and walked around the bar. Kellan looked at Sam. "Hey, is Alex with you?" Sam shook his head. "Well, how is she? Did I hurt her feelings?" "She's fine. Why don't you just talk to her?" suggested Sam. Kellan nodded. Sam slapped his shoulder and walked out the door.

"You said you went to high school with Scott?" asked Scott's father. Sam nodded. "Scotty's changed a lot since you knew him." "What do you mean?" asked Sam. He rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. "Started about a year ago with these headaches. Then he got depressed, paranoid. Then there were nightmares. He closed up on me after that. I tried to get him help, but he'd just lock himself in his room for days." "You think I could see his room?" asked Sam. Scott's father nodded and led Sam up the stairs.

Once Scott's dad had walked back downstairs, Sam shut the door to Scott's room and began snooping around. He saw bottles of pills on Scott's nightstand. He took one of the bottles, sticking it in his jacket pocket.

As Sam was unlocking his motel room door, he felt a presence behind him. He quickly spun around, grabbed the person's shoulders, and held them against the door. "Who are you?" asked Sam to a twenty-something brunette woman. "Uh, you're in danger," she stammered out. Sam looked at her face for a second. Deciding he could trust her, Sam ushered her inside his room. "Okay. What's your name?" he asked. "Ava. Ava Wilson." "Ava, I'm Sam Winchester. Now, you said I was in danger?" "Yeah. See, I've been having these dreams…" Ava looked up at him to gauge his reaction. Sam just stared at her. "You said you've been having dreams?" asked Sam. "Yeah, uh, about a year ago, I started having these headaches and nightmares, I guess. I really didn't think much of it until I saw this one guy get stabbed in a parking lot." "When was this?" "Uh, about a month ago. Anyway, a couple of days later, I found this." Ava held out a newspaper clipping of the stabbing she had dreamt about. Sam took it from her hand, skimming it. "I saw this guy die. Days before it happened. I don't know why. It's just, for some reason, my dreams are coming true," said Ava. She looked up at Sam. "Last night, I had another one about you. I saw you die." "How did you find me?" "Oh, uh, you had motel stationary so I Googled the motel and it was real. So I just thought I should warn you." Sam sighed. "I don't believe this." Ava whimpered and sat on the edge of the bed. "Of course you don't." "No, I mean you must be one of us. One of the psychics. Like my twin sister, Alex and me. Ava, I have visions too." Ava barked out a sarcastic laugh. "So you're nuts. That's great." "Okay, look. Did your mother happen to die in a house fire?" asked Sam. "No. She lives in Palm Beach," said Ava. Sam sighed and looked away from her.

Dean and Alex were in the Impala, Alex sitting in the passenger seat. Dean had one hand on the steering wheel and the other hand on his phone, waiting for Sam to call. "I just don't know where he would go," muttered Dean. Alex bit her lip, but said nothing. She pulled her knees up to her chest and looked out the window. Dean noticed her movement and looked over at her. "Alex? Do you know something?" Alex sighed and released her lip from between her teeth. "He went to the roadhouse." Dean stared at her. "Have you known this all along?" Alex nodded, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth once again. Dean hit the steering wheel with his fist in anger and frustration. "Dammit, Alex! Why didn't you tell me this earlier? We've wasted valuable time!" "He asked me not to tell you, Dean!" Alex rolled her eyes and looked away from him. Dean sighed. He punched in Ellen's number and held his phone to his ear. "Ellen, it's Dean. Have you seen Sam?" "Yeah, he asked me not to tell you where he went," said Ellen. "C'mon, Ellen. Please." "Now, Dean. They say you can't protect your loved ones forever. But I say screw that. He's in Lafayette, Indiana." "Thanks, Ellen." Dean hung up and threw his phone in a cup holder. Alex had her legs curled under herself and her head was resting against the window as she looked out of it. Dean looked over at her and sighed. "Alex, I'm sorry." He reached over to her and rested his hand on her calf. Alex looked at his hand on her calf and then up at him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. But Sam asked me not to. I'd do the same for you and you would've done the same for me or him." Dean nodded and smiled at her. "I love you, baby sis." "I love you, big brother."

"Why can't you just leave town?" asked Ava. "I just can't. There's somethin' goin' on here with you and with me. I have to figure out what it is," said Sam." "Fine. I'm going home to address wedding invitations," said Ava. She began walking toward the door, but Sam's voice stopped her. "Don't these visions scare the hell out of you? If you wanna know the truth, you need to stay." Ava turned to him with her arms crossed her chest. "I need your help," said Sam.

The next day, Sam and Ava entered Sam's motel room. Sam spread out Scott Carry's file from the doctor's office onto the table and glanced at Ava. "You okay?" asked Sam. "I just helped you steal some guy's psych file. I'm awesome!" said Ava. Sam grinned.

A few hours later, Sam and Ava stood around the table in Sam's motel room listening to Scott's voice on the recording of his sessions with his doctor. "He's not talking about us, is he?" asked Ava. Scott had mentioned people like himself in the tape. "Yeah. I think he is," said Sam. Suddenly, the windows of the room shattered, glass flying across the room. Sam dropped to the floor and drug Ava down with him, covering her with his body. She covered her head with her hands. After the noise had stopped, Sam slowly peeked over the top of the table they were taking cover under to see who had shot at them.

Dean and Alex pulled into the motel's parking lot to see Sam and a girl cowering under a table in the middle of the room. Dean looked up at the building next to the motel and saw Gordon with a rifle in his hands, aiming for Sam's head, which was above the table. Dean looked at Alex. "Stay in the car. If I don't come back, go find Sam." "Dean? What?" Dean kissed her forehead and got out of the car, heading for Gordon.

After Dean had been gone for a good twenty minutes, Alex got out of the car. She walked to Sam's motel room and looked in the shattered window. He wasn't in the room. She sighed and walked to the warehouse next door and climbed up to the roof. Sam and the girl were on the roof and Sam was crouched down, looking at a bullet casing. "Sammy," called out Alex. Both Sam and the girl looked over at her. "Alex, how did you-" began Sam, but Alex cut him off. "Ellen," said Alex and Sam nodded. "Where's Dean?" Alex bit her lip. "Um, he went to stop Gordon from shooting you and he never came back," said Alex. Sam took out his cell phone, dialing Dean's number. "Hey, Sam," said Dean, "Hey. Listen, I'm in Lafayette, Indiana," said Sam. "Ellen told me. Yep, it's a funky town." "Yeah, there's someone after me." "What? Who?" "I don't know. We need to find out. Where are you?" "Stayin' at 5637 Monroe Street. Why don't you meet me here?" "Yeah, sure." Sam hung up and looked at Alex. "I figured as much. Fuck," said Alex. She ran her hands through her hair. "Wait, how did she… You didn't say anything!" yelled Ava. Sam chuckled and Alex smiled. "Ava, this is my twin sister, Alex," said Sam. Alex smiled at her and Ava nodded in understanding. "What's wrong with your brother?" asked Ava. "He's in some trouble," said Sam. "What kind of trouble?" "He gave me a code word. Someone's got a gun on him," explained Sam, writing an address down on his hand. "Funky town," said Alex. Ava looked at them. "Seriously?" "Yeah. C'mon, let's go," said Sam. He led Alex and Ava over to the ladder that led up to the roof and climbed down after them.

"I don't think I should leave," said Ava. She was holding her car keys in her hand and was standing by her car. Sam and Alex were standing in front of her. "I don't want you in harm's way," said Sam. "What about you?" asked Ava. "Harm's way doesn't really bother us," explained Alex. Ava looked at Sam, who nodded. "You are walking right into my vision." Alex's brow furrowed in confusion at Ava's statement. "Doesn't matter. It's my brother," said Sam. He opened Ava's door for her as she got in. He patted the roof and she drove off. "What vision, Sammy?" "Uh, she had a vision of me, um, dying," said Sam, scratching the back of his head. "Jesus, Sam! Now we're walking right into the trap Gordon set!" Alex threw her hands up in the air. "It's Dean. We have to save Dean," said Sam. "You're lucky I love you, kid," said Alex. "Kid?" "C'mon," said Alex. She grabbed his arm and drug him along with her.

Sam held up his hand that he had written the address on. He looked at the numbers on the house and compared them, making sure they were at the right address. He nodded and put his hand down. He and Alex walked to the front of the house and peered in a window. Dean was tied to a chair, his mouth gagged. Gordon sat with his back to the window, looking at Dean. A gun rested across his lap. Alex followed Sam as he ran to the back of the house. He found a back door, but it was locked. "Here," said Alex. She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and handed it to Sam. Sam unlocked the door using the bobby pin and Alex watched him step inside the house. A few seconds later, the back of the house exploded. Alex ducked for cover and quickly entered the house once it was all clear. She saw Gordon enter the room and Sam stepped out of the shadows, holding a gun to Gordon's head. "Put down your gun!" yelled Sam. Gordon slowly bent down and set his gun on the floor. Alex moved past them to help Dean.

Alex rushed over to Dean and began untying him. She removed his gag first and grabbed her pocketknife out of her jeans pocket. She cut the ropes on his hands and was cutting the ones on his feet when Sam stepped into the room. His face was bloody from the punches Gordon had laid on him. He had a cut lip, a cut on his forehead, and another cut on his cheek. "Son of a bitch," said Dean. He stood up once Alex was finished and began walking to the other room to beat up Gordon. "Dean, no," said Sam. Alex stuck her knife back in her pocket and grabbed Sam's face. Her hands were on his neck and she tilted his face to see his wounds. Sam's hands covered hers on his neck. Dean looked back at the other room regretfully, but followed his siblings out of the house.

Halfway to the Impala, Dean, Alex, and Sam heard gunshots. They turned to see Gordon walking out of the house, shooting at them. A gun was in each of his hands. "Go, go!" yelled Dean. They all ran into a ditch and cowered in it to avoid getting shot. Suddenly, two police cars pulled up and surrounded Gordon. He knelt to the ground and the police cuffed him while Dean, Sam, and Alex watched from the ditch. Sam and Dean looked at Alex once the cops and Gordon had left. She grinned, her white teeth gleaming in the night. "Anonymous tip," she said. Sam chuckled. "You are a fine, upstanding citizen, Alex," said Dean.

"Did you get a hold of Ava yet?" asked Alex. Sam shook his head. "Well, I'm sure everything's fine." "Yeah, I hope so," said Sam. "Hey, is it safe to say that Gordon doesn't know I have visions? I mean that Ava chick only saw Sam die," said Alex. "Yeah, Gordon had no clue you have visions," said Dean. "Good." She went back to popping her gum and her brothers smiled.


	27. Chapter 27

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 27

Alex walked into the motel room holding three cups of coffee. Dean walked up to her and grabbed the cup of coffee that was resting in the crook of Alex's elbow. Alex pointed to her right cheek with her right hand and Dean rolled his eyes, but planted a kiss on her cheek. She smiled and set Sam's coffee next to his arm that was resting on the table he was sitting at. "Did Ellen have anything?" asked Alex. "Yeah. An inn in Connecticut has had two freak deaths in the past three weeks," said Sam. "Huh. Sounds like a job." Alex sipped her coffee. "Yeah. Call Ellen. Tell her we'll take it," said Dean.

Alex stepped out of the Impala and winced as the bright sunlight hit her eyes. She shivered at the slight chill in the air and grabbed Dean's old sweatshirt from high school from the backseat. He had been on the wrestling team at one point. It said "Winchester" on the back and Alex stuck her hands in the pocket on the front of it. She walked around the car and stood by Sam. "Dude, this place is sweet!" said Dean. He inspected the inn. Sam rolled his eyes and grabbed his backpack from the passenger seat. He handed it to Alex and she slung it over her shoulder. They all headed toward the front steps together, but on the second step, Sam stopped and looked at a lamp that was placed next to the steps. He pointed to an X on the lantern's metal pole. "See this pattern?" Alex looked over Sam's shoulder and nodded. "It's a quincox. It's a five spot." "Isn't it used for hoodoo spell work?" asked Dean. Sam nodded, his lips pursed together as he began thinking. "C'mon, let's get inside," said Alex. She pushed past her brothers and walked up the steps.

Once they were inside, Dean began looking around again. The front lobby was spacious and airy. The ceiling was high up and stained glass windows decorated every windowpane. He let out a slow whistle. Alex and Sam walked up to the front desk and Dean followed behind them. A tall, redheaded woman was behind the check-in desk and she smiled at them as they approached. "Can I help you?" "Hi. I'd like a room for a couple nights," said Alex. The woman nodded and began typing in information on her computer when suddenly, a little girl came running through the front lobby. She ran right in between Sam and Alex's legs and Sam jumped back quickly to avoid accidentally tripping her. "I'm sorry about that," said the woman. "No problem," said Sam. He joined Alex and Dean at the front desk once again. "Well, congratulations. You all may be some of our final guests," said the woman, typing away on her computer. "That sounds vaguely ominous," said Dean. Sam smirked and Alex laughed. "No, we're closing at the end of the month. So, how many rooms did you want again?" Alex faltered and Dean stepped in to answer, but a rough, gravelly voice cut him off. "They'll need two rooms." They all looked behind them to see Kellan standing in the lobby. Alex smiled, but quickly replaced it with a frown when Kellan wouldn't look at her. He made his way up to the front desk. "Yes, two rooms, please," said Dean. The woman nodded and handed a room key to Dean and another key to Kellan. The four of them walked up the stairs together and Dean grabbed Alex's arm. "Alex is staying with me or Sam. You two will not be in a room together," said Dean as he looked at Kellan. Kellan nodded and Alex followed Dean into their room.

In Dean and Alex's room that afternoon, Sam was sitting down in a chair looking through papers about the case. Dean sat on his bed. "First victim. Joan Eddison, 43 years old. Realtor handling the sale of the hotel and victim number two was Larry Williams. Sending some stuff out to Goodwill," said Sam. "Where's Kellan?" asked Alex. "Oh, he went to some local bar to visit an old friend," said Sam. Alex's face fell and she went back to popping her gum. "They both were tied into shutting the place down," said Dean. "Maybe someone doesn't wanna leave and they're using hoodoo to fight back," suggested Alex. She was lounging on the small loveseat in the room and she popped her gum. Sam turned his steely gaze on her. "Can you stop doing that. Please?" Alex rolled her eyes, but nodded. "Whatever you say." Dean stood up and headed toward the door. "Let's go check this place out."

Dean, Alex, and Sam stopped at the door down the hall marked "Private". Dean knocked on it and a few seconds later, Susan, the woman who had checked them in, opened the door looking frazzled. Her hair was falling out of its bun atop her head and there were dark circles under her eyes. "Hi. Is everything okay with your room?" "Oh, it's awesome," said Dean. He peeked around Susan's head to see in the room and saw a few porcelain dolls. "Hey, are those antique dolls?" Susan nodded. "Can we come in and take a look at them? I have this huge collection at home. Right?" asked Alex, looking up at Sam, who was standing beside her. Sam looked at Susan. "It's true." Susan stepped aside and pushed the door open farther to let them all in. "Wow. This is a lot of dolls," said Dean. He walked over and looked at the shelves against the wall that held all different kinds of dolls. "What is this?" asked Alex. She pointed to a large, white dollhouse resting on the coffee table that looked exactly like the inn. "Exact replica of the hotel, custom built," said Susan. Alex walked around it to see the inside and saw a doll lying at the foot of the staircase. The doll's head was twisted all the way around. She gently plucked it up between her fingers. "His head got twisted around. What happened to it?" "Tyler probably," said Susan. The door was pushed open and they all turned to see Susan's daughter, Tyler, enter the room. "Mommy, Maggie's being mean," she complained. "Tyler, tell her to be nice," said Susan. "Hey, Tyler. Your doll broke. Do you want me to fix it?" asked Alex. "I didn't break it." "Maybe Maggie did it," said Sam. "No, neither of us did it. Grandma would get mad," said Tyler. "Grandma?" asked Dean. "Grandma Rose. These are all her toys," said Tyler, in a "duh" voice. "You know, I'd really love to talk to Rose about her incredible doll-" "No. My mother's been very sick and she's not taking visitors," said Susan. Alex nodded. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to do." Susan ushered all of them out the door. She shut the door and the Winchesters watched Tyler skip down the stairs.

That night, Alex saw weird lights whirling around on the ceiling of their room. She peeked out of the window to see EMT's loading a black body bag into their ambulance. She sighed and pushed the curtains back into their place on the window. She glanced at Sam, who was drinking Scotch straight from the bottle and sitting on the loveseat. Dean stormed into the room and Alex turned to him. "There's been another one. We gotta figure this out and fast." "You're bossy," slurred Sam. Dean looked at Sam, then at Alex. "He's drunk," stated Alex. "Why'd you let him drink? We're workin' a case!" yelled Dean. Alex threw her hands up. "He's so much bigger than me! I'm 5' 1" and he's fuckin' 6' 2," Dean. What did you expect me to do?" She crossed her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow. Dean sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry." He walked over to Sam and helped him stand up. Together, they walked over to Sam's room and Dean knocked on the door. Kellan opened it and took a look at Sam. "Alright, I'll help you get him in bed." Kellan went to Sam's other side and helped Dean being Sam into the room. They set Sam on his bed and Sam flopped down onto it, face first. He fell asleep within minutes. "Thanks man," said Dean. Kellan nodded and Dean walked back into his room. Alex was already in her bed, her eyes closed and her chest rising and falling steadily as she breathed. Dean gently leaned down and kissed her forehead before stepping into the bathroom to shower.

Alex turned over in her bed and looked at the digital clock that rested on the nightstand. It was 4:14 in the morning and Alex could not get back to sleep. She sighed and sat up. She looked over at Dean. His back was to her and he was sleeping peacefully, snoring loudly as well. Alex swung her legs over the side of her bed and got up, heading for the door. She quietly opened it and shut it gently as well so as not to wake Dean. She headed down the stairs and entered the sitting room. She sat on one of the couches and thought about how to fix things with Kellan.

Kellan looked over at his clock by his bed. It read 4:15. He sighed and looked at Sam, who was sound asleep. Kellan grabbed a black wife beater from the chair beside his bed and stood up, walking out of his room and heading downstairs to find something to do.

Alex looked up as she heard movement. A few seconds later, Kellan rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks when he saw her. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize someone was in here. I'll just…" Kellan let his sentence trail off and began walking backwards to leave the room. "Kellan, wait," called out Alex. He stopped and looked at her. "Look, I want us to be able to talk to each other." Kellan nodded. "Yeah, me too." "Good. Look, I'm so sorry about what happened. I never meant to hurt you. It just kind of happened. But, I don't have any feelings for Joe. It's always been you," said Alex. Kellan closed his eyes and his fists clenched. Alex held her breath as she waited for his response. His eyes opened and bore into hers. "I'm sorry it happened too. Alex, I really like you. And what you did, it crushed me." Alex nodded and looked at the floor. A tear fell from her eye and Kellan sighed. He walked over and knelt in front of her. He tilted her chin up to look at him. "But I like you too much to let this go. Can we please go back to the way it was before all of this happened?" Alex smiled and nodded. "Thank God," said Kellan. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers. Once they separated, they walked hand in hand back up the stairs. They kissed one more time before heading to their rooms.

The next morning, Sam went into the bathroom, puking his guts out. Alex winced as she opened the door and heard him puke. "Hey, Sammy. How you feelin'?" asked Alex. Sam groaned and set his forehead on the toilet seat. "I bet you don't remember a thing from last night," said Kellan. "I can still taste the Scotch," said Sam. Alex laughed. "You know there's a really good hangover remedy. It's a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray," said Dean, stepping into the room. Sam groaned. "I hate you." "I know you do. Anyway, we need to talk to Rose. So brush your teeth and head out," said Dean. Alex walked out the door first and Dean followed behind her, smiling. "You coming, Kellan?" asked Sam, as he shrugged on his jacket. "Nah, I'll let you all have this one. Let me know what you find." Sam nodded and walked out of the room.

Outside of Susan's door, Alex handed Sam a bobby pin and watched as he unlocked the door. They all entered the room and headed for the door that led up to the attic. They climbed up the dusty stairs and walked down a little hallway, entering a small room at the end of the small hallway. A woman was sitting in a wheelchair, looking out the lone window in the room at the rain pounding the window's glass. "Rose?" called out Sam. The woman said nothing and made no indication that she had heard him. Sam nodded to Dean and they stepped into a corner of the room to talk. Alex joined them. "This woman's had a stroke," said Sam. "Yeah, and hoodoo is hands on so it can't be Rose," said Alex. "Maybe she's fakin,'" said Dean. "What are you gonna do? Poke her with a stick?" asked Sam. Dean nodded. "Dude, you cannot poke her with a stick!" said Sam. They all looked up as Susan entered the room. "What the hell?" She ran up to her mother. "She's scared out of her wits. I want you out of this hotel in two minutes or I'm calling the cops," said Susan. Dean nodded and led his siblings out of the room.

Susan was standing at the playground that resided next to the hotel. The wind picked up and the swings began to move. Susan looked at them moving and began walking away when her car turned on by itself and sped toward her. She was trapped, almost getting crushed by her car, when Sam ran towards her. He tackled her to the ground and they fell a few feet away from Susan's car. It sped into the swing set, crashing. "Are you okay?" asked Sam. "I think so," said Susan. Dean and Alex ran over to them and Dean grabbed Susan's hand, pulling her up from the ground. They walked back into the hotel.

They met Kellan in the bar and Susan sat down at one of the tables. Sam grabbed a bottle of whiskey from behind the bar and set it in front of Susan. "When did your mother have a stroke?" asked Sam. "Uh, about a month ago." "Right before the killings began," said Kellan. "Rose was using hoodoo. But to protect them, not to hurt them," said Sam. He sat down in front of Susan at the table. "You and your family are in danger. You need to clear everybody outta here. Your mother, your daughters." "I only have one daughter," said Susan. "I thought Tyler had a sister named Maggie," said Alex. "Maggie's imaginary," said Susan. Alex groaned. "Where's Tyler?" asked Dean. "Upstairs." Sam, Alex, Dean, and Kellan ran up the stairs and into Susan's room. The dolls were strewn around the room, broken. Susan ran into the room a few seconds behind them. "Susan. Tell us what you know about Maggie," said Alex. "Uh, Tyler's been talking about her since Mom got sick." "Did you ever know anyone by that name?" asked Sam. "My mom had a sister named Margaret. She barely spoke about her." "Did Margaret happen to die here as a kid?" asked Kellan. "She drowned in the pool," said Susan. "Shit," said Dean.

All five of them ran over to the pool house, but the door was locked. Dean and Sam tried breaking the glass with their elbows, but it wouldn't shatter. "Is there another entrance?" asked Dean. "Around back," said Susan. "Alright, let's go." Dean led Susan around back. "Kellan, go with 'em. Dean will need help with Susan," said Alex. Kellan quickly ran after them. Sam and Alex continued trying to break the glass. Sam grabbed a metal vase from beside Alex and began smashing the glass with it. After a few tries, the glass in the doors began to crack and it finally shattered. Alex and Sam ran inside and onto a balcony. Sam hopped up on the balcony's edge and dived right into the pool, his body hitting the water with a splash. Alex jumped in right after him. Sam grabbed Tyler, who was at the bottom of the pool, and swum over to the shallow end of the pool with Tyler in his arms. Alex swum beside him and hauled herself out of the pool once they reached the shallow end. Sam laid Tyler beside the pool and Alex knelt down next to Tyler's small, lifeless body. Dean, Susan, and Kellan ran into the pool house as Alex listened for a heartbeat. When she didn't hear one, Alex pressed her mouth to Tyler's and breathed into it. She pressed three times on Tyler's chest and repeated the pattern. Susan began crying as Tyler didn't move and Alex continued administering CPR. Suddenly, Alex was pressing on Tyler's chest when Tyler sat up and began coughing. Susan rushed over to her daughter and pulled her into her body. "Thank you. So much," said Susan. "Tyler, do you see Maggie anywhere?" asked Sam. "No. She's gone," said Tyler. Sam nodded and climbed out of the pool. His hair was soaking wet and both his clothes and Alex's clothes were dripping wet onto the tile floor of the pool house. Sam took one final look at Tyler and Susan before following his siblings and Kellan out of the pool house.

At a motel later that night, Kellan was watching TV while Alex was sitting at the table doing a word-search. Sam was in the shower. Dean shrugged on his jacket and looked at the two of them. "I'm heading to a bar. I need a few drinks." Alex nodded and Dean kissed her temple. "Be good." Dean left the room and Alex watched his headlights disappear before standing up from her chair. She stretched her arms above her head and smirked as Kellan watched her every move. Her shirt rode up as she stretched, revealing her flat stomach. "I think I'm gonna head out to do some laundry. Be back in a few," said Alex. She walked out of the room, not taking any laundry with her. Kellan smirked and looked at the bathroom to make sure Sam was still in the shower before walking out of the room to find Alex.

Alex walked into the lobby of the motel and looked at the middle-aged woman behind the front desk. "Hi. If you happen to see a really cute, buff guy, will you send him in the laundry room?" The woman nodded, not taking her eyes off of the magazine she was reading. "Thanks!" Alex stepped into the hallway that led into the laundry room and headed for the laundry room. Kellan walked into the lobby a few seconds later and looked at the woman. "Have you seen-" The woman pointed her finger at the hallway leading to the laundry room and Kellan slapped the desk. "Thanks so much." He ran into the hallway and headed for the laundry room.

Alex was sitting on the washer when Kellan entered the laundry room. "I knew something was going on when you didn't bring any laundry with you," said Kellan. Alex smiled coyly and brought her lip in between her teeth. "God, you're so sexy when you bite your lip," said Kellan. He walked towards her, but Alex stuck her palm out to stop him. "Put a quarter in the washing machine." Kellan dug around in his pocket and pulled out a quarter. He stuck it in the washing machine and Alex reached behind her, hitting the start button. The machine began whirring and vibrating. Alex moaned and stuck a hand in her hair, throwing her head back and closing her eyes. "You're so fucking sexy," said Kellan. He walked towards her and grabbed her hips. Alex opened her eyes and saw that Kellan's were black with lust. She pressed her mouth against his and their tongues danced together. He kissed down her neck and kissed the top of each breast. Alex reached for him and Kellan obliged. She pulled his wife beater over his head and threw it onto the dryer. Alex licked her lips as Kellan leaned forward to kiss her. As one of Kellan's hands slid down her body and under her skirt, the laundry room door flew open and a maid walked into the room. "Oh, my God! I'm so sorry!" she cried. Kellan grabbed his shirt and threw it over his head. Alex hopped off the washing machine and grabbed Kellan's hand, leading him out of the room. They laughed all the way down the hall and back to their room.

Back at the motel room, Dean and Sam were nowhere to be found. Alex stepped into the room first with Kellan right behind her. She looked at a note that was resting on the table. "Alex and Kellan- Went to have a few drinks with Dean. Be back later. Sam." Alex nodded and turned to face Kellan, who stood a few feet in front of her. He smirked. "So both your brothers are gone?" Alex nodded, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth. "I think I'm gonna shower," said Alex. She kissed Kellan's cheek and walked into the bathroom. Kellan heard the water turn on a minute later and sat down on the nearest bed. He turned on the TV and began watching Mean Girls.

Alex walked out of the bathroom in a tank top and shorts, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looked at Kellan, who was lying back on the bed nearest to the door, watching Mean Girls. Alex glanced at the TV and looked back at Kellan, her eyebrows raised. "Seriously? Mean Girls?" Kellan shrugged. "It was the only thing on." Alex climbed onto the bed and rested her head on his chest. Kellan put his arm around her and they watched the movie for a few minutes. "I have to go back home tomorrow," said Kellan. "Why did you even leave?" asked Alex, looking up at him. "I needed to get away. And I wanted to see you." Alex smiled. "Well, I'm glad you did." Kellan smiled and leaned down to gently kiss her. Once they separated, Alex looked at the clock on the nightstand. It read 12:45 AM. Alex yawned and Kellan looked at her. "Time for bed?" he asked. Alex nodded and snuggled closer to his side. Kellan reached over and turned off the lamp on his nightstand. He pulled his shirt off over his head, tossing it into a corner of the room before kissing Alex's forehead and pulling the covers over the both of them.

Alex awoke to the vibrating of her cell phone. She glanced behind her at Kellan. His arms were wrapped around her waist and he looked peaceful. Alex gently removed herself from his embrace and grabbed her cell phone out of her jeans pocket that were lying on the floor beside the bed. She didn't recognize the number on the caller ID, but answered anyway. "Hello?" "Alex, It's Sam. Um, listen, Dean and I need you to come pick us up." "Why the fuck can't you drive yourself back to the motel? I mean, unless you're in…" Alex instantly sobered up and slapped a hand to her forehead in frustration. "Fuck, Sam! You and Dean are in jail, aren't you? At 5:15 in the morning?" Kellan woke up and sat up in bed. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stood up, grabbing a t-shirt and throwing it over his head. "Yeah, we are. Listen, can you please come get us?" Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. But you two have some serious explaining to do. And how much do I need to bail you both out?" Alex listened to Sam's response. "Thanks. See you in a few." She hung up and threw her phone on the bed. "They're in jail?" asked Kellan. Alex nodded. "Do you have $100? Cause it's $200 to bail 'em out and I only have $100," said Alex. Kellan nodded. "Thanks, baby." Alex walked over to him and kissed him. "No problem. Let's go get your brothers."

Alex and Kellan entered the police station and walked up to the front desk. "Hi. We're here to bail out Sam and Dean Winchester," said Alex. The police officer behind the front desk nodded and pulled up their information on her computer. "Can I see your ID please?" Alex dug her driver's license out of her pocket and handed it to the woman. The woman typed the information she needed into the computer and handed Alex her ID back. "I need $200 before I can release them." Alex handed her $100 bill across the desk and Kellan handed the officer a $100 bill as well. She stuck the money into the cash drawer and walked out from behind the front desk. "I'll go get them. Wait here." Alex and Kellan sat on the two plastic chairs in the front of the room and waited for Sam and Dean.

Sam and Dean walked into the front area of the police station and Alex and Kellan stood up. "They're all yours," said the woman officer. She walked into the back and Sam and Dean looked at Alex. "What the hell put you in jail?" asked Alex. "A bar fight," answered Dean. "Of course. How could you be so stupid?" Sam and Dean looked at the floor. "Whatever. C'mon, we'll drive back to the motel so you can get your stuff. We have other jobs to do." Alex and Kellan walked out of the police station holding hands, Sam and Dean walking behind them.

Later that afternoon, Alex stood outside the roadhouse with Kellan. "I'm sorry I can't go with you," said Kellan. "It's okay. You have a life. I understand. Call me?" asked Alex. "Absolutely," said Kellan. He ducked his head down and kissed her. Their kiss became heated and Kellan's hands were sliding toward her ass when Dean honked the Impala's horn. "Alex, let's go!" he yelled out the window. Alex separated from Kellan and looked up at him. "Bye." She kissed him one more time. "See you, babe," said Kellan. He watched her walk back to the car and climb inside. Sam waved to Kellan and Dean peeled out of the roadhouse parking lot.

Dean, Alex, and Sam entered a jewelry store. A pretty brunette was behind one of the counters and Dean bee lined straight for her once they entered the store. Alex rolled her eyes and followed Sam to the older salesman who was standing behind a different counter. "Hi. We're FBI," said Sam. He flashed his fake badge and the man nodded. "Do you mind telling us what happened here last night?" asked Sam. The salesman shook his head and launched into his tale. "Helena came back to the store after closing. Cleaned out all the display cases and the safe. Edgar, out night watchman, didn't know what to do. He's known her for years. He called me at home." "And that's when she took his gun?" asked Alex. The salesman nodded. "She shot him in the face. I mean, it makes no sense. Why steal all those diamonds and then just dump 'em?" Alex shrugged as Dean walked over to join them. He folded a slip of paper in half and stuck it in his jacket pocket. Alex looked between Dean and the brunette behind the counter. "Really?" "What?" asked Dean. Sam smirked and thanked the salesman for his time. "Can't take you anywhere," mumbled Alex. Dean followed her out of the store.

The Winchester siblings walked up the front steps of Ronald Reznick's house. Ronald was a security guard who had an interesting theory about a recent bank robbery and the siblings wanted to know more about it. Dean knocked on the front door and stuck his hands back in his pockets as they waited. Ronald came to the door, opened it, and stared at them. "Mr. Reznick, FBI," said Sam. "I already gave my statement to the police," said Ronald. "We just need some clarification," explained Dean. Ronald stepped aside and let them into his house. They stepped into the living room and stood awkwardly in the middle of it as they waited for Ronald. "Look, the thing that I let into the bank wasn't Juan. It was a mandroid," said Ronald. He sat down on the couch. "A mandroid?" asked Alex. Her eyebrows rose. Ronald nodded and grabbed a videotape from the television stand. He stuck it into his VCR and Dean, Alex, and Sam sat on the couch to watch it. "Look, right there!" Ronald pointed to the screen and paused the video. Alex muttered a low "fuck" under her breath when she saw that Juan's eyes were a blaring white color. "That ain't no damn camera flare like the cops said," said Ronald. Alex sighed and looked at her brothers. Sam nodded imperceptibly and Dean ran a hand over his face.

"I hate those fuckin' shape shifters," said Alex. She flopped down on one of the beds in their motel room. "Yeah, at least they didn't frame you for murder," said Dean. He looked at the layout of the street on which the bank and the jewelry store were located that was spread out across the table. "Hey, there's one more bank on the street," said Dean. "That must be where it's headed next," said Sam.

The security guard led Dean, Alex, and Sam to the back of the bank where the small screens were located that showed the bank's footage from its video cameras. The guard smiled at them before leaving the room. He closed the door behind himself and the three siblings sat down. "Got any popcorn?" asked Dean. Alex laughed and Sam smiled. "Nope. Sorry, bro." Dean leaned back in his chair and rested his feet on the top of the table's edge. He crossed his ankles and rested his hands behind his head, watching the TV screens the best that he could.

A few hours later, Alex's head was resting on Dean's shoulder. Her gaze flickered from TV screen to TV screen. "It's been three hours. Maybe we jumped the gun on this thing," said Alex. "Well, would you look at that?" Dean pointed to a screen in the corner where the bank manager's eyes were white. "And look. There's Ronald," said Alex, pointing to an entirely different screen. Ronald was quickly padlocking the bank's main doors shut and he had a gun slung over one of his broad shoulders. "Fuck," whispered Sam. Dean nodded and they all rushed out of the room to the main lobby of the bank.

The three of them walked into the main lobby of the bank to see Ronald standing in the middle of the room, holding his gun in his hands and pointing it at all of the other bank occupants who were lined up against one wall. "Ronald, relax," said Dean. Ronald quickly turned toward the sound of Dean's voice and his eyes widened. "You! Get on the floor, now!" The three of them complied, crouching on their knees. Alex was in between Sam and Dean. "You ain't FBI! Who are you?" demanded Ronald. "We-" "Shut up! I don't like you!" yelled Ronald. "Fair enough," said Sam. His nostrils flared with anger and Alex rested her hand on his shoulder. "Look, why don't you let these people go," suggested Dean. "No! If nobody's gonna stop this thing, I'm gonna do it myself," said Ronald. His gun was now trained on the three of them. "We believe you. That's why we-" "You don't believe me! Nobody does." Dean crooked his finger at Ronald and Ronald stepped closer to him. "It's the bank manager. Now, we gotta find him before he turns into someone else." "You're a damn liar." Alex rolled her eyes and removed her hand from Sam's shoulder. She slowly stood up so as not to startle Ronald. Her arms were raised in a peaceful gesture while she stood up. "Look, the more time we waste, the more time he has to change. Take me as a hostage." "Alex, no," said Dean. He stood up slowly as well and looked at Ronald. "Take me." "Trust me," said Alex. Ronald looked between Alex and Dean before resting his gaze on Alex. "Okay. Everyone else goes in the vault."

The bank's occupants walked into the vault, Sam and Dean being the last ones to enter. They looked at Alex, who was standing next to Ronald outside of the vault. "Lock it up," said Ronald. Alex nodded and pushed the vault door closed. Right before it closed completely, she mouthed, "I love you" to Sam and Dean. They nodded and the door was fully shut. Sam and Dean both sighed. Sam ran his hands through his hair while Dean ran his hands over his face.

Alex walked beside Ronald as they headed for the bank manager's office. Ronald pushed open the door and looked at Alex. He motioned for her to step inside first. Alex rolled her eyes at his immaturity, but walked inside. Ronald followed behind. "Check behind the desk," said Alex. Ronald obliged and walked behind the wooden desk. He slipped on something and Alex looked over at him. Ronald looked at his hand to see what he had slipped on and screamed. He quickly stood up and looked down at what he had slipped on. "What the hell is that?" he asked. Alex walked over and crouched down at the corner of the desk. Behind the desk was the shape shifter's skin. It had shed its old skin, meaning the bank manager was no longer the shape shifter. "Oh, great. When it changes form, it sheds its old skin. It could be anybody," said Alex. She stood up and ran a hand through her blonde hair. Ronald looked at her with a confused expression. Alex sighed. "It's a shape shifter. It's more or less human. It generates its own skin and shapes it to match other people's features," explained Alex. She glanced at the desk and saw a letter opener lying on the top of the desk. She reached across the desk and grabbed it. She stuck it in her jeans pocket. "Silver is the only thing I've seen that hurts these things. C'mon." Alex walked out of the office. Ronald took one last glance at the skin and then followed Alex.

Alex and Ronald walked into the bank's lobby. They were halfway across the lobby when the lights went out and the power shut off. "Dammit. Fuck, fuck, fuck," muttered Alex. "What is it?" asked Ronald. "Cops are here," said Alex. "Cops?" "You weren't exactly a smooth criminal about this. You didn't even secure the security guard! Now, they probably got us surrounded. They cut the camera power so now there's no way of tellin' who the shape shifter is. It's not lookin' good, Ron." Alex began walking away towards the vault when she heard a rustling noise. She stopped and stood still. "Did you hear that?" she whispered. She slowly turned her head to see Ronald nod. "Alright, we've gotta get my brothers to help." Alex began walking forward again and Ronald scurried after her.

Sam and Dean turned toward the vault's door as it was opened. Alex pulled it open and they stood up. "Sam, Dean. We need to talk to you for a minute." Sam and Dean walked out of the vault and Ronald shut the vault's door. "It shed its skin. Could be in the halls, could be in the vault," said Alex. "Great," muttered Dean. "You know, Dean, you are wanted by the police. How will we get out of here?" asked Sam. "Okay, one problem at a time. I'm gonna do a sweep of the whole place," said Dean. Alex reached into her back pocket and handed Dean a letter opener. She handed one to Sam as well. "I found these around the place. Pure silver." Dean nodded and walked off into the bank. "Hi, Ronald," said Sam. Ronald nodded at him and Alex sighed.

Sam opened the vault's door and every eye turned to him. "I'm opening this so you folks can get some fresh air. But nobody leaves this vault," said Sam. The shrill ring of the phone in the hall cut through the silence. Ronald answered it, Alex and Sam standing behind him. Alex felt a tap on the shoulder and she turned around, her face in Dean's chest. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. She nodded and turned to Sam, standing on her tiptoes and whispering in his ear. Sam nodded and walked into the vault. He grabbed the arm of the old man who was having a little trouble breathing. Sam led him out of the vault and away from the watching eyes of everyone else. Once they were safely away, they set the old man on the ground and waited for instructions from the police, who were on the phone with Ronald. Suddenly, the big, black man from inside the vault ran out of the vault. Dean tried to stop him, but he punched and kicked Dean, knocking him to the ground. Ronald was off the phone and watched as the man ran down the steps and into the lobby, disappearing into the shadows. Ronald ran into the lobby after the man and Alex watched. She saw a small, red dot appear in the middle of Ronald's back. "No!" yelled Sam. They all watched as Ronald was shot and he fell to the lobby floor, dead.

Alex and Sam looked at Dean after Ronald had been shot and fallen. "Take care of the guard. We're goin' after the shifter," said Sam. Dean nodded and sat down by the security guard as he watched Alex and Sam run off after the shape shifter.

Alex sighed when Sam and she came across three people that had been in the vault. Alex and Sam were roaming the hallway and the three vault occupants were cowering in the corner. "You shouldn't be back here right now. You're in danger. Go back to the vault. Now!" yelled Sam. The three people nodded and ran past them back to the safety of the vault. Alex and Sam rounded the corner and opened a door that led to a staircase. They walked down the steps. When they reached the step landing, they saw the skin. The skin meant that the shifter had changed into a different person again. Alex pulled out her phone and dialed Dean. "Slipped its skin," she said when he entered. "What?" "Yeah, the bastard sheds fast." "Shit. It could be anybody again." "You go round everybody up. We'll search the place." Alex hung up and slipped her phone back in her pocket. She followed Sam out of the stairwell and into the bank's lobby.

Sam and Alex were walking down the hallway, looking for the shifter. Dean was still in the lobby, waiting to see if the shifter passed through there. Sam was holding a flashlight and a letter opener in his hands as he walked down the hall. Alex clutched her own letter opener in her right hand, looking behind her as she walked to make sure no one was following them. They turned into an office and saw blood spattered all over the floor. Sam walked over to the closet and yanked the closet door open. A woman's body fell from the closet, her throat slashed. It was the body of the redheaded woman from the vault. "Dammit," muttered Sam.

Sam and Alex walked up to Dean, who was guarding the vault doors. "Uh, we got a bit of a problem outside," said Dean. Sam scoffed. "We got a bit of a problem in there." Sam pointed to the vault door. Dean sighed, but opened the vault door. "Sheri. We're gonna let you go." The redhead looked confused, but obliged. Dean grabbed her arm and they walked up to the office where her dead body was lying on the floor. She screamed, her hands going to her face, and fell to the floor. She had fainted. "Wait, which one is it?" asked Alex, looking between the two bodies. A loud crash sounded from down the hall and all of their heads turned. The body with the throat slashed stood up and grabbed Dean's throat. Dean began hitting her. The other Sheri woke up and began screaming again. Alex grabbed her arm and quickly walked her out of the room.

Alex was walking down the hall after putting Sheri in a safe place when four S.W.A.T team members saw her. "Freeze!" yelled one team member. Alex stopped walking and put her hands up in the air above her head. The man approached her from behind and when he was close enough, Alex turned around and punched him in the face, hard.

Dean grabbed the shifter as Sam stood behind him. The shifter as dead Sheri began hitting Dean again while her back was turned to Sam, who still stood behind Dean. Sam reached over Dean's shoulder and stabbed her in the heart. She fell to the floor, finally dead. Dean slapped Sam's shoulder. "C'mon. Alex."

Sam and Dean found Alex in a hallway. She was wearing a S.W.A.T uniform, helmet and all. She threw two more S.W.A.T team uniforms at both of her brothers. "Put these on. Quickly." They obliged, slipping into the outfits. They followed Alex out of the bank in their stolen uniforms, going unnoticed by the other cops and federal agents.

Dean opened the motel room door and Alex walked inside. She threw her bags on Sam's side of the bed and took off her S.W.A.T uniform. She lay down on her side of the bed and looked at Dean, who was lying on the other bed beside hers. He had his headphones in his ears and his eyes closed. Alex turned her head towards the door as it opened. She winced as the sunlight hit her eyes. Sam stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. Dean took off his headphones and sat up on his bed. "Did you get in to see that crazy hooker?" "Yeah. Gloria Sitnick. And I'm not so sure she's crazy," said Sam. He pushed Alex's bags onto the floor and sat next to Alex on the bed. "She really believes she was touched by an angel?" asked Alex. "Yeah. I mean, she's living in a locked ward and is completely at peace." "Right. She sounds totally sane," quipped Dean. "What about the man she stabbed?" asked Alex, ignoring Dean's sarcastic, smart-ass remark. "Uh, Carl Gully. Said she stabbed him because he was evil." "Was he?" "I don't know. He worked at the campus library, had lots of friends. He was a church goer." "She wouldn't be the first in history to kill 'cause of religion," said Dean. "No, but she would be the second in town to kill because an angel said to. Little bit odd, don't you think?" asked Sam. "Odd, yes. Angels, no," said Dean. "Why not?" asked Alex, looking at her oldest brother. "They're not real." Alex scoffed. "Dean, there's ten times as much lore about angels than anything else we hunt." "Well, there's lore about unicorns too. And they're not real." "Wait. There's no such thing as unicorns?" asked Sam, his head tilted to the side as if he was confused. "Cute," said Dean. Sam smiled. Alex sighed and walked over to Dean. She sat next to him on the bed. "Why don't you believe in angels?" "Because I've never seen one." "Dean, we've seen things most people couldn't dream about," said Sam. "Exactly. That's hard proof. Now, I'm goin' stir crazy. Let's go check out this dead guy's place," said Dean. He stood up, grabbed his jacket, and walked out the door to the car. Sam and Alex looked at each other and sighed, but followed their older brother.

Dean walked up the front steps of Carl Gully's house. Sam and Alex followed behind him. Dean pointed to an angle figurine that stood beside the front door. "You know, I learned a valuable lesson today. Put up your Christmas decorations before New Year's or else you'll get filleted by a hooker from God," said Dean, chuckling. "I'm laughing on the inside," said Sam, his face unsmiling. Alex stuck her hands in her jacket pockets and walked over to the fence on the side of the house. She removed one hand from her pocket and pushed the gate open. She walked through the gate, Sam and Dean right behind her. She looked down at the basement doors that were located on the side of the house. Sam pulled them open and all of them filed down to the basement. They each turned on a flashlight and began looking through the basement. Alex crouched down by the east wall and grabbed a fingernail off of the floor. "What is it?" asked Sam, walking over to her. Alex stood up. "A fingernail." Sam sighed and grabbed two shovels from beside a shelf. He handed the other shovel to Dean and they began digging into the basement floor. Alex held a flashlight over their heads so that they could see. After they had dug about four feet, they uncovered a skeleton of a young woman. "So much for the church going librarian," said Sam, leaning against his shovel. Alex sighed.

Dean sat up as Alex and Sam entered the motel room. Alex threw him a McDonald's bag and joined Sam at the table. "Three college students have gone missing from the campus this year. All were last seen at the library where Carl Gully worked," said Alex. "So Gloria's angel-" "Angel?" asked Dean. Sam rolled his eyes. "Whatever this thing is-" "Whatever this thing is has struck again." "What?" asked Sam. "I was listening to the police radio before you got here. There was this guy, uh, Zack Smit. Went up to some stranger last night and stabbed him in the heart." Dean stood up and grabbed a Post-It note off the mirror. "I got the victim's address."

Sam and Dean climbed over the fence around the victim's house quickly and efficiently. They were waiting on the other side for Alex to climb over. "I hate climbing fences," said Alex. "Alexandra Marie, get your ass over this fence right now," said Dean. Alex sighed, stuck her tongue out at Dean, and scaled the fence. She climbed over it effortlessly and Sam caught her in his arms in a basket catch. She smiled and kissed Sam's cheek before he set her down on the concrete driveway. Dean broke a window using his elbow and they all climbed in single file. Once they were inside the house, the three of them each set off in different directions. Sam sat in the office chair in front of the computer. He turned on the computer and began looking through the files on it. "Find anything?" asked Alex as she entered the office. "Hold on. There's a locked file…" Sam typed a few things into the computer and grinned. "Not anymore." Alex smiled and walked over to Sam, reading over his right shoulder. Dean walked in and began reading over Sam's other shoulder. "He has a ton of e-mails to this lady named Jennifer," said Sam. "A lady who's 13 years old," said Alex. She pointed to a line in one of the e-mails. Sam shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Looks like they met in a chat room," said Alex, reading the rest of the e-mail. "These e-mails are pretty personal. They're setting up a time and place to meet," said Sam. "They're supposed to meet today," said Dean. He walked over to a corkboard on the wall and looked at the papers tacked to it. "Hey, what church did Carl go to?" "Our Lady of Angels," said Alex. "Of course that would be the name. Looks like Frank went to the same church," said Dean. He yanked a flyer off of the corkboard and held it up.

"So you're interested in joining the church?" asked the priest. "Yes. We just don't feel right not going to church every Sunday," said Dean. "We're happy to have you. We could use some young blood around here." "Yeah, we heard about the murders," said Dean. "Yes. The victims were parishioners of mine. Known 'em for years." "And the killers said angels made them do that?" asked Alex. "Ah, misguided souls. It's tragic," said the priest. Alex looked around the church and saw a painting of Michael. "Father, Michael looks fierce in that picture." Sam, Dean, and the priest looked at the painting as well. "I like to think of them as more loving. But some Scriptures depict angels as God's warriors." "Well, thank you for your time, but we have to get going," said Sam. "Oh, I'll walk you out." Sam, Dean, Alex, and the priest walked out the church's front doors and onto the front steps. Dean glanced down and to his right and saw a few candles and flowers sitting on a small, short wall. "Father, what's that?" "Oh, that's for Father Gregory. He was a priest here." "Was?" "Passed away right on these steps entombed in the church crypt." "When did this happen?" asked Sam. "Two months ago. He was shot for his car keys." "I'm so sorry," said Alex. "Me too. He was a good friend. Ever since he died, I've been praying my heart out for deliverance. We could use a little divine intervention, I suppose." "Well, thanks again," said Dean. He shook the priest's hand and the priest returned the handshake before walking back into the church. "C'mon. Let's go check out Father Gregory's grave." Alex and Sam followed Dean around to the back of the church.

The three of them entered a small stone building, Dean leading the way. They entered a small room and Dean kept walking. He stepped through another entryway and Alex and Sam began to follow him. Sam was ahead of Alex and was stepping through the entryway when Alex grabbed his wrist. "What's wrong?" asked Sam. Alex pointed and they both looked at a statue of an angel in the corner of the room. It was shaking violently and Alex grabbed Sam's hand. Suddenly, a bright white light lit up the small room and Alex and Sam turned toward it.

"Hey, you two. Let's-" Dean rushed over to Sam and Alex, who were lying on the floor. He helped them both stand up. "Are you okay?" "Yeah, we're fine," said Sam. Alex nodded and Dean ushered them into the next room. "You saw it, didn't you?" asked Dean. "Yeah. Dean, we saw an angel," said Alex. She sat on a bench next to Sam and Dean handed her his flask. Alex looked at it. "I don't want a drink." Dean offered it to Sam, who shook his head. Dean took a drink from it himself before returning it to his pocket. "Dean, you have to believe us. It was an angel," said Sam. "So you two are supposed to smite some bad sinner and now you have to wait for a sign?" asked Dean. "Yes, actually. Sam even asked what the guy did. And he hasn't done anything. Yet," said Alex. Dean rolled his eyes. "I need to see hard proof to believe that this is an angel. You got any?" Alex bit her lip and shook her head. "Now, I think that this is Gregory's spirit. We're gonna summon it. Now c'mon."

Sam, Alex, and Dean walked out of the local grocery store later that night. Sam held one large grocery bag in his arms and as they were waiting to cross the street when Sam and Alex saw a bright white light behind some guy standing on the street corner. "Dean! That's the guy. We have to stop him!" yelled Sam. Alex watched as the guy got into his car. "Okay. C'mon." Dean got into the Impala and started the car. Sam and Alex reached for the passenger door handle and found that it was locked. "Dean, unlock the door," said Sam. "I'm not gonna let you two kill someone. I got this guy. Go do the séance." Dean took off after the guy, leaving Sam and Alex on the sidewalk.

Sam finished lighting the candles and he grabbed his Dad's journal from beside his leg. He began reading from it and Alex watched for any sign of movement. She turned back to Sam for one second and missed the priest entering the room. "What are you doing? What is this?" Sam shut the journal quickly and threw it down. "Um, we can explain." Sam looked from the candles to Alex to the priest. "Actually, maybe we can't." "Father, this is a séance," said Alex. "A séance? You two are in a house of God." "It's based on early Christian rites if that helps any," said Sam. "Enough. You two are coming with me." He grabbed Sam's arm and Alex's arm and began walking them toward the door. A bright, white light filled the room and they all turned toward it. "Oh, my God. Is that an angel?" asked the priest. Alex looked at Sam's face and saw the disappointment etched there. She linked her arm through his and leaned her head on his upper arm. "No. It's just Father Gregory," said Sam. They all watched as the light faded and Father Gregory appeared in front of them. "I've come in answer to your prayers." Alex took her head off of Sam's arm and pulled her arm out of his as they walked up to Father Gregory. "Sam. Alex. I thought I sent you on your path. You should hurry," said Father Gregory. "Father, we're sorry. But you're not an angel. You're a spirit. And you need to rest," said Sam. "Those murders. That was because of you," said the priest. "I received the Word of God. He spoke to me. Told me to smite the wicked. I'm carrying out His will." "You're driving innocent people to kill." "Those people are being offered redemption." "Those people. They're locked up," said Alex. "They're happy. They found peace," said Father Gregory. "Thomas, this goes against everything you believed. You're lost, misguided," said the priest. "No, I'm not misguided." "Men cannot be angels. What you're doing is not God's will," said the priest.

Dean broke the driver's side window as the man was beginning to attack the woman in his car. Dean slammed the man's head into the steering wheel twice, knocking him out. The woman climbed out of the car, crying. Dean slid across the hood of the car and grabbed her. "Are you okay?" She nodded and the man's car suddenly started. Dean cursed as the man sped away from them. "Dammit." He ran to the Impala. "Call 911!" yelled Dean at the woman. He got in his Impala and took off after the man.

"It's time to rest," said the priest to Father Gregory. He began giving Father Gregory his last rites. Father Gregory knelt in front of the other priest and the priest touched his forehead. He did the sign of the cross on Father Gregory's forehead and Father Gregory disappeared.

Dean was hot on the man's trail as they sped through town. They came to an intersection where a truck was passing through. The truck slammed on its brakes and a metal pole flew off the back of the truck. Dean stopped the Impala and put it in park. He got out and walked up to the man's car. Dean looked through the windshield and saw that the man was dead, the metal pole from the truck piercing him through the heart. "Whoa," said Dean.

Dean entered the motel room to see Sam and Alex packing their bags. "How was your day?" asked Dean. Sam said nothing, but continued folding his shirts and putting them in his back. Dean looked at Alex instead. "Yu were right. It wasn't an angel. It was Gregory." Dean nodded, took out his flask, and drank from it. He held it out to Alex, who shook her head. He offered it to Sam, who took it and drank some of it. He screwed the cap back on it and handed it to Dean. Dean took it and put it back in his jacket pocket. He took off his jacket and threw it across the back of a chair at the table. He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and picked up his own duffel bag, throwing it on his bed. He grabbed a handful of his clothes and began folding them silently along with his siblings.


	28. Chapter 28

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. I want to apologize for how long it has taken me to update! I feel really terrible and awful and I just hope that you haven't given up on me because I haven't given up on this story! Please stick with me, people!

Chapter 28

Alex got out of the Impala and stood next to Dean as they leaned against the Impala's hood. She was wearing one of Sam's old sweatshirts and she pulled it tighter around herself as the wind blew. She closed her eyes and inhaled Sam's scent from the sweatshirt. Her phone began to ring and she grabbed it from out of her pocket.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Baby, it's me," said Kellan.

Alex's voice broke. "We still haven't heard from him. I'm scared, Kellan."

"I know. But we're still looking."

Alex held the phone to her ear as she continued talking to Kellan. Dean was also on the phone. He was talking to Ellen.

"Ellen, it's me. Again. Any chance you heard from him?"

Ellen responded with a no and asked a question of her own.

"Nah, I called him a thousand times. Nothing but voicemail. I don't know where he went or why. Sam's just gone," said Dean.

He listened to Ellen again and then looked at Alex. "Lex?"

Alex turned to Dean. He held out his phone to her. "Ellen wants to talk to you."

Alex said goodbye to Kellan, put her phone back in her pocket, and took Dean's phone from him. She put it to her ear.

"How are you, sweetie?" asked Ellen, her voice calm and soothing.

Alex's eyes filled with tears. "Not good. We're worried sic- Hold on."

Alex held out the phone so that she could see who was beeping in on the call.

She looked up at Dean. "Dean, it's Sam."

Dean grabbed the phone and pressed talk in the same, smooth motion.

"Sammy, where the hell are you?"

Dean listened to Sam's response.

"Okay. Don't move. We're on our way."

Dean pressed end and slid the phone in his pocket. Alex climbed in the passenger seat and Dean peeled out onto the highway, gravel flying in every direction.

Dean pounded on the motel room door with his fist as Alex stood beside him, biting her lip.

"Sammy, it's us. Open up."

The door creaked as Sam opened it to let his siblings in. Dean and Alex rushed into the room. Sam sat back down in a chair, looking at his bloodstained knuckles.

"Are you bleeding?" asked Dean.

He knelt in front of Sam and grabbed Sam's hand, inspecting the knuckles.

"I tried to wash it off," said Sam.

Dean nodded and looked over Sam.

"Oh, my God," whispered Alex as Dean slowly opened Sam's jacket to see Sam's once white t-shirt now stained with blood.

"I don't think it's my blood," whispered Sam.

"Well, whose is it?" asked Dean.

"Sam, what the hell happened?" asked Alex.

"I don't remember anything," said Sam, looking up at both of them regretfully.

Alex and Sam stood up as Dean entered the motel room a few hours later.

"What'd you find out?" asked Sam.

Dean shoved his car keys in his jacket pocket and set down the large paper sack he had been holding in his arms.

"You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora. Nobody's noticed anything unusual."

Dean began unpacking the contents of the bag and turned to them as he set down a two-liter bottle of soda on the table in the middle of the room.

"What if I hurt someone? What if this is what Dad warned you about?" asked Sam.

"We don't know what happened. Now, what's the last thing you remember?" asked Alex.

She flopped down onto one of the two beds.

"Us in West Texas. Going out to eat."

Alex bit her lip and looked at Dean.

"What?" asked Sam.

"Sam, that was over a week ago," said Dean. He took off his jacket and placed it on the back of one of the chairs.

"Well, retrace your steps," said Alex. She got off of the bed and walked over to the window in the room.

She pulled back the curtains and looked at the windowsill.

"You were here at some point."

The boys walked over to her and Alex pointed to the bloody handprint that was on the window latch.

The siblings were at a storage unit. They had been driving around town to see if anything looked familiar to Sam.

"This looks familiar," said Sam.

They stopped in front of one of the storage units. Dean pulled, but the door didn't open. Sam pulled a small key out of his pocket and handed it to Dean. Dean stuck it in the padlock and it clicked open. Dean handed the key back to Sam and pulled the door open. Once the door was open all the way, the three of them walked inside. A Volkswagen Beetle sat inside the large area. They opened the car doors and looked through the car for any clues.

"Sam, backseat," said Alex.

Sam pushed the driver's seat forward and stuck his head in the back. He grabbed a bloody knife off the floor of the car. He shut the door, the knife held in his hand. Dean also held a white slip of paper.

"Hey, it's a gas station receipt. Let's check it out."

Sam, Alex, and Dean entered the gas station, the bell chiming as they stepped inside. The cashier looked over at them and his eyes widened as he saw them. He grabbed the phone from beside him.

"You. Get outta here or I'm callin' the cops."

"You talkin' to this guy?" asked Dean, pointing at Sam.

"Yeah. He comes in here yesterday, drunk. He grabs a forty from the fridge and starts chugging. Then he whipped the bottle at my freakin' head!"

"Look, I'm really sorry-" began Sam, but the cashier cut him off.

"Tell your story walkin', pal. Popo will be here in five."

"Put the phone down. Sam, go wait in the car," said Dean.

Sam sighed, but walked outside and leaned against the hood of the Impala. The cashier put the phone back in its cradle. He looked at Alex and Dean.

"When he took off yesterday, which way did he go?" asked Alex. She set her hand on top of the cashier's hand that was lying on the counter. She smiled sweetly at him.

"You'll be doing us a huge favor." She leaned closer, giving him a glimpse down her shirt.

"You know, your buddy didn't pay for his drink yesterday," said the cashier, never looking away from Alex's cleavage.

"Dean, pay the kid," said Alex.

Dean sighed and rolled his eyes, but grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and slammed a $20 on the counter. Alex began stroking the kid's palms with her fingernails, smiling at him.

"He went north. Route 71. Straight out of town." Alex grinned, jerking her hand from the kid's and standing up straight. She grabbed a pack of Twinkies and threw them at Dean as they walked out the door, the kid protesting the entire time.

"I hate when you do that shit. I don't like guys lookin' at you like you're a piece of meat," said Dean. He tore open the Twinkies and stuffed a whole one into his mouth.

"Well, we got what we wanted. And Twinkies," said Alex.

Dean nodded and Alex laughed.

That night, Dean, Alex, and Sam entered a huge house through an already broken window on the front porch. They stepped into an office and saw a man lying on the ground, dead. His throat had been slit and his blood was all over the carpet in the office. A pool of blood had formed behind the man's head.

"I did this," said Sam, pain evident in his voice as he looked at the body.

"We don't know that," said Alex.

"How do you explain the blood or the knife?" asked Sam, his voice rising.

"I don't know. But even if you did do this, you must have had a reason. Self-defense or…"

Dean trailed off as he watched Alex pull a bobby pin out of her hair and begin picking the lock that was on the closet door. Within a few seconds, she opened the door to reveal a ton of guns and information hidden in the closet.

"I think I killed a hunter," said Sam.

"Let's find out," said Alex. She pointed to a security camera that was in the corner of the room.

Alex sat down in the chair behind the computer desk while Sam and Dean stood behind her. They watched the security tape footage on the computer. It showed Sam beating up the now dead man. Sam grabbed the man and slit his throat, throwing the lifeless body to the ground once he was done. Alex shut off the video and looked back at Sam.

"How do you erase this?" Sam didn't look at her so Alex grabbed his chin, forcing his gaze upon her.

"Sam, listen to me. Whoever this guy is, he's a hunter. Which means other hunters are gonna come lookin' for his killer, which means we've gotta cover our tracks. Okay?"

Sam turned his head away from her, breaking Alex's hold on his chin. Dean sighed and grabbed the computer tower, throwing it on the ground. He stepped on it a few times and looked up at his siblings when he was finished.

"Wipe your prints, then we go." He threw a towel at them and left the room. Alex began to wipe down every surface they had touched as Sam sat in the chair, dejected.

Sam entered the motel room first and sat on the edge of his bed. Dean threw his bag on his own bed and began dumping it out.

"You've gotta snap out of it, Sam," said Dean.

"Murder. That's what I did."

"It wasn't you," said Alex. She sat down next to Sam. "I won't believe it."

Sam stood up and grabbed a gun off of Dean's bed. He handed it to Dean.

"I don't wanna hurt anyone anymore. Do it." Alex inhaled a deep breath as Dean stared at the gun in his open palm. He threw it on his bed.

"I'd rather die," said Dean. He turned away from Sam. Sam picked up the gun again.

"No. You'll live."

Dean turned back around to face Sam, his face confused. Sam hit Dean in the side of the head with the butt of the gun. Dean fell to the floor unconscious.

"You'll live to regret this," finished Sam.

He glanced at Alex, who had scooted all the way up to the headboard of the bed. Sam smirked and stalked toward her. She got up and ran for the door, but Sam was faster than her and grabbed her ankle. He pulled on her ankle and she fell to the floor. Alex reached out to grab onto something as Sam began to drag her by the ankle, but nothing was within her reach. Sam dragged her across the floor to him.

"Please. Don't," begged Alex.

Sam smirked and hit the side of her head with the gun as well, knocking her unconscious. He stuck the gun in the waistband of his jeans and walked out of the room.

Sam entered an empty saloon and saw Joe wiping down the bar. Joe looked up as Sam entered.

"Sam. You're about the last person I expected to see."

"I guess I'm full of surprises. Can I get a beer?" asked Sam.

Joe nodded and set the beer in front of Sam.

"Where's your brother and sister?"

"Couldn't make it," said Sam.

Sam took a drink from his beer before Joe spoke again.

"So what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to square things. Look, I know how you feel about my dad. I can't say I blame you. But that was my father. Not me or Dean."

"What about Alex?" asked Joe. Sam smirked.

"Man, you are really carrying a torch for her! She doesn't like you."

Sam looked at Joe. "I'm not tryin' to hurt you. I'm tellin' you cause I care."

"That's real kind, Sam," said Joe sarcastically.

Joe watched as Sam's face darkened with anger. Joe grabbed Sam's empty beer bottle and swung his arm around to hit Sam, but Sam grabbed Joe's wrist. Sam punched Joe and Joe fell to the floor.

Alex threw the car in park as Dean jumped out of the car. He tossed Alex a gun and they rushed over to the empty saloon's front door. They ran inside to hear Sam talking to someone.

"My daddy shot your daddy in the head," sang Sam in a sing-songy voice to Joe.

"Sam, stop!" yelled Dean.

"I told you to stop me, Dean. My head feels like it's on fire. Dean, kill me. Or I'm gonna kill Joe," said Sam.

Alex whimpered and Sam looked at her.

"Shoot me!" yelled Sam.

"No, Sammy, c'mon," said Dean. He turned away and Sam walked over to him. Dean winked at Alex and Alex threw the bottle of holy water she was holding on Sam, causing him to flinch and his clothes to steam.

"That's holy water, you demonic son of a bitch!" yelled Dean.

Sam's eyes turned black and he smirked. He ran and jumped out of the window behind Dean and Alex. Dean ran over and cut the ropes that Sam used to bind Joe to a chair. Joe stood up and Dean dived out the window after Sam.

Dean entered an old, rundown warehouse where Sam had fled to after leaving the saloon.

"So who are you?" asked Dean.

"I've got lots of names," said Sam.

Dean followed the sound of Sam's voice and hid behind a wall.

"Why didn't you kill me?" asked Dean.

Sam didn't answer and Dean heard floorboards creaking as Sam moved and hid in a new place.

"Would've been too easy. See, this is a test. Wanted to see if I could push you far enough to waste Sam."

"Well, you're gonna pay for this," said Dean.

"How? You can't hurt me without hurting your little brother! See, I think you're gonna die, Dean. You and every other hunter I find," said Sam.

Dean saw Sam run out of the warehouse. He followed him outside onto a boating dock, but Sam was nowhere in sight. Dean looked behind him and turned back around to see Sam standing directly in front of him. Sam shot Dean and Dean fell into the water. Sam smirked and ran off into the night.

Alex held her cell phone to her ear, calling Dean. It went to his voicemail after a few rings. Alex hit end and tried again. She stopped walking when she heard Dean's ring tone. She ran over to the sound and found Dean lying underneath the boat dock.

"Shit!"

She ran down onto the beach where he had washed up and shoved her phone in her pocket. She grabbed his arm and helped him stand up. They walked back up to the saloon.

Dean took another swig of whiskey straight from the bottle as Alex pulled the bullet out of his shoulder. Joe stood behind her, wincing as the bullet clinked against the shot glass Alex dropped it in.

"Fuck, that hurt," said Dean.

"Well, I'm done now," said Alex.

She threw all of the bloody gauze pads in the trash and put the first aid kit back behind the bar.

"So where do you think Sam is headed next?" asked Joe.

"He's looking for hunters and the closest one is in South Dakota," said Dean.

"Bobby," whispered Alex.

Dean nodded. He threw on his jacket, wincing as it hit his wounded shoulder.

"I guess I'll see you around," said Joe.

Alex smiled. "Yeah."

She kissed Joe's cheek and followed Dean out the door to the car.

Alex gasped as she entered Bobby's house to see Sam tied to a chair in the middle of the den. Dean sighed and walked over to Sam, slapping him across the face.

"Hey."

Sam stirred and lifted his head up to look at Dean. He glanced up at the ceiling to see a trap drawn there so that he couldn't leave. Sam looked back at Dean, then past him to Alex.

"Hi, sweetie. Did you miss me?"

Alex shivered and Bobby put an arm around her shoulders. Dean threw a bucket of holy water on Sam and Sam groaned in pain.

"Bobby," said Dean, his eyes never leaving Sam.

Bobby removed his arm from around Alex and began reading from an exorcism book. Sam began laughing manically and Bobby stopped reading.

"You really think this is about the master plan? I don't give a fuck about the master plan," said Sam.

Dean looked at Bobby, who began reading again.

"Oops. Doesn't seem to be working," said Sam.

Sam's eyes turned black and he began saying an incantation of his own. Papers flew around the room, the flames in the fireplace blazed higher, and a strong gust of wind blew around the room.

"What's going on?" asked Dean, yelling over the wind.

Alex ran over to Sam and yanked his shirtsleeve up to his elbow to reveal a red mark on his right forearm.

"It's a binding link! He's locked himself inside Sam's body!" yelled Alex.

"What the hell do we do?" asked Dean.

Bobby shrugged along with Alex. Sam finished saying his incantation and the ceiling above him cracked, causing the trap to be broken.

"That's better," said Sam, smirking.

He untied his bonds. Once he was free, he threw Bobby into the wall with a wave of his hand and threw Dean into the other wall. He sauntered over to Dean first. Sam punched Dean twice in the nose. He grabbed Dean's shoulder and pushed his thumb into Dean's bullet wound. Dean moaned in pain. Sam smirked. Alex cried out and Sam wheeled around to face her.

"Alex!" yelled Dean.

Sam walked over to her and crouched down to her level since she was sitting on the floor.

"Your twin brother is stuck in here with me. Wanna say hey?"

Alex shook her head and watched as Bobby walked up behind Sam. He grabbed Sam's arm and held a hot fireplace poker to the mark on his forearm. Sam screamed in pain and the demon was released from Sam's body, disappearing into the fireplace. Sam fell to the floor beside Dean.

"Did I miss anything?" asked Sam.

Dean punched him and Sam held his jaw in shock.

"What the hell, Dean?"

"Just makin' sure you're still you." Sam nodded, still holding his jaw, and Alex laughed.

Bobby stood with Dean, Alex, and Sam at his front door. He handed each of them a small charm.

"What are these?" asked Dean.

"Charms to ward off possession."

"Thanks," said Sam.

He and Dean hugged Bobby. Alex hugged Bobby and kissed his cheek. They headed off to the car, Bobby watching them leave.

Sam was sitting on a small loveseat in the motel room while Dean sat on Sam's bed eating chicken wings. Sam looked over at Dean.

"Dude. Do you mind not eating those on my bed?"

"Nah, I don't mind," said Dean. He licked his fingers that were covered in sauce and Sam shook his head.

"How's the research going?" asked Dean.

Sam slammed the book he was holding closed.

"Slow. It would go a hell of a lot faster if I had my computer!"

Dean nodded and Sam sighed. There was a knock on the door and Sam walked over to answer it. Sam was pulling the door open when Alex entered the room from the bathroom, towel drying her hair. She looked over at the door and saw Bobby standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Bobby," said Alex.

"Good to see you all so soon. What's up?" asked Bobby, stepping into the room and Sam closed the door behind him. He sat on the edge of one of the beds in the room and looked at the three siblings.

"It's this job we're working," began Sam.

"Okay. Well, start from the beginning," said Bobby.

"It started with the obit we found in the local paper of a professor taking a swan dive out a fourth story window…"

_Sam sat at a table with two college students sitting across from him. _

"_What if it wasn't suicide?" asked the girl, her eyes wide. Her boyfriend chuckled and slung an arm around her shoulder. _

"_What else could it be?" asked Sam. _

"_Well, there's this campus legend. This girl supposedly had an affair with a professor. Someone found out and she jumped out a window, killing herself. Now, whoever sees her, dies the same exact way," explained the girl. _

"_Uh-huh," said Sam. He looked over the girl's head and saw Dean standing at the bar. _

"_Excuse me," said Sam. _

_Dean slammed his empty shot glass down onto the bar where the other shot glasses he had drained sat. He burped loudly as Sam approached him. _

"_Hey, Sam. I want you to meet someone." _

_Dean tapped the blonde girl standing next to him on the shoulder and she turned around, smiling brightly and waving at Sam. _

"_This is Starla." Dean leaned in close to Sam to whisper in his ear. _

"_Good news. She has a sister." _

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. That is not what happened," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes, sat down on the loveseat next to Sam, and began brushing her damp hair.

"So you never drank a purple nurple?" asked Sam, raising his eyebrows.

Dean nodded. "Okay, I did that. But her name wasn't Starla."

"What was it?" asked Sam.

Dean thought for a second. "I don't know," he said finally.

He turned to face Bobby. "But she was a classy chick. Grad student. Anthropology. We were talkin' about local ghost stories…"

_Dean tilted his head back, throwing back his shot with a pretty blonde girl standing in front of him as he did it. She had on a knee-length black dress and high heels._

"_My god, you're attractive," said the girl to Dean. _

"_Thanks. But no time for that now. You need to tell me about this urban legend," said Dean. _

"_Sorry. I just can't even concentrate." _

_She grabbed the back of Dean's neck and pulled him down to her lips. They were still kissing when Sam walked up behind Dean. His jacket was slung over his shoulder. _

_Sam scoffed. "Dean. What do you think you're doing?" _

_Dean pulled away from the kiss and looked at his brother. "Sam. Please. Give me five minutes." _

"_Dean, this is a very serious investigation. We don't have time for your-"_

"Right. That's how it really happened," said Sam sarcastically.

Dean shrugged.

"I don't even sound like that, Dean."

"That's what you sounded like to me," said Dean.

"Okay. What's going on with you two?" asked Bobby.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Nothing. It's nothing."

"Really? Cause you sound like an old married couple."

"Nah. Married couples can get divorced. Me and him? We're like Siamese twins," said Dean.

"It's conjoined twins," said Sam.

"See what I mean?" asked Dean, throwing up his hands.

"We've just been on the road too much. Anyway, we figured it was a haunting, so we went to the scene of the crime," continued Sam.

_The janitor unlocked the office door, letting Sam and Dean inside the dead professor's office. _

"_So you're the one who found the professor?" asked Sam. _

"_Yup. And he was with a young lady," said the janitor. _

"_Did she ever come back out?" asked Dean. _

"_No. Not from what I recall," said the janitor. _

_Sam and Dean entered the motel room quietly. Alex was asleep on one of the beds so they sat at the table. Sam handed Dean a beer from the mini fridge and sat at the table across from Dean with a beer of his own in his hand. _

"_We oughta check out the history of the building," said Dean. _

_Sam nodded and opened his laptop computer. He stared at the screen, his forehead wrinkled in confusion. _

"_Dude. Were you on my computer?" _

"_No," said Dean. _

"_Really? Cause it's frozen now on a porn website." _

_Dean shrugged. _

"_Just don't touch my stuff anymore," said Sam. _

"_How about you control your OCD?" asked Dean. _

"And they didn't dig up anything about the building," said Alex, looking at Bobby.

"History's clean," said Sam.

"Where were you during all this?" asked Bobby, his gaze on Alex's face.

"I wasn't feeling well," answered Alex.

Bobby nodded in understanding. "Go on," he said, looking at the boys.

"So this next part is pretty fuckin' weird. Even for us," said Dean.

Bobby nodded again and Dean looked at Sam, who nodded.

"There was an alien attack."

"Aliens?" asked Bobby.

"Yeah," said Sam.

"It's all just pranks," said Bobby.

"Well, we talked to the guy anyway," said Sam.

_Sam and Dean were sitting at the local bar in a booth across from the kid who had claimed to have been attacked by aliens. _

"_You gotta give those purple nurples a shot," said Dean. _

_The kid looked at him and Sam cleared his throat. _

"_So what happened, Curtis?" asked Sam. _

"_I blacked out and when I woke up, they did tests on me. And they, uh, probed me," whispered Curtis._

_Sam scratched the back of his neck, grimacing with discomfort, while Curtis downed another shot. _

"_Yikes. Some alien made you his bitch," said Dean. Curtis downed another shot while Sam glared at his immature brother._

"You guys are exaggerating again," said Bobby.

Sam and Dean looked at him seriously.

"No," they said in unison.

"Then this frat boy's just nuts," said Bobby.

"We're not so sure," said Dean.

_Sam and Dean stood on the college campus looking at a huge circle of dead grass on the front lawn. _

"_That was made by some sort of jet engine," said Sam, tilting his head to the side. _

"_What the hell is going on? First the haunting, now this?" asked Dean. _

"_What could the connection possibly be?" asked Sam. _

"_I don't know. Let's keep digging," said Dean. _

"_You and Curtis live in the same house?" asked Dean to a fraternity brother of Curtis' that they had met outside the fraternity house. _

"_Yeah. He said it was aliens, but, you know," said the kid._

"_I know this must be so hard. And I'm here for you. You brave little soldier," said Sam, tearing up. _

_He pulled the boy in for a hug and the kid held his arms at his sides as Sam hugged him. Dean looked away, hiding a laugh behind a cough. _

"I never said that!" said Sam.

"You're always saying pansy shit like that," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and Sam shook his head.

"Unbelievable," he muttered.

Bobby's eyebrows rose.

_The kid patted Sam's shoulder awkwardly before stepping away from the embrace. _

"_Well, thanks. For the hug. But I'm really okay."_

_Sam nodded, sniffling. _

"_Honestly, Curtis had it coming," said the kid, his attention now on Dean. _

"_Why is that?" asked Dean. _

"_He's our pledge master. He put us through hell this semester." _

_Dean and Sam entered the motel room quietly, thinking Alex was asleep. Alex was sitting up in bed, watching a movie on TV. Dean threw his car keys on the table and walked over to her, leaning down and kissing her forehead. He sat on the loveseat and rested his feet on the coffee table in front of him. _

"_At least there's one connection. Both victims were dicks," said Dean._

_Sam scoffed. He lifted up the bed covers, searching for something. _

"_Hey. Where's my laptop?" he asked. _

"_Don't know," said Dean. _

"_No idea," said Alex._

_Sam moved to the empty bed and lifted up the sheets to look for it there. "Where'd you hide it, Dean?"_

"_I didn't touch it. Looks like you lost it," said Dean. _

"Did you take his computer?" asked Bobby, looking at Dean in a stern, fatherly way.

"Serves him right, but no," said Dean.

"Oh dear Lord. Can you please finish the story?" asked Alex.

"So there was another victim. We didn't see his one either," said Sam.

"He was an animal tester in a lab. A dick, which fits the pattern," said Dean.

"Cops didn't release cause of death so we checked it out ourselves," said Sam.

"And?" asked Bobby.

"He was mutilated. By an alligator," said Dean.

"Another urban legend," said Alex.

Sam nodded.

"So we split up and each took one end of the sewer," said Dean.

"Did you find anything?" asked Bobby.

"Not in the sewer," said Dean.

_Alex was sitting on her bed, braiding her hair when Dean entered the motel room. Sam followed behind Dean and Alex dropped her hair and stared at her brothers. _

"_You can't let air out of the car's tires! It'll bend the rims!" yelled Dean._

"_I didn't touch your car," said Sam. _

"_Then why was your money clip by the car?" Dean held up the silver money clip. _

"_Give it back," said Sam. _

"_No."_

_Sam reached out for it, but Dean quickly moved it away from Sam's grasp. Sam tackled Dean to the empty bed and reached for it again, but Dean fought back and kept it out of Sam's reach. _

"You showed up about an hour after that," said Alex, nodding to Bobby. Bobby stood up and looked at the boys.

"I'm surprised at you two. Sam, Dean didn't steal your computer. And Dean, Sam didn't touch your car," said Bobby.

Alex stood up next to Bobby and rested her hands on her hips.

"And if you two hadn't been so preoccupied with bitching at each other, you would know that you're dealing with a trickster."

Dean snapped his fingers and pointed at Alex.

"That's what I thought."

Alex rolled her eyes and smacked Dean upside the head.

"You two were the biggest clue," continued Alex.

"I mean, these things create mischief without any trouble. It has you two so turned around that you aren't paying any attention!" yelled Bobby.

"It's like a demi-god," said Alex.

"They normally look like humans," said Bobby.

"The janitor," said Dean.

Alex nodded. Bobby beamed at her and kissed her cheek.

"That is why she's my favorite."

Alex smiled and stuck her tongue out at Dean and Sam.

Sam and Dean followed behind the janitor up to the third floor of the university's main hall. As they rounded the corner, Sam stopped and sighed.

"Fuck. I forgot something in the truck. You two go ahead. I'll catch up."

Dean nodded and followed the janitor up the rest of the steps while Sam walked down the way they had come and outside. He found the employee's locker room and found the janitor's locker. Sam opened it and found a stack of trashy tabloid magazines inside. The magazine on top of the stack blared about alien abductions. Sam threw it back in the locker and went to find Dean.

That night, Dean was walking around the campus. He entered the main hall and went looking for the janitor. He grabbed a wooden stake out of his jacket and was heading up the stairs when he heard music coming from the auditorium down the hall. Dean stuck the stake back into his jacket and entered the auditorium. Barry White was blasting through the speakers and two pretty girls were sitting on a huge bed that was resting in the middle of the stage. Dean walked over to the edge of the stage.

"We've been waiting for you, Dean," said the blonde woman.

"You guys aren't real," said Dean.

"C'mon. Let us give you a massage," said the brunette woman.

"They're a peace offering," said a male voice behind Dean.

Dean turned around to see the janitor sitting in an auditorium seat.

"Well, I can't let you keep hurting people," said Dean.

"You can't even let me run off to the next town?" asked the janitor.

"Nope. Sorry."

The trickster nodded slowly.

"Well, you shouldn't have come alone."

"I couldn't agree more," said Dean.

The trickster turned as Sam, Bobby, and Alex entered the auditorium with stakes in their hands. Dean took his own stake out of his jacket.

"Not bad," said the trickster. "You wanna see a real trick?"

Dean's eyebrows furrowed together and Alex screamed as a huge man with a chainsaw appeared behind her. Alex fell to the ground and began crawling backwards away from the man as he walked toward her. Dean moved to stake the trickster, but was stopped by the brunette. She grabbed him and threw him onto the stage. The man with the chainsaw swiped at Alex, but Sam moved in front of her.

The blonde woman grabbed Dean and flung him back into the seats. Sam tackled the man with the saw to the ground. He stopped moving and Sam reached out a hand to Alex, who took it and Sam pulled her up to a standing position. She ran over to Bobby and Sam threw his stake to Dean. Dean stood up and stabbed the trickster in the stomach. The trickster gasped and the girls and the man with the saw disappeared.

"You guys okay?" called Dean.

"I think so," said Sam.

"Let's get the hell outta here before someone finds that body," said Bobby.

They all hustled out of the auditorium and outside, where it was lightly raining. Alex held her palm to her eyebrow where she had been cut during the fight with the chainsaw man.

"Let me see it," said Sam.

He removed her hand and held her face in between his hands as he inspected the cut.

"Here, hold this on it," said Sam.

He took off his shirt, then took off his wifebeater that he wore under his shirt, handing it to her. He slipped his shirt back on and Alex held the wifebeater to her head as they got in the car and drove away.

Dean was driving the Impala down a dark, deserted road in the middle of the night. There was no traffic coming from either direction on the road. The rain was pounding down in sheets and thunder clapped every few minutes with lightning flashing along with the thunder. Sam was sitting in the passenger seat, looking out his window at the rain. Alex was sitting in the back, looking out the window as well.

Dean rounded a corner in the road and the speedometer was hitting 80 mph when a woman emerged from the trees. Dean slammed on his brakes and the woman jogged over to the passenger side of the car, tapping on Sam's window with her knuckles. He slowly rolled down his window, staring apprehensively at the woman. The woman was gasping for breath and Sam held up his palm to her.

"Alright, calm down."

The woman nodded and stepped back from the car. Dean shut off the car and all of the siblings climbed out to speak to the mystery woman.

"Tell us what happened," said Dean.

"My husband and I were driving down this road. A man stepped out in front of our car, so I swerved and we crashed. When I came to, my husband was gone and that's when the man from the road started chasing me."

"Did he happen to look like he lost a fight with a lawn mower?" asked Dean.

Sam looked at Dean, his eyebrows raised.

"How did you know that?" asked the woman, looking at Dean curiously.

"Lucky guess," said Dean, shrugging.

"What's your name?" asked Sam, turning back to face the woman.

"Molly. Molly Macmara."

"Molly, I think you should come with us," said Alex.

"I can't. I'm not leaving without David."

Sam sighed.

"Will you just take me back to my car?" asked Molly, her eyes wide.

Dean nodded and Molly climbed into the Impala's backseat with Alex sitting next to her.

Molly led the way as the Winchester siblings walked behind her to find the ditch in which Molly's car was stuck. They all stepped up to the edge of the small hole in the ground, but saw nothing there.

"I don't understand. I'm sure this is where it was. This doesn't make any sense," said Molly.

She stepped down into the ditch while the Winchesters stood back.

Once Molly was out of earshot, Sam turned to face Alex and Dean.

"We gotta get outta here. Greely could be here any second."

"What are you gonna tell her?" asked Dean.

Sam shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"The truth," he finally answered.

Molly turned to them, still standing in the ditch.

"I don't know who could've taken it. It was totaled."

Alex threw her jacket's hood over her head as the rain began coming down faster and faster.

"Molly, we believe you. But we gotta get you outta here," said Sam, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

"What about David?"

"Let's go to the cops. We'll take you to the station ourselves," said Alex, the ends of her blonde hair sticking out from underneath her hood.

Molly looked at all three of them.

"Okay."

She climbed out of the ditch and followed them back to the Impala.

Molly was sitting next to Alex in the backseat of the Impala as Dean drove to the police station. Alex was leaning her head against the window, her jacket hood still over her head.

"We're supposed to be in Tahoe for our five year anniversary," said Molly. "We were arguing about the dumbest things. The last thing I said to him was that he was a jerk."

Molly started crying and Alex lifted her head up to look at her. At that same moment, the radio crackled to life and a song began to play.

"Did you…" asked Dean, glancing at Sam.

"Nope," answered Sam.

Molly leaned forward, looking at Sam and Dean.

"This song was playing when we crashed."

Alex's eyes widened. Sam swallowed the lump in his throat.

The radio dial moved to a different station and a man's voice came out of the speakers, saying, "She's mine," over and over again.

"What is that?" whispered Molly.

Sam's jaw clenched as he gritted his teeth and Dean stared at the road in front of him. A man stood in the middle of the road, staring all of them down. All of their eyes widened and Dean stepped on the gas. He drove through the man and he disappeared as a black mist. They all looked out the back window once they had passed him.

"What the hell just happened?" asked Molly.

"Don't worry, Molly. Everything's gonna be alright," reassured Sam.

Suddenly, the car's engine began clanking and the car slowed. Dean let go of the steering wheel as the car pulled over to the shoulder of the road. Dean grabbed the key and tried to start the engine, but nothing happened.

"I don't think it's gonna let her leave," said Alex, pushing her hood down.

Dean, Alex, Sam, and Molly exited the Impala. Dean walked around to the back and unlocked the trunk.

"This can't be happening," said Molly.

"Trust me, it's happening," said Alex.

She joined Dean at the trunk while Molly leaned against the side of the car, taking deep breaths and closing her eyes to calm down. Dean propped the trunk open and grabbed his rifle, beginning to load it. Molly opened her eyes, saw the gun, and began walking backwards, away from them. Sam and Dean stayed at the trunk, loading their weapons while Alex walked over to Molly.

"Look, it wasn't a coincidence we found you," said Alex.

Dean and Sam stopped what they were doing and looked at the girls.

"What are you talking about?" asked Molly.

"We were already out here. Hunting," answered Dean.

"Hunting what?"

Sam opened his mouth to answer her question, but Dean beat him.

"Ghosts."

Molly's jaw dropped open and Dean walked back to the trunk.

"Don't sugarcoat it for her," said Alex, sarcastically, throwing her hands up.

"You're nuts," said Molly, shaking her head.

"Really? About as nuts with a vanishing guy," said Dean, looking at Molly.

He raised his eyebrows and Molly looked down at the gravel road, toeing the rocks.

"You know what you saw," said Alex.

She helped Dean load the guns at the trunk.

"We think his name is Jonah Greely. He was a farmer who died 15 years ago on this highway," explained Sam, slowly stepping closer to Molly, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Stop," whispered Molly.

Sam continued. "One night of every year, he haunts this road. That's why we're here, Molly. To stop him."

"And I suppose this ghost made my car disappear too?" asked Molly.

"Crazier things have happened," called Dean from the back of the car.

Molly shook her head and turned her back on all three of them.

"You're not gonna get far," said Alex.

Molly angled her body to them slightly, stopping.

"Greely's not gonna let you leave this highway," said Sam.

Molly's eyes filled with tears.

"Look, we're gonna help you. But first, you gotta help us," said Dean.

"How?" asked Molly.

"Take us to where you saw him," answered Sam.

Molly led the way to a small wood cabin in the middle of the woods.

"This is where I saw him," she said.

Dean walked in first, his siblings following closely behind him.

"No markings or gravestones outside," said Sam.

"Why does that matter?" asked Molly.

"So we can salt and burn the corpse," said Dean.

"It'll help you and David," said Alex.

Molly nodded and watched as the three of them looked around.

"Nothing here. Let's keep looking," said Dean.

They stepped outside and began walking down a rocky path. Dean led the way in the front with Molly bringing up the rear. After a few moments of walking in silence, Sam turned around to see that Molly was no longer behind him. He heard gunshots and ran toward the sound of them. Dean and Alex were standing in front of Molly as she sat on the ground.

"We're all fine. Greely just popped up," explained Alex.

"Hey. Follow the yellow brick road," said Dean, pointing to a small, well-hidden path a few feet in front of them.

The four of them entered a creepy looking, run-down house that rested at the end of the road. They stepped onto the wrap-around porch and walked through the front door. Dean threw his duffel bag onto the moth eaten couch.

"Sam and Molly, you take the upstairs. Alex and I have downstairs."

Sam nodded and followed Molly up the stairs.

Sam and Molly entered the first door on their right at the top of the staircase. Papers were strewn all over the room. Molly grabbed a photo album off the windowsill where it was resting and began leafing through the pages.

"Looks at this," she said.

Sam walked over to her and they sat on the edge of the bed to look through the album.

"How could a man so sweet turn into such a monster?" asked Molly.

She finished reading a love letter in the album that Greely had written to his wife and looked up at Sam.

"Well, spirits like his are like wounded animals. They're in so much pain that they lash out," explained Sam.

"But why here?" asked Molly.

"There's some part keepin' him here. Like unfinished business. Love, hate, whatever," said Sam.

Molly nodded.

"There's nothin' downstairs," said Alex as she flounced into the room. Dean entered a few seconds behind her.

"Find anything?" he asked.

"Not really," said Sam.

Dean stopped walking when he reached the dresser in the room.

"There's somethin' behind here."

He pulled the dresser away from the wall and kicked in a small door in the wall using the toe of his boot. Once the hole was large enough, Dean crawled through it and into the attic with the other three following him.

"Well, explains why no one saw Mrs. Greely ever again," said Dean.

They all looked up and saw a skeleton hanging from the ceiling.

"She couldn't bear to live without him," said Molly.

Dean rolled his eyes.

"C'mon. Let's put her to rest," said Alex. Sam nodded and reached up, helping Alex get her down.

Dean helped Sam finish shoveling the dirt on top of the body, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Once they were finished, they re-entered the house. Molly was looking through the photo album she had found as she stood in the kitchen. Sam walked into the study where Alex and Dean sat.

"I think we should tell her about her husband," whispered Sam.

"We can't," said Dean.

"Dean, it's cruel letting her pine for him like this," said Alex.

"Look, let's get her out of here and then we'll tell her," said Dean.

"Tell me what?" asked Molly, standing in the doorway.

They all turned to look at her.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," whispered Alex.

"Look, Molly-" began Sam, but he stopped as the radio in the kitchen suddenly turned on by itself.

"He's coming," said Molly, her voice trembling with fear.

"Stay with her," said Dean, walking out of the room.

Sam and Alex stood with Molly, waiting for Dean to return. Sam nodded to Alex and stepped out of the room to join Dean. Suddenly, Greely yanked Molly through the window.

"He's got Molly!" yelled Alex, running to find Sam and Dean.

"We're on it. Stay here," said Dean, giving a stern look to Alex.

She nodded and watched her brothers run out of the house and into the night.

Dean threw his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"We got less than two hours till sunrise. We gotta move," said Dean.

Sam picked up an old photo album and began flipping through it.

"Hey, come look at this."

Dean and Alex stepped over to Sam and looked at the picture of Greely and his wife in front of the cabin a few miles into the woods.

"This was taken two weeks before the accident. I swear there's a tree right where they're standing though," said Sam.

Alex sighed, slapping a hand to her forehead.

"We're fuckin' dumbasses! A tree marks a grave sight," said Alex.

"Let's go," said Dean.

The siblings walked silently around the cabin, trying to stay quiet to save Molly. As they crept around a corner, Molly let out a scream.

"You get Molly. We'll burn the bones," said Alex, looking at Dean.

Dean nodded and walked into the cabin. Sam grabbed his shovel and started digging. Alex clutched the salt in her hands.

"Hurry up!" called Dean.

Sam jumped out of the hole and Alex quickly dumped the salt on the bones. Sam poured the kerosene on top, lit a match, and threw it on the bones. Inside the cabin, Greely burst into flames and disappeared.

Dean slapped the top of the Impala.

"Baby, it's been a long night."

He opened the trunk, throwing his duffel bag in it and climbing into the driver's seat.

"Alright, let's get you outta here," said Sam to Molly.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened to my husband," said Molly.

Sam looked away, avoiding Molly's stare.

"All this time and you knew Greely killed him. He's dead," accused Molly, her voice quaking with anger.

"No, Molly. David's alive," said Alex.

Molly smiled and Sam and Alex gently smiled back.

"We'll take you to him. C'mon," said Sam.

Molly obliged and got in the backseat next to Alex.

Dean pulled up to a house in the middle of a cul-de-sac, the lights in the house still on.

"He's in that house right there," said Sam, pointing to the house that was lit up.

"I don't understand," said Molly.

"You will," said Dean.

They all piled out of the car and Molly looked through the huge window into the house, the siblings standing behind her.

Molly's face fell as she looked at David.

"That's not… It can't be," muttered Molly.

She watched as a woman walked up to David and kissed him.

"What's happening?" Molly turned to face the siblings. "Who is that?"

"That's David's wife," said Alex. "

I'm sorry, Molly. 15 years ago, you and your husband hit Jonah Greely with your car. David survived," said Sam.

"There are two spirits haunting Highway 41. Jonah Greely… and you," finished Dean.

"That's impossible. It was our anniversary. February 22-"

"1995," finished Alex.

"Molly, it's 2012," said Dean.

"Oh, God," whispered Molly. "And Greely?"

"Each year, he punishes someone for his death. Chasing them, torturing them. Each year, it's you," said Sam.

"Why wait until now to tell me?"

"You wouldn't have believed us," said Dean.

"Molly, we brought you here so you could move on," explained Alex.

"It's time to go," said Sam.

Molly nodded, took a deep breath, and walked into the middle of the street. A bright, white light appeared and Molly disappeared.

"Let's hit the road," said Dean.

Sam stood in the morgue as the medical examiner unlatched the drawer. She pulled out the dead body and Sam began inspecting the dead man's body.

"Pretty nasty bite," remarked Sam.

"Mmm-hmm," hummed the woman.

"You know what bit him?"

"We haven't quite determined that just yet."

Sam smiled. "C'mon, Doc. Off the record?"

The woman sighed, but turned to Sam and leaned in to whisper to him.

"Okay. Way, way off the record. If I didn't know better, I'd say the guy was attacked by a wolf."

Sam nodded. "One more thing. Was this guy's heart missing?"

The woman looked taken aback.

"Yeah. I haven't even finished my report. How'd you know that?" she asked.

Sam smiled. "Lucky guess."

The woman stared at him for a second longer before closing the drawer and walking Sam out of the building.

Dean was sitting on his bed in the motel room, cleaning one of his many guns. Sam stood up from his chair, stretched his arms over his head, and grabbed a beer from the fridge.

"This lawyer guy the only heart-free corpse in town?" asked Dean.

"The first man. Over the past years, several women have gone missing. All with no hearts," said Sam.

He pulled his chair up to the bed and sat in it backwards. He took a drink from his beer before speaking again.

"Cops are looking for a serial killer."

"Lunar cycle?" asked Alex from the bathroom doorway. She leaned against the doorframe, her hair damp and wavy from her recent shower.

"Month after month, these murders happened in the week leading up to the full moon," answered Sam.

"And that's this week, right?" asked Dean.

"Hence the lawyer," said Sam.

Dean grinned a toothy grin. "Awesome!"

Alex scoffed and walked over to join her brothers. She sat down on the currently unoccupied bed.

"Dean, could you be a bigger geek about this?"

"I'm sorry but werewolves are bad ass!"

Dean reached over to grab something out of the duffel bag on Alex's bed, but Alex held it out to him. Dean smirked, leaned over, and kissed her cheek. He sat back on his bed. He opened the box Alex had handed him, which was full of rows upon rows of silver bullets.

"The best part about this is that we already know how to bring the sucker down."

Dean picked out a bullet from the box and held it between his right thumb and index finger.

"Silver bullet to the heart."

"So what's our next move?" asked Alex.

"Talk to the girl who found the body," said Sam.

Sam knocked on the front door of the apartment. A woman answered the door and stared at the three of them incredulously.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am. Madison Aragon?" asked Sam.

The woman nodded.

"We're with the police," said Sam.

Madison sighed and stepped aside to let them in. Once they were all inside, she led the way to her kitchen.

"I don't understand. I already gave my statement."

She grabbed her coffee mug off the counter and walked into the living room with the Winchesters following. A man was kneeling on the floor in front of her TV, plugging in some cables.

"This is my neighbor, Glenn." Madison introduced them.

Glenn stood up and she turned to him.

"This is Detective…" She trailed off and looked at the three of them expectantly.

"Landis," filled in Alex. She slapped Sam's shoulder.

"Detective Dante and Detective Smith," finished Alex, pointing at Dean.

Glenn smiled at them and cleared his throat. "Guess I'll leave you to it."

"Okay. Thanks for everything," said Madison.

Glenn nodded and walked out of the still wide-open front door of the apartment.

"Have a seat," said Madison, motioning to the couch.

Sam, Dean, and Alex sat down on the couch while she sat in an armchair across from them.

"You were Nate Mulligans assistant, right?" asked Sam.

Madison nodded. "For two years."

"So you knew all about him," said Dean.

"Did he have any enemies?" asked Alex.

"What do you mean? It sure looked like an animal attack and not human," said Madison.

"Yeah. But we like to cover all the bases," said Dean.

"Well, my ex-boyfriend Kurt Mueller got it in his head that there was something between Nate and I. The last time I saw him was the night Nate died," said Madison.

"So what do you think?" asked Dean. He followed behind Sam and Alex as the three of them walked down Madison's front porch steps and towards the Impala.

"Stalker ex-boyfriend hates the boss. And he was there that night," said Sam.

"Think he's our werewolf?" asked Alex.

"It's a theory," answered Sam.

He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket as they walked down the sidewalk toward the car.

"I say we pay Kurt a visit," said Dean. Alex nodded in agreement and climbed into the backseat of the Impala.

Dean unlocked Kurt's apartment door with a bobby pin, peeking his head around the corner to make sure it was safe to go in. Once he decided the coast was clear, he opened the door fully and led the way inside. Sam checked out the living room while Dean opened the fridge.

"Anything?" asked Alex, sifting through the newspaper racks.

"Nah, just some leftovers," said Dean.

He shut the fridge door and reached up to open the freezer. He grabbed the handle to open the freezer when a noise came from the open window. Dean walked over to the window and pulled back the sheer curtain, climbing through the window and onto the balcony. He stepped out farther onto the balcony so that Sam and Alex would have room to join him.

"Hey, c'mere," he called through the open window.

Sam and Alex climbed through the window as well. They all looked over the balcony's ledge at the same time and saw claw marks on the side of the apartment building. They retreated back into the apartment and began looking for more clues. The three of them were standing at the counter, flipping through the mail, when they heard gunshots. They barreled out the front door and into the back alley next to the apartment building to see a policeman that had been mauled to death lying on the asphalt behind a trash bin. Sam turned away, disgusted at the smell.

"I'll call 911," said Dean.

"If Kurt's out here, we better check on Madison," said Alex, looking at her brothers.

Using his knuckles, Sam rapped on the door of Madison's apartment loudly, but gently. The door slowly opened and Madison stood on the other side, her eyes tired.

"We need to talk," said Sam.

Madison nodded and ushered the three siblings inside. They followed her to the kitchen and she poured each of them a cup of coffee.

"Has Kurt been here?" asked Sam.

"Not exactly," said Madison.

She set down the coffee pot she was still holding and looked at all of them.

"He was outside last night. Just… looking. At me. Has he done something?"

"It's probably nothing, but we just don't wanna take any chances. In fact, one of us should probably stay here with you. In case he stops by," said Dean.

"Do you mind grabbing his work address for us?" asked Alex.

Madison shook her head and left the kitchen.

"Alright. You two go, I'll stay," volunteered Sam.

"Forget that. I'm gonna hang here with the hot chick," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and set her coffee mug in Madison's kitchen sink.

"Dude, why do you always get to hang with the hot girls?" asked Sam.

"'Cause I'm older," smirked Dean, taking a small sip from his coffee.

"Nah, fuck that. Let's settle this the old fashioned way," said Sam. He set his mug down on the counter in front of him and took Dean's cup from his hands, setting it next to his own on the counter.

Sam held up his fist and Dean did the same. Alex smirked and hopped up on the counter to watch the game.

The boys smacked their open palms with their clenched fists three quick times in succession. Sam held up rock while Dean had scissors.

"Dean, always with the scissors," said Sam.

"Shut up, shut up. Two outta three," said Dean.

Sam sighed and shook his head, but obliged Dean's request as they played again. Sam threw out rock once again, while Dean used scissors.

"God!" yelled Dean and Alex laughed.

Dean walked out of the room, mumbling under his breath as he did so. Alex jumped off the counter. She walked over to Sam and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Have fun, Sammy!" said Alex. She winked at him and followed Dean out of the apartment.

Sam sat on the couch as Madison folded her laundry on the kitchen table. His phone rang and Sam pulled it out of his pocket to answer the call.

"Let me guess. You're sittin' on her couch like a stiff, tryin' to think of somethin' to say," said Dean on the other end of the call.

"Did you find Kurt?" asked Sam.

"He hasn't been at work all week. But since Alex and I are so good, we got an idea of where he might be."

Dean paused for a few seconds. "What's she wearing?"

"Bye, Dean," said Sam. He hung up and stuck his phone back in his pocket.

Alex and Dean were back at the motel, trying to track down Kurt.

"How much you wanna bet Sam is watching a soap opera with Madison right now?" asked Alex.

Dean smirked. "Oh, I know he is." 

Madison flipped the Power button on her television remote to turn off the T.V. as the credits rolled, indicating the show was over.

"So Kendall married Ethan's dad to get back at him?" asked Sam.

"Yep," said Madison.

"What a bitch!" said Sam, shaking his head.

Madison laughed and Sam laughed with her, realizing how ridiculous he was acting. Once he stopped laughing, he glanced at Madison, a serious expression on his face.

"What were you doing with Kurt?" asked Sam.

"I don't know. We all make mistakes and now mine is wanted by the police," said Madison.

Sam smiled sadly.

"Honestly, I was scared to leave. Too insecure."

"I find that hard to believe," said Sam, his eyebrows raised.

"Well, my life changed. For the better, I think," said Madison.

"How?"

"Well, I got mugged," answered Madison.

"And that's a… good thing?" asked Sam, his confusion evident in his raised eyebrows and tone of voice.

"I know, it's weird. Don't get me wrong, it definitely rattled me. Then it hit me. I could keep feeling sorry for myself or I could take control of my life. I chose the latter," said Madison.

"You're impressive," said Sam, a small smile playing on his lips. He smiled at her and she smiled back. Suddenly, Sam's phone rang and he turned away from her to answer it.

"Hello?"

"We found him," said Alex from the other end of the phone call.

"Good. Don't take your eyes off him."

Alex looked over at Dean, who was watching a stripper slide down a pole. She then glanced across the strip club at Kurt, who was also watching the stripper.

"Oh, Dean's eyes are glued," said Alex, rolling her eyes.

"Alex, are you at a strip club?" asked Sam.

"Unfortunately, yes. Listen, I gotta let you go, Sammy." Alex hung up and sat down at the bar, flagging down the bartender.

Later that same night, Alex and Dean were standing in an alley outside of Kurt's apartment. Dean loaded his gun with silver bullets and Alex has just reloaded her gun when the sound of glass shattering startled both of them. They looked up and saw that Kurt's window had been broken, glass raining down onto the pavement. They rushed into the building and ran up the stairs to Kurt's apartment. Dean kicked open the door to Kurt's apartment and ran inside, his gun raised. Alex stood behind him and Dean lowered his gun when he saw Kurt lying on the floor, dead. A woman was ripping him apart with her teeth and she turned to face them, her werewolf features ever prominent in the moonlight. Alex silently gasped as she saw that it was Madison who faced them. Madison attacked Dean and his gun fell out of his hands. He pulled a silver knife from his pocket and swiped at Madison. She whimpered in pain and grabbed her elbow where Dean had nicked her. She ran out onto the balcony and jumped from it, disappearing from sight. Alex ran over to Dean, who was slumped against the wall, unconscious. She sighed and sat next to him, her eyes slowly closing from exhaustion.

As the sunlight poured into the apartment, Dean opened his eyes, rubbing sleep out of them. Alex was leaning on his shoulder and he gently smoothed her hair back behind her ear. She opened her eyes and sat up, yawning. Dean stood, grabbing Alex's hand and helping her stand up. They looked down at Kurt's dead and mangled body.

"We better call Sammy," said Alex.

Dean nodded and rubbed his hands over his face. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Sam's number.

"Sam," said Dean.

"Dean. You and Alex okay?" asked Sam on the other end of the call.

"Yeah, now that we're conscious. The werewolf knocked me out." Dean sighed before continuing. "Sam… it's Madison."

"What?"

"Yeah, awesome job of keepin' an eye on her."

"Dean, I've been here the whole time. She's dead asleep."

"Well, she wasn't an hour ago. Check her right arm below her elbow. I nicked her with a silver knife."

Sam sighed. "Let me talk to Alex."

Dean held the phone out to his sister, who grabbed it and put it to her ear.

"Alex. Is it true?" asked Sam.

"I'm sorry, Sammy," whispered Alex. She heard Sam hang up and she handed Dean his phone.

Sam turned to face Madison as she woke up. She sat up in bed and Sam glanced at her right arm below her elbow. A red gash was there, long and narrow. Sam's expression turned sad and he walked out of the room, Madison calling after him. She scurried out of her bed and watched as Sam locked and bolted the front door of the apartment.

"You're not leaving this apartment," said Sam.

Madison sat in a kitchen chair while Sam stood in front of her, his arms crossed across his chest and a gun in his right hand.

"You're psychotic. The whole 'I'm a cop' trip. God, I'm so stupid," said Madison.

"I guess neither of us are who we said we were, huh?" accused Sam.

"Sam, you're imagining things. Monsters don't exist."

"You know what? Save the act."

"It's not an act! Werewolves don't exist, okay? They're not real."

Sam moved over to Madison, kneeling by her side.

"Oh yeah? Then where did that come from?" asked Sam, pointing the end of his gun at her gash.

"I don't know. But I'm not what you think I am. I'm not," sobbed Madison.

A knock pounded on the door and Sam walked over to answer it. Dean and Alex walked into the apartment and Sam slammed the door shut behind them. Madison looked at them, her face soaked with tears.

"My head feels great. Thanks," said Dean sarcastically as he glared at Madison.

"We gotta talk," said Sam. He walked into the kitchen and Alex and Dean followed him.

"She says she has no idea what I'm talking about," said Sam.

"She's lying," said Dean.

"Or maybe she has no idea she's changing," said Alex.

"Like a really hot Incredible Hulk? C'mon, Sam. She ganked her ex and her boss," said Dean.

"Look, there was something in her eyes," said Sam.

"We're not putting a bullet through some girl's chest when she has no idea what's happening," said Alex.

"We could cure her if we kill the werewolf that bit her," said Sam. He grabbed his dad's journal from the counter and opened it, flipping through the pages until he found the right one. He held it out to Dean, who skimmed the page.

"This says 'might,' Sam. Meaning who the hell knows."

Alex rolled her eyes at Dean and jumped up on the counter to sit.

"It's worth a shot," said Sam.

"We don't even know where to start looking," said Dean.

Sam shook his head and walked past Dean. He opened the door that led into the living room and Madison looked up at him as he approached.

"Madison. When were you mugged?"

Dean and Alex stood behind Sam and Madison glared at all three of them.

"'Bout a month ago."

"Did you see the guy?" asked Sam.

"No. He grabbed me from behind."

"Did he bite you?"

Madison looked at him curiously. "How did you know that?"

Sam ignored her question and asked another one of his own. "Where?"

"The back of my neck."

Sam held up his gun and then set it down on the table beside him. Madison bent her head down as Sam knelt down beside her. He pushed her hair to the side. On the back of Madison's neck was a bite mark that resembled a crescent moon. Sam moved her hair back and stood up.

"Where were you at the time?" asked Dean.

"Walking home from a friend's loft, not too far from…"

"Let me guess. Not too far from Hunter's Point," said Alex. Madison nodded.

Sam closed the door to the kitchen once again before turning and speaking to his siblings.

"Same place where those other murders happened."

"Look, Madi's gonna turn soon," said Dean.

"I'll stay with her," said Sam.

"And if she busts loose?" asked Dean. He looked at Sam and Alex bit her lip, waiting for Sam's answer. Sam looked away and sighed.

"Sam," urged Dean.

"I'll shoot her, alright? But Dean, I need you and Alex to go out there. Please. We can save this girl," said Sam.

Dean looked at Sam's face. "Fine." He walked past Sam to the front door. Alex walked up to Sam and held his face in her hands so he would look at her.

"I'll make sure we look," she said.

"Thank you," said Sam.

Alex nodded and Sam put his hands on her wrists, gently pulling them away from his face. Alex walked past him and followed Dean out of the apartment.

"Please. Just let me go," begged Madison.

Sam sighed and knelt down in front of her.

"Look, I know you're scared. But I'm doin' this because I'm tryin' to help you," said Sam. Madison began crying again, but Sam continued talking. "And I'm not gonna lie. The odds aren't exactly in our favor. But, if this goes away, I'll untie you and I'll walk out that door and never come back. You'll live the rest of your life and I'll just be a bad memory," finished Sam.

He stood up and walked into the kitchen, Madison crying silently.

A few hours later, Sam stood with his back turned to Madison as she turned into a werewolf. Her nails grew long and her teeth became fangs as she broke free of her bonds and scratched Sam's cheek, attacking him. Sam aimed his gun at her and when she lunged for him, Sam darted quickly out of the way. Madison fell into the closet and Sam shut the door. He pushed a cabinet in front of the closet door and sat on the floor in front of the cabinet, his gun in his hand and blood oozing out of the cut on his cheek.

Once the sun had finished rising over the horizon, Sam opened the closet door. Madison stood up and looked at him.

"It should be over now. You'll never see me again," said Sam.

Madison turned around in a full circle to look at the damage she had caused in her closet. There were scratch marks all over the door and the walls. When she turned back around, Sam was gone, nothing left behind to even show that he had ever been there.

"It was kind of sad, really. Glenn had no clue what was goin' on," said Dean.

Sam nodded and Dean sat up in his seat. He glanced at Alex in the backseat. She was sound asleep, her chest rising and falling steadily.

"So you like Madison, huh? Maybe, uh…"

"Dean, she thought I was a lunatic," said Sam.

Suddenly, there was a light knock on Sam's window and both Sam and Dean turned to look at Madison. Sam rolled down his window.

"You know, for a stakeout, your car's a bit conspicuous."

"We're pretty sure you're not gonna turn tonight, but we gotta be a hundred percent, so…" said Dean.

"Well, if we're gonna wait it out, we might as well do it together. And your sister should sleep someplace comfortable," said Madison. She motioned her head towards her apartment.

Dean walked into the apartment with Alex cradled in his arms. Madison pointed to her bedroom and Dean carried Alex into the room. He laid her down and removed her shoes as gently as possible. He covered her up and kissed her forehead before walking back into the living room where Madison and Sam sat.

"So when will we know for sure?" asked Madison.

"Sun up," answered Sam. Madison nodded. Dean glanced at Sam.

"Look, I'm gonna crash with Alex. I'll have my gun, okay?" Sam nodded and watched Dean enter the bedroom. Dean kicked off his shoes and lay down next to Alex on the bed. He closed his eyes and Sam sat next to Madison on the couch.

The next morning, Sam, Madison, and Dean stood next to the window, watching the sun rise.

"Does this mean it worked?" asked Madison.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, I think so."

Madison threw her arms around him. "Thank you so much!"

Sam hugged her back and Dean cleared his throat. Madison let go of Sam and looked at Dean. "You too, Dean."

"Don't mention it," said Dean.

Alex entered the room then, her hair damp from her shower. "So it worked?" she asked. Madison nodded. Alex caught Sam's eye and she winked. "So Dean and I are just gonna head back to the motel. See you later. Oh, and thanks for letting me sleep here, Madison." Madison waved Alex off and Alex grabbed Dean's arm, leading him towards the door. Dean stuck his fist up in the air and gave one final smirk at Sam before following Alex out of the apartment. Madison smiled.

"That was smooth."

"He means well," said Sam.

"He means you're gonna get laid."

Sam's head snapped up to look at Madison. She looked at him and her mouth met his in a feverish need. Her legs wrapped around his waist and Sam carried her into the bedroom, placing her on the bed. Their lips disconnected as they removed their shirts, but met again once their shirts were off. Madison's fingernails dug into Sam's back as he removed the rest of her clothes. He shed his pants and boxers before resting his body over hers and kissing her gently. He intertwined his right hand with hers and pressed them above Madison's head on the bed as he slid into her.

Sam woke up in the middle of the night and saw that Madison was not beside him. He sat up and looked around the room. He looked at the window and saw Madison crouched next to the window, her teeth bared. Sam rushed over to her as she jumped out the window. Sam threw on all of his clothes and ran out of the apartment, heading for the motel.

Sam banged on the motel room door. Dean opened it, looking at Sam.

"She turned."

"What?"

"I couldn't grab her in time," panted Sam.

"We'll find her, Sammy," reassured Dean. He grabbed his jacket from his bed. Alex grabbed her jacket and followed her brothers out the door.

"I already called Bobby," said Sam. They jogged down the steps and stepped onto the sidewalk outside of the motel.

"Why didn't she turn the other night?" asked Dean.

"Maybe she has to be asleep to turn," answered Alex.

"Look, we have to save her," said Sam.

"Sammy, I don't think we have a choice anymore," said Dean. "I hate to say it, but part of her is evil."

Alex turned away from them.

"That's what they say about me, Dean. So me, you won't kill, but her, you're just gonna blow away?" asked Sam.

Sam's phone rang then and he answered it quickly.

"Sam?" asked Madison.

"Madison. Where are you?"

"Um, the street sign says Middlepoint."

"Hold on, Madi. We're comin' to get you." Sam hung up and got in the Impala with his siblings.

Dean's gun sat on a coffee table as Madison sat at the kitchen table. Sam sat next to her while Dean and Alex sat on the table.

"I probably killed someone last night. Didn't I?" asked Madison.

Sam looked down, a pained expression on his face.

"There's no way to know yet," said Dean.

"Is there something else we can try?" asked Madison.

"We'll find something. There's gotta be some answer," said Sam.

"That's not entirely true," whispered Alex. "Madison, you deserve to know. There's just no cure."

Madison looked at Sam. "Is she right?"

Sam stood up and turned away from them.

"We could lock you up at night. Some night, you'd bust out. Someone else dies," said Dean. "I'm sorry, I am."

"So I guess that's all there is to it then," said Madison.

"Stop it. Don't talk like that," said Sam.

"Sam, I don't wanna hurt anyone else. I don't wanna hurt you." Madison's eyes filled with tears. She swiped them away and reached for the gun resting on the table. She stood up and walked over to Sam.

"Put that down," said Sam.

"I can't do it myself. I need you to help me," sobbed Madison.

"Madison. No."

"Sam, I'm a monster."

"You don't have to be. We can find a way, okay? I'm gonna save you."

"You tried. This is all there is left. Help me, Sam. I want you to do it."

"I can't," said Sam.

"I don't wanna die. But I can't live like this. This is the way you can save me. Please. I'm asking you to save me," whispered Madison.

Sam shook his head, pain etched on his face. Dean stood up and Alex wiped away her own tears as she stood up as well. Dean walked over and took the gun from Madison as Sam's eyes welled with tears. Sam walked into the entryway and his siblings followed.

Sam's back was turned to Dean and Alex as they entered the entryway behind him.

"Sam," said Dean.

Sam turned to them and Alex's heart broke for her twin brother as he began to cry, causing Alex to start crying again.

"I'm sorry," said Dean.

"No, you're right. She's right," said Sam.

"Sammy, I got this one. I'll do it," volunteered Dean.

"She asked me to."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do."

More tears fell down Sam's face as he realized what he needed to do. Alex grabbed Dean's hand for comfort and Dean intertwined their fingers as Alex continued to cry with Sam. Sam held out his hand for the gun that Dean held.

"Please."

Dean hesitantly placed the gun in Sam's open palm and Sam's shaking fingers closed around the gun.

"Just wait here."

Sam turned away and headed back into the kitchen. Alex continued crying as Dean squeezed her hand. Sam looked at them from the doorway, his face full of pain and tears streaking his face.

"Sam," whispered Alex as Sam walked out of sight and into the kitchen.

Dean pulled Alex into his chest, where she burst into full on sobs. Dean's lip trembled and a tear fell down his cheek from the thought of his brother's heartache. He kissed Alex's temple as she continued crying. Both of them flinched as the gun went off and then, all was silent.


	29. Chapter 29

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

Chapter 29

Dean, Alex, and Sam sat in a small bus as they toured a Hollywood movie set. The tour guide droned on in his annoying monotone voice as he talked about the setting of the TV show, _Gilmore Girls. _Alex suddenly sat up in her seat and smacked Sam's shoulder, hard.

"I love that show! You know, you look like one of Rory's boyfriend's from that show. His name was Dean."

Sam rolled his eyes. "C'mon."

He stepped off of the slowly moving vehicle and Alex followed him, yanking Dean's arm to follow them. The three of them walked past trailers and sets, looking for Stage 9.

"I think Stage 9 is over here," said Sam, heading towards the right.

"God, I wanted to come here for vacation, not work," whined Alex.

"We figured with everything that happened with Madison, you could use a little R and R," said Dean, looking at Sam.

"Maybe work keeps my mind off things," said Sam. He kept looking for Stage 9, never glancing at his siblings.

"Fine. So this crew guy died on set?" asked Alex, popping her gum.

"Yep. Rumors online say the set's haunted," said Sam.

"What's his name?" asked Dean.

"Frank Jaffy. But the girl who found him says she saw something like a vanishing figure."

"And her name?" asked Alex, blowing a large bubble and then popping her gum once again.

"Tara Benchly," said Sam.

He stopped walking then and held his open hand under Alex's mouth. She rolled her eyes, but spit her gum into Sam's open palm. Sam threw it on the ground beside them and wiped his now sticky hand on his jeans. Sam then continued walking forward and Alex slowed, popping another piece of gum into her mouth. Dean smirked and shook his head.

The three Winchesters ducked under the garage door that was closing and found themselves in Stage 9. They began inspecting the whole set and were looking everywhere when the director called out to them.

"Hey, green shirt guy?"

Dean looked down at his green shirt and pointed to himself. The director nodded profusely.

"Yeah, you. C'mere."

Dean looked at Alex and Sam, who just shrugged their shoulders. Dean sighed and walked over to the man.

"Can you get me a smoothie from Cathy?"

"You want a what from who?" asked Dean.

The man scoffed and popped a small mint into his mouth.

"You are a P.A. This is what you do."

Sam, having overheard the conversation, quickly walked over to the two of them to help save Dean. He smiled at the director, who was glaring at Dean, his look full of disdain.

"Yep. One smoothie comin' right up."

The director smiled at Sam and Sam led Dean back to where Alex stood.

"What's a P.A.?" asked Dean.

"I think they're kind of like slaves," said Sam.

Alex laughed and walked with her brothers.

"Personal assistant," she answered.

"Oh," said Sam and Dean, understanding finally dawning.

An hour or so later, Dean held a tray of smoothies in his hands as he walked around the movie set on Stage 9. He looked beside him and saw a metal staircase leading up to the very top of the set. He quickly glanced around him to make sure no one was watching. Once the coast was clear, Dean set the tray down and began climbing up the stairs. As he stepped on the fifth stair, the lights went down as filming began. Dean cursed under his breath. He dug a small flashlight from out of his jacket pocket and turned it on, continuing his climb up the stairs. Dean heard muffled voices as he climbed and he took out his EMF reader at the top.

About 20 minutes later, Sam and Alex met Dean by the snack table on set.

"So?" asked Sam.

"No EMF anywhere," said Dean, popping a handful of candy into his mouth.

"So what do you think?" asked Alex, her hands on her hips.

"Well, I think bein' a P.A. sucks. Look at these things."

Dean grabbed a sandwich off a platter and held it out to Sam.

"They're like little Philly cheese steak sandwiches. They're delicious!"

Dean held the sandwich out to Sam. Sam looked at the sandwich and forced a smile onto his face. "Maybe later."

Dean held it out to Alex, who shook her head. Dean nodded and took a huge bite out of the sandwich.

"What'd you find out about the dead crew guy?" asked Dean, his mouth full of food.

"Frank Jaffy was just fillin' in for the day. Nobody here knew him or anything. But we did dig up some stuff about Stage 9's history," said Sam.

"Four people have died here in the past eight years. Two suicides and two fatal accidents," said Alex.

"We just gotta narrow it down more," said Sam.

Dean's focus from his siblings was lost as a very beautiful actress sat down in her chair, which was only a few feet away from where the siblings were standing. He swallowed the huge bite of food he had been chewing.

"I'll get right on that."

Dean pushed past Sam and Alex, heading for the girl. They both turned and watched Dean grab a script from a passing producer. He walked up to the girl, holding the paper in his hands.

Dean, Sam, and Alex stood on the front steps of Frank Jaffy's house a few hours later. A man opened the door a few seconds after Sam knocked.

"Gerard St. James?" asked Dean.

The man nodded slowly.

"You're still alive. And you're not Frank Jaffy," said Sam.

"Nope," replied the man. He stepped aside to let them into his house.

"So the producers brought you in just to fake your death?" asked Alex.

She sat in between her brothers on the couch as Gerard sat across from them.

"Yep. They wanted the actors to be really immersed in their roles."

Gerard took a small sip from his coffee mug.

"What about the ghost Tara saw?" asked Sam.

"Projection," answered Gerard.

"Well, thanks for all your help. We're certainly glad you're alive," said Dean.

Gerard nodded and walked them out of his house.

The next morning, Dean stood behind the scenes of the movie with a headset on and a plate of food in his hands. He listened as Tara spoke to the film's director.

"I mean, why would a ghost be afraid of salt?" she asked.

Dean smirked knowingly and took a bite out of the taquito on his plate.

"What else would ghosts be scared of?" asked the director.

"Shotguns," suggested one producer.

"That makes less sense than salt," said the director.

Dean watched as Walter, one of the many people on set, threw up his hands in frustration at the conversation.

"These people are idiots," he said, brushing past Dean.

Sam and Alex walked up to Dean then.

"How's it going?" asked Sam.

"Great! Want a taquito? They're wonderful."

Dean took a bite out of the one he was already holding.

"No," said Alex.

"But listen, we conned our way into the morgue," said Sam, dropping his voice to a low whisper and looking around at all of the people who surrounded the three of them.

"The news was right. Brad's a doornail."

Dean nodded. "Follow me."

Dean walked them over to the soundboard, where he removed his headset and set it on the table.

"David, can you play them the thing you played me earlier?"

"Sure," said David.

He handed Sam and Alex each a headset and they slid them on, listening to the sound of a ghost.

"So who's the ghost? What's it want?" asked Sam. He walked with his siblings off of Stage 9's set and into a trailer beside the set.

"Don't know. That's why we're lookin' at Brad's death scene," said Dean. He knelt down and put a DVD into the DVD player while Sam and Alex took a seat on the couch in the trailer. Dean hit Play on the remote and the three of them stared at the screen intently. A few minutes into the film, Alex spoke.

"Go back."

Dean hit Rewind and hit Play again. He hit Pause once Alex told him to. A woman stood in the corner of the set, dressed all in white.

"A ghost. Like spirit photography," said Dean.

"I've seen her before," said Sam, standing up and walking out of the trailer.

"Here, check this out," said Sam. He handed an old newspaper article to Dean. Alex looked over Dean's shoulder to read the article.

"Elise Drummond. Starlet in the 30's. She had an affair with the studio exec. He uses her, then fires her, so Elise hangs herself from Studio 9's rafters during a shoot," said Sam.

"Sounds like Brad," said Alex.

"Brad's death matches hers exactly," said Dean.

Alex looked between her brothers. "We're diggin' tonight, aren't we?"

Sam nodded and Alex groaned.

Alex held a flashlight as they walked through the cemetery.

"What I don't get is why now? I mean, it's been 75 years and Elise Drummond suddenly goes homicidal. Why this movie?" asked Alex.

She snapped her bubblegum and smirked at Sam's glare.

"I don't know, but here we go," said Dean.

Sam nodded and the boys rolled up their sleeves, handed their flashlights to Alex, and began digging up the grave.

Once they had reached the coffin, Dean handed his shovel to Sam and opened the coffin's lid. He climbed out of the hole they had dug and watched as Sam poured on the salt and Alex poured the gasoline. Dean lit a match and threw it on top of the bones. The body caught on fire and all three of them watched it burn.

The next day, the siblings watched as crime scene investigators inspected the latest death that had happened on set late last night.

"Run in with a fan. Happened to an electrician back in '62," said Sam.

"It's not Elise's MO. What the hell?" asked Alex.

"So what are we dealin' with? Another ghost?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, but these things don't usually tag-team," said Alex.

Dean shrugged. They followed the crowd of people outside where the director was talking. Alex blew a bubble with her gum and then popped it out of boredom.

"Alex," warned Sam.

Alex smirked and did it again.

"Dammit, Alex. You're driving me insane."

Sam moved away from her and Alex just laughed.

A few hours later, the Winchester siblings were back in a trailer, sitting on the couch and watching the complete finished film.

"Did you find out where the electrician's buried?" asked Sam.

Dean opened the mini-fridge that sat in one corner of the trailer and pulled out a water bottle. "He was cremated."

"Great. Now what?" asked Alex.

Dean shrugged and sat next to Alex on the small couch as Sam played the movie once again.

"Maybe the spirits are trying to shut down the movie 'cause they think it sucks," said Sam.

Alex laughed and patted his knee.

"I mean, it kinda does."

The three of them sat in silence and after about five minutes of watching the awful film, Sam's eyebrows creased together as if he was deep in thought. He rewound the DVD and sat up, causing Alex to remove her hand that had been resting on his knee.

"Listen to the invocation," said Sam.

Alex and Dean sat up as well and listened closely.

"That's the real deal," said Alex.

"What the hell's that doing in a Hollywood movie?" asked Sam.

"I have no clue, but I think I know where to start asking questions," said Dean. He got up from the couch and Alex and Sam followed him.

Dean walked into Martin's office first, Sam and Alex right behind him. Martin was the writer of the film and he looked up from his paperwork as they entered.

"What are you still doing here? We shut down production."

"We just had to tell you we read the script," said Sam.

"It's pretty rockin', right?" asked Martin.

The three siblings nodded in agreement with Martin.

"I loved all of the detail. The rituals and spells," said Sam.

Martin's face fell. "You mean that Latin crap? No, that's Walter. Walter Dixon, the original writer."

"Walter, the P.A., Walter?" asked Dean.

"No, he's not a P.A. I had to rewrite his whole script because it was so full of bullshit," said Martin.

He reached behind him and pulled out a copy of the original script. He handed it to Sam. "That's all that Latin shit you wanted. Now, get out of here."

Back in the trailer, Dean flipped through the original script that Martin had just given them.

"Reads like a how-to manual for conjuration," said Sam.

"And he's pissed at these people for wrecking his movie," said Dean. He threw the script on the coffee table.

"Motive and means," said Alex. Suddenly, they heard a scream erupt from Stage 9. The three of them rushed out of the trailer with weapons in hand, heading for Stage 9.

Dean rushed into Stage 9 as a ghost was dragging Martin towards a huge fan. Dean pulled his shotgun up and shot at the ghost, causing him to disappear. The fan shut off then and Martin looked up at Dean.

"You are one hell of a P.A."

"Yeah, I know."

Dean held out his hand to Martin, who took it. Dean pulled him to his feet and watched him leave the building, never looking back. Dean caught up to Sam and Alex on the other side of the stage after Martin had left. He looked up the stairs and saw Walter at the top, looking down at the three of them.

"Making spirits murder for you? That's playing with fire, Walter," yelled Sam.

"You don't understand. You put your heart and soul into something and then, they take it!" yelled Walter, his forehead shining with sweat.

"Walter, it's just a movie," called out Alex.

"Look, I got nothin' against you three. Please, just leave. But Martin has to stay."

"No can do," said Dean.

"Then I'm really sorry," said Walter.

He held up a summoning necklace and began chanting, his eyes closing. Wind began to blow through the studio and three ghosts suddenly appeared a few feet from the three of them. Dean held up his shotgun, ready to shoot, as the ghosts approached. When the ghosts were only about a foot away, they disappeared. The three siblings looked around in confusion when Sam was suddenly thrown to the ground.

"C'mon, let's move!" yelled Dean. He helped Sam up and they ran into the house that was part of the film's set. Sam slammed the front door closed and pulled Alex into his chest to protect her. They turned to face the back of the house and saw that there was no back to the house. Dean loaded his shotgun and Alex stepped away from Sam, an idea forming in her mind. She pulled out her cell phone and pulled up her video recorder. She began to scan the room slowly.

"If film cameras can pick these things up…" She trailed off as a ghost appeared on the tiny little screen. She pointed to it.

"Dean, right there!"

Dean shot and it disappeared. "Got him."

She scanned the room again and saw a ghost in another corner of the house.

"There!"

Dean shot once again and that ghost also disappeared.

"Alright, keep doin' that. I'm gonna go after Walter," said Sam.

Alex nodded and stuck close to Dean's side as Sam left.

Sam was waiting on the roof of Stage 9 as Walter quickly ran up the stairs and stepped onto the roof.

"It's over, Walter. Now give it to me."

Walter shook his head and threw the talisman on the ground, where it shattered into a million tiny pieces. Sam's eyes widened.

"There. Now no one can have it."

"I wouldn't have done that if I were you."

"Oh, yeah? And why not?" asked Walter.

"Because you just freed them. We can't stop them now," answered Sam.

Dean and Alex ran onto the roof, panting as they took in the scene between Sam and Walter. They stood by the entrance door to the roof where they had entered from and looked at the smashed talisman.

"Walter, you were the one who brought them back. You forced them to murder. They are not gonna be very happy with you," finished Sam.

He stepped over to where his siblings stood and watched as Walter was thrown to the ground by an unseen force. Alex held up her phone and the three of them watched as the ghost literally ripped Walter apart. Walter's screams were useless as the ghosts went at it. Dean took the phone from Alex's hands and pulled her into his side. They turned away from the gruesome scene and left the roof, Walter's screams becoming smaller and quieter as they left.

A week later, the Winchesters had moved onto a new case in a new state. It was early in the morning as they began a new investigation. They were at a museum after hours and Sam slowly opened the side door to get inside. The boys let Alex inside first, knowing what was going to happen once they entered. Dean looked at Sam once Alex was safely ahead of them.

"We gotta do it, Sammy. She'll be safe and this is the only way we can solve our case."

Sam nodded, but felt a pang of guilt for not telling Alex what was going on. In reality, Sam and Dean were planning on getting arrested at the museum tonight because it was the only way they could solve this particular case. Alex had been sleeping when they had plotted out all the details and they didn't want her in harm's way. So, they followed her into the museum, knowing she would get out of there safely.

Dean walked in behind Alex, holding his flashlight. "This way."

The three of them walked into a room that displayed all kinds of old weapons. Sam and Dean were digging through the display cases when Alex heard a rustling in the hallway behind them. She stopped and turned, causing Dean and Sam to stop rifling through the cases and listen. The boys looked up at each other and Sam nodded to Dean.

"Lex, stay behind me," said Dean. He kissed her forehead and Alex looked confused.

"What the hell's going on?"

Sam pulled her close for a hug and kissed her temple. "Whatever you do, stay behind us. Promise me, okay?"

Alex looked into Sam's eyes. "I promise."

Sam nodded and pushed Alex behind him and Dean. They rounded a corner into the hallway that they had just come through and ran into two police officers. They turned to go back the way they had just come, but more officers blocked their path. Sam grabbed Alex's hand and squeezed it. Alex looked up at him, biting her lip. Sam nodded imperceptibly and gently let go of her hand. Alex took a deep breath and dropped to the floor just as Sam and Dean began attacking the officers. Alex crawled away from the ruckus, but an officer grabbed her by the ankle. She kicked him off and then kicked him in the groin. He fell to the ground and Alex quickly finished crawling to the door. She glanced at her brothers, who had their hands on their heads in surrender. Dean looked at her and mouthed one word: "Go." Alex sighed, but pushed open the door and ran to the Impala.

Dean sat in an interrogation room, the walls white and bland. He looked at the metal table that his hands were resting on and sighed. He looked up as two agents walked into the room. They stood across from Dean, the table in between them.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Dean. I'm Special Agent Henrickson, and this is my partner, Special Agent Reid," said the tall, black man.

"The Milwaukee agent, Henrickson?" asked Dean.

"Live and in person."

Dean's smirk faded and Henrickson pulled out a photo of Dean, taken by a security camera. He set it down on the table in front of Dean.

"You can hang that in your cell. Read him the charges," said Henrickson, his eyes never leaving Dean's face.

"We got mail fraud, credit card fraud, grave desecration…" began Agent Reid, but Henrickson interrupted him.

"Skip to the good ones."

"Armed robbery, kidnapping, and three counts of first degree murder," finished Agent Reid. He closed the file folder he had been holding and looked at Dean.

"In Milwaukee, your brother is now a murder suspect himself. And your sister, too," said Henrickson.

He rested his hands on the table. "I nearly went nuts trying to find you three. And after all my searching, you and Sam get tripped up by a motion detector. But Alex got away. Again."

Dean smirked. "Well, she's a smart cookie."

"And a hot one. Damn, what I'd like to do…" began Agent Reid, but Dean stood up and glared at him.

"Talk about my sister like that again and I swear to all that is holy, I will not hesitate to hunt you down and kill you."

"Agent Reid, that was highly inappropriate," said Henrickson.

Reid nodded and remained silent. Dean sat down again, his eyes never looking away from Reid.

Dean looked up as Sam walked into the interrogation room. Agents Reid and Henrickson had left a few minutes before and Sam nodded at Dean, sitting beside him. A lawyer walked in after Sam, sitting across from the brothers at the metal table. She set her briefcase down on the shiny tabletop and opened it, pulling out a multitude of papers. Once she was finished, she looked at the two of them.

"Unfortunately, your arraignment isn't until Tuesday. And since no judge in his right mind is going to grant you bail, you'll be staying in the county jail," she explained.

"Yeah, we figured that," said Dean.

"Extradition papers have been filed in five different states. Missouri, Wisconsin, being the biggest concern."

"How long can we stall extradition?" asked Sam.

"A week. Maybe less," answered the lawyer.

Dean nodded. The lawyer smiled sadly at the two of them and set her papers back in her briefcase. She closed it and stood up.

"You have a visitor," she said, winking at them before leaving the room.

A second later, a skinny brunette with dark sunglasses perched on her face entered the room. She smiled at the lawyer as she left and handed her a $100 bill. Dean smirked as Alex removed her brown wig and her sunglasses. Sam shook his head.

"Alex, there are cameras all over this place!"

"Relax, Sammy. I paid off the lawyer to distract the camera guys and play a repeating loop of the two of you just sitting in here. How stupid do you think I am?"

Sam held up his hands in apology. "Sorry, sis."

Alex smiled and walked over to their side of the table. She hugged Dean tight and he kissed her temple. She hugged Sam next and then returned to her seat across from them.

"Guys, this has to be the dumbest, craziest thing you've ever done. And that's in a long storied career of dumb and crazy," said Alex.

"Calm down. It's part of the plan," said Dean.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Really? Henrickson showing up was in the plan?"

"Yeah, the guy moves a little faster than we thought. But all Sam and I gotta do is find the ghost and put it down. We'll be fine."

Alex sighed. "Just remember that you're doing this for Deacon, okay? He was Dad's friend and we owe him," said Alex.

Dean nodded and Alex stood up, putting her wig and sunglasses back on.

"Alright. Stay safe," she warned.

She hugged them one last time and Sam kissed her forehead.

"Love you, baby sis."

"Love you," said Alex, making her way out of the room and standing at the end of the hall, watching, as Sam and Dean were escorted out of the room and onto a bus, headed for the county jail.

Sam pushed his tray of prison food over to Dean.

"Here. Finish mine."

Dean nodded and stuffed the food into his mouth.

"Okay. Let's go over this again," said Sam. "Spirit suspect number one is Mark Moody, right?"

"Right. Psycho killer extraordinaire. Satanism, died in jail," said Dean.

"He died of a heart attack, which is exactly what the victims in here are dying of. He died in the old cellblock, which they closed after he croaked about 30 years ago. They just opened that back up when the killings started," explained Dean.

He took another bite of his food.

"So you think the spirit was released somehow?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded, throwing his fork down on his tray.

"I'm done."

He stood up and turned, bumping into another inmate. The inmate snarled and brought his fist back to hit Dean. Dean ducked and hit the man in the stomach.

"Hey!" shouted a prison guard.

Dean stopped punching the man and the guard grabbed him.

"Solitary."

Dean sat in his solitary cell, sitting down and leaning against the wall.

"I wish I had a baseball," said Dean, hoping the other inmate in the cell across the hall would respond.

"Well, I wish I had a bat so I could bash your freakin' head in!" yelled the man.

"Okay. So much for bonding in solitary moment," said Dean. He rested his head behind him on the wall as the lights began to flicker. Dean sat up and saw his breath, as it suddenly got colder in the room.

"Oh, shit."

The lights flickered again and Dean looked out into the wall through a small slot in the door. He watched as the clock on the wall stopped moving completely. Dean's eyes widened.

"Lucas. Listen to me. Stay very still."

Dean listened for a response and a few seconds later, he heard screaming from Lucas.

"Fuck!" yelled Dean.

Alex looked at the T.V. in her motel room, which was playing some awful made for T.V. movie. She glanced at the papers scattered on the table, and sighed as she wished she had company. Suddenly, a knock sounded on her door. She walked over carefully and smiled as she pulled back the curtain to see who was outside. She quickly opened the door and jumped into Kellan's arms.

"Hey, baby," he said.

He carried her inside the motel room, kicking the door shut. She got out of his arms and lay on her bed. She patted the space beside her and Kellan kicked off his boots, lying beside her. She grabbed his left hand and their fingers intertwined as he began stroking her hair with his free hand.

"I'm so worried about Sam and Dean," said Alex.

"I know, babe."

Alex sat up then and looked at him, her eyes pleading.

"Stay the night? Please, I can't be alone."

Kellan sat up as well and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Of course."

Alex smiled and kissed him gently. Kellan reached over and turned off the lamp beside her bed, and they were asleep within minutes.

That same night, Sam was stuck mopping floors with another fellow inmate.

"How you doin'?" asked Sam, trying to have a polite conversation.

"I'm 54 years old, mopping the floor of a crapper with bars on the windows. How do you think I'm doin'?"

Sam laughed, nodding.

"I'm Sam."

"Randall."

"Nice to meet yo- Randall?"

Sam stopped his actions and turned to the man.

"Hey. Weren't you there the night that guard died?"

Randall never stopped mopping and never looked at Sam.

"Yeah."

"Well, what happened?"

"They say the stress of the job got him."

"What do you say?" asked Sam.

The man ignored Sam's question and asked one of his own.

"Why you in here, kid?"

"I got an idiot for a brother," said Sam.

"Yep, that'll do it. But this place is The Hilton compared to the old cellblock."

"You spent time in the old block?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Didn't Mark Moody spend time over there?" asked Sam.

"He was there. You know, I was there too, the night that lunatic bit it."

"Heart attack, right?"

"Sure, his heart stopped right after the guards stopped using his head for batting practice," said Randall.

Sam's jaw dropped, but he quickly closed it and went back to his job of mopping.

"So he was beaten and nobody reported it?" asked Sam.

"You kept your mouth shut unless you wanted to die from the same heart attack, you know?"

Randall continued his mopping as Sam stood still once again.

"Randall, exactly how much blood was there?"

A few minutes later, Sam stood next to a table as Dean beat an inmate at poker. The man stood up after losing and Sam took his vacated seat.

"Look, I got a good lead on Moody," whispered Sam.

"Yeah, me too. His spirit paid a little visit last night," said Dean.

"What?"

"Clock stopped. Flickering lights, turned cold. He walked right by me. Lucas wasn't so lucky," said Dean.

"So I think I know where we might find his remains. Blood in his old cell," said Sam.

"Blood? I thought it was a heart attack."

"Nope. It _was_, after the guards beat him."

"How we gonna get in?" asked Dean.

"I got a plan. But how are we gonna burn something once we find it? We don't have any accelerant," said Sam.

"I got it covered," said Dean.

He stood up, and Sam quickly followed him out of the room.

Sam stood against the wall in the cafeteria as Dean provoked a huge, mean inmate. The inmate punched Dean in the face. All of the guards in the cafeteria rushed over to the fight and Sam snuck into the now empty kitchen. He grabbed a small saltshaker and opened the air vent. He climbed inside, just barely fitting.

"Fuck, I wish Alex was here," he whispered.

He climbed out of the vent once he reached the old cellblock. He stepped into the cell and found the dried blood on an old mattress. He poured the salt and the oil Dean had given him on the mattress and threw a match on top of it all.

The next morning, Dean sat on his bed in the infirmary.

"Hey, Tiny," he called out.

"Yeah?"

"Sorry about the things I was sayin' earlier. I can't really tell you why, but I had to get you angry. So, uh, sorry," said Dean.

"It's okay. Truth is, I have low self-esteem issues. My old man treated me and my older brother like crap right up till the day he died."

"How'd he die?"

"My brother shot him," said Tiny.

Dean raised his eyebrows and glanced at the door. His eyes widened as he saw a scary, crazed looking woman with blood-shot eyes standing there.

"Oh, fuck," muttered Dean, standing up.

"What is it?" asked Tiny.

The woman moved towards Dean and Dean grabbed the saltshaker off of his lunch tray. The woman entered his cell, walking straight through the door, proving she was a ghost. She put her hand on Dean's chest, right above his heart and Dean threw a handful of salt at her. She disappeared then and Dean quickly looked around for her. Suddenly, he heard Tiny screaming.

"Tiny!"

Dean banged on the cell's door.

"Guard!"

The next day, Sam and Dean were walking around in the prison's courtyard discussing the woman ghost that had killed Tiny.

"So you're telling me it wasn't Moody," said Sam, kicking a pebble with the toe of his ugly prison shoes.

"Not unless he's goin' around dressed like a nurse," said Dean.

"So this is the ghost of some nurse who worked here or somethin'?" asked Sam.

"I guess, man. But poor Tiny," said Dean.

"'I guess' isn't workin' for me, Dean. I called Deacon and we're getting out tonight, man."

"I guess we better do some quick research then."

"How? Maybe you haven't noticed, but we're in jail, Dean."

Dean nodded, his eyebrows pulled together in thought.

"Winchesters," called a guard from the door.

The boys turned towards the guard and the guard motioned them toward him.

"Visitor."

Sam and Dean walked inside.

Dean smirked as Alex walked up to them in yet another disguise. She had on a black wig this time. She sat down across from them at the metal table they were stationed at.

"So it's not Moody, huh?" asked Alex.

Dean nodded.

"It's a nurse, right? White hair, one screwed up eye? Ringin' any bells?"

Dean's smile beamed as Sam smirked, shaking his head.

"God, I fuckin' love you, sis," said Dean.

Alex smiled.

"I know. Anyway, her name was Nurse Glockner. Nasty old bitch worked her in the 70's. Apparently, guys would go up to the infirmary with a cold and come out in body bags. Whole rash of heart attacks. Young guys, old guys."

"Heart attacks?" asked Sam.

"Story was Glockner had it out for cons and she did this Charles Bronson thing with a hypodermic. No one ever proved anything," said Alex.

"What happened to her?" asked Dean.

"I don't know that one. Sorry."

Alex stood up and the boys hugged her.

"See you around," said Alex, winking and walking away.

In the visitor's center, Dean was sitting across from his lawyer, a partition of glass separating them. He talked to her through the phone.

"Her name was Glockner. She was a nurse here in the 70's. I need you to find out everything you can about her, but most importantly, how she died and where she's buried," said Dean.

His lawyer looked at him, her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Please. Just trust me on this," pleaded Dean.

That night, Sam and Dean stood in the middle of the empty prison cafeteria as the head security guard looked at them.

"Sam. Dean."

"Deacon," said Dean.

Deacon smiled at them.

"So. Is it over?"

"No. Turns out it wasn't Moody," said Sam.

"What? Then who?" asked Deacon.

"We think it's an old nurse who used to work here."

Deacon nodded and took an envelope out of his pocket.

"Guys, your lawyer left this for you. Maybe it'll help you destroy this bitch," said Deacon.

He handed Dean the envelope and Dean opened it, silently reading the letter and then looking at Sam and Deacon.

"Glockner died in the old cell block right after Moody bit it. Seems they had a little inmate uprising, she got caught in the middle. An inmate dragged her to a solitary cell and gave her a severe cerebral edema."

"Say where she's buried?" asked Sam.

"Yep," said Dean.

He folded up the letter and stuck it in his pocket.

"I can't thank you boys enough. Your daddy raised you and your sister right," said Deacon.

He hugged them both and opened a compartment in the wall that led to the outside world.

"Now hurry. I'll sound the alarm in about five minutes. Get outta here," said Deacon.

He watched Sam, then Dean, climb into the small compartment and then he closed it behind them as they crawled to freedom.

Sam and Dean smiled as they crawled out of the side of the building and saw Alex leaning against the hood of the Impala. She stood up straight and smiled back at them.

"Oh, baby. I missed you," said Dean.

He bypassed Alex and touched the hood of his beloved car.

"Nice to see you too, bro," said Alex, rolling her eyes.

Sam laughed and pulled Alex into a huge hug.

"Alright, let's go. We're not out of the woods yet," said Dean.

He started up the car and they headed for the cemetery.

Dean slammed the Impala's trunk closed and slung his duffel bag over his shoulder.

"We better hurry. Lawyer lady's gonna talk," said Alex.

Dean cursed and walked faster through the cemetery.

Sam had his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows as he dug up the grave of Nurse Glockner. Once he was finished digging, he jumped out of the hole he had just dug and watched as Alex poured gasoline and salt onto the dead body. Dean threw a lit match onto the body and it burst into flames. The three of them watched it burn.

Sam carried Alex on his back as they walked back to the Impala through the cemetery. Her arms were around his neck and her legs were hitched on either side of his waist. He was holding her thighs.

"Well, it looks like your lawyer came through," said Alex.

"Yep. I'm quite the smooth talker," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and Sam set her down on the pavement as they reached the Impala. Alex kissed his cheek and the three of them threw their bags in the trunk, climbing in the car and heading to the next job they could find.

Dean was driving down the road, his radio blasting with classic rock and his head bobbed along with the music. His cell phone rang and he flipped it open.

"Did you and Alex get checked in to the motel?" asked Dean, skipping the greeting once he saw that Sam was the one calling.

"Yes, but there's a cop car outside," said Sam.

Sam stood looking out the window of their motel room as Alex stood behind him glancing at the cop car outside. Books were spread out on the table in the room.

"They there for us?" asked Dean, turning his music down in the car.

"I don't know, man."

Sam sighed in relief as the cop car pulled away and drove off.

"False alarm."

Sam sat down at the table and Alex sat beside him.

"Got anything yet?" asked Sam, still holding the phone to his ear.

"How can I? You've got me in the middle of nowhere."

"That's where all the victims went missing, Dean. I'm pretty sure we're hunting a djinn," said Sam.

"A fuckin' genie?" laughed Dean.

"Oh my God." Sam sighed. "Come pick Alex and me up so we can go check locations together," said Sam.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Stay safe," said Dean, hanging up and cranking the music back up as he stepped on the gas pedal. 

Dean walked into the huge, old warehouse with a knife dangling in his right hand. He held a flashlight in his left hand and tightened his grip on the knife as he rounded the corner into another long hallway. Dean carefully walked down the hallway, looking for signs of life. Suddenly, a man jumped out from the shadows, pinning Dean into the wall. He had tattoos covering every inch of his visible skin and one of his hands held Dean by his throat while the other hand emitted a blue glow. He put the glowing hand on Dean's forehead and Dean fell unconscious.

The crack of thunder awoke Dean from his sleep. Dean sat up in his bed, looking over at the TV that was still on. The volume was muted, but an old scary movie was still playing, but Dean was looking at the woman lying beside him in bed. She was sound asleep, her chest rising and falling steadily as she slept. Dean swung his legs over the edge of the bed and got dressed, putting his cell phone that rested on top of his dresser in his pants pocket before heading down the stairs.

Dean walked into his living room, flipping the light switch up to bathe the room in a light glow. He grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Sam's number.

A very tired sounding voice answered. "Dean?"

"Sam."

"Dean, what's goin' on?" asked Sam, sounding a little more awake as he realized what time it was and how urgent Dean's call must be to call him so early.

"I don't know. I don't know where I am, man."

"What happened?" asked Sam.

"The djinn, uh, attacked me," explained Dean, a little embarrassed.

"The djinn? You're drinking gin?"

"No, asshole, the djinn. The scary creature, remember? He put his hand on me and then I woke up next to some hot chick," said Dean, pacing his living room.

"You mean Carmen? Look, you're drunk. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Sam hung up and Dean sighed. He flipped his phone shut and set it on the nearest end table. He picked up the mail that was sitting on the table.

"Lawrence?" questioned Dean, looking at the return address on the envelopes.

"Honey?"

Dean looked up from the pile of mail in his hands as the woman from his bed strode over to him, wearing her robe and looking concerned.

"What are you doin' up?" she asked.

"Hey, Carmen. I, uh, can't sleep," said Dean.

Dean set the mail back down on the end table and Carmen smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Well, I'm sure I can help with that."

She smiled and Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Uh, sure. You go ahead, I'll meet you up there," said Dean.

Carmen nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before turning away and walking back upstairs. Once she was gone, Dean walked over to the bookshelves that lined the left side of the living room. He looked at all of the photos in frames resting there. They were all of him and Carmen smiling, a perfectly normal, happy couple. Dean smiled as he glanced at all of the other photos. He picked up another frame, his smile quickly fading as he stared at the picture. He dropped the frame on the ground, the glass shattering, as he rushed toward the front door and outside to his car.

Dean threw the Impala into park and stepped out of the car. He jogged up the front porch steps of the house and banged on the front door. He rang the doorbell twice and watched as the front door opened.

"Dean," said the woman who opened the door.

"Mom," said Dean.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him.

Dean said nothing, just stared at her face.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know," whispered Dean.

Mary Winchester sighed, but grabbed her oldest son's arm and pulled him inside his childhood home, where she still lived. She shut the door once they were both safely inside the home.

"Carmen called and said you took off all of a sudden," said Mary, walking into the living room.

"Carmen. Right. Let me ask you a question. When I was a kid, what did you always tell me before you put me to bed?" asked Dean, staring at his mom.

"I told you angels were watching over you," answered Mary.

Dean crossed across the room and wrapped his mother into a huge hug. She hugged him back, rubbing his back soothingly.

"I'm so happy to see you," said Dean.

He released his mother and walked over to the bookshelves, looking at the framed photos lining them.

"Was there ever a fire here when I was young?" asked Dean.

"No," said Mary.

"Hmm, I thought there was. Guess I was wrong."

Dean picked up a picture of his dad playing softball. Mary stood beside him and glanced at the picture he was holding and laughed softly and gently.

"Your father loved that stupid team."

She looked up at him sadly.

"Dad's dead?" asked Dean.

Mary looked at him, confused.

"Honey, he had a stroke. He died in his sleep, you know that."

Dean nodded and set the framed photo back on the shelf. He turned to his mother.

"Mom, I wanna stay here tonight. I miss the place," said Dean.

He sat on the couch and Mary gently touched his cheek.

"You sure you're okay?"

Dean nodded and closed his eyes as his mother kissed his forehead. She patted his shoulder and Dean turned to watch her leave the room. She stopped in the doorway and smiled at him.

"Get some rest. I love you."

"Me too," said Dean.

He watched his mother climb up the stairs before he laid back on the couch and closed his eyes to catch some sleep.

The next morning, Dean was opening the Impala's trunk to look for hunting weapons. He smirked when he opened the trunk and saw no guns. He slammed the trunk closed and glanced across the street. A girl stood on the sidewalk, staring directly at him. She wore a long, flowing white gown. Dean began crossing the street to get to her when a car horn blared from down the street. Dean was startled and got out of the middle of the road so the car could pass him. When Dean looked up again, the girl was gone. Dean shook his head and headed back into his childhood home.

Dean was sitting on the front porch steps when a blue Ford Fusion pulled up to the house. Dean stood up as Sam and Jessica got out of the car. Dean quickly ran over to them, reaching Jessica first. He pulled her into a huge hug.

"Good to see you, Dean," she said, awkwardly patting his back.

Dean finally let go of her and turned to Sam.

"So where'd you guys come from?" he asked Sam.

"We just flew in. From California," said Sam.

"Stanford!" exclaimed Dean, throwing his arms up in excitement.

Sam forced a smile on his face and motioned to the opened beer Dean was holding in his hand.

"See you started off Mom's birthday with a bang, as usual."

Dean's enthusiastic smile quickly faded.

"Wait. That's today?"

"Uh, yeah, Dean. That's why we're here. Don't tell me you forgot," said Sam sadly.

Dean was saved from answering when another car pulled up and parked behind Sam's Fusion. Alex stepped out of the car, followed by Kellan, who was holding a toddler in his arms. When they were safely on the driveway, Kellan set the little boy down.

"Alright, buddy. Go tell Grandma Happy Birthday."

The little boy ran into the house, his squeals of excitement echoing across the front lawn. All of them smiled as they watched him run into the house and Alex and Kellan joined the circle of adults in the driveway.

"Alex," said Dean, looking at his youngest sibling.

He pulled her close and pulled her into a tight hug. Alex looked at Sam, who stood behind Dean, but Sam just shrugged. Dean finally let her go after a few minutes and he shook Kellan's hand firmly.

"So that little boy was…" Dean trailed off, waiting for someone to answer him.

"Um, your nephew. John Andrew McCarthy," said Alex, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion at Dean's strange behavior and questions.

Dean nodded, trying to play it off.

"I knew that."

Alex shook her head and raised her eyebrows.

"Alright, this is strange," she whispered under her breath.

"C'mon, let's go say hey to Mom," said Sam.

He followed Jessica inside, Alex right behind him with Kellan's hand firmly in hers. Dean finished out the gang, shutting the front door as he entered the house.

That night, at dinner, Alex squealed in delight as she saw the engagement ring on Jessica's finger.

"You're engaged?" she asked.

Jessica nodded, a huge breathtaking smile on her face. Mary stood up, walking around the table to hug her son and Jessica. Dean shook Sam's hand.

"I'm so glad you're happy," said Dean.

He looked past Sam's shoulder for a split second and saw the girl from earlier in the day, but she was now wearing a gray dress that was dirty and torn. She looked beaten, bloody, bruised, and abused. Dean abruptly stood up, his entire family watching him, confused, He moved through the restaurant crowd toward the girl, but she was gone when he finally got to where she had been previously standing. He turned back around, distraught, to see his whole entire family staring at him.

An hour or so later, the women entered the house, laughing amongst themselves. Sam pulled Dean aside into the dining room as everyone else walked into the living room.

"What the hell was that back at the restaurant?"

"Oh, I, uh, thought I saw someone. It was nothing," lied Dean.

Sam nodded, unconvinced, and they turned, walking into the living room where everyone else was already sitting.

"I had a lovely birthday. Thank you," said Mary.

They all smiled and Mary walked upstairs to go to sleep.

Alex turned to Kellan.

"Honey, I need to talk to my brothers real quick. Can you get John and take him to the car please?" asked Alex.

Kellan nodded and stood up. He leaned down to give Alex a quick kiss before jogging up the stairs to get his son from the guest bedroom where he was sleeping. Sam kissed Jessica, who still sat in the living room, as the three siblings walked into the kitchen to talk.

"Dean, what's gotten into you?" asked Sam, leaning against the counter and folding his arms across his chest.

"Um, what do you mean?" asked Dean.

"We mean this whole warm and fuzzy thing," said Alex.

"I'm just happy for Sammy," explained Dean, smiling.

"Since when do you call me Sammy? Dean, we don't talk outside of holidays. When you called me a few days ago at two in the morning, I thought you were dying. The last time someone called me that early was when Alex was in labor," said Sam.

"Well, we should talk more often than holidays and births. You're my siblings, my brother and sister."

"You know, that's what you said when you stole my ATM card," said Sam, his eyes cold.

"Or bailed on my son's birth," added in Alex.

Dean sighed.

"I'm sorry," said Dean.

"Look, we're not asking you to change. We just don't have things in common," said Sam.

Alex nodded and she and Sam moved past Dean to leave the room. Dean watched them walk out the front door, Sam with Jessica in tow. Once they had all left and were gone, Dean sat on the couch, his head in his hands.

Later that night, Carmen was asleep in their room while Dean was sitting on the couch in their apartment. He held a beer in his hand and the television remote in his other hand as he flipped through the channels. He stopped on the news to take a sip from his beer and glanced at the headlines. He turned the volume up, set his beer down on the coffee table, and leaned forward, listening intently.

"And today marks the anniversary of the United Britannia Flight 424 crash last year. A candlelight vigil was held in an Indiana town…"

"Oh, no. We stopped that crash," whispered Dean.

Dean pulled his laptop onto the kitchen table and read about the plane crash. He also read about every single job that he thought that he and his siblings had completed. The jobs were never done. Every person they had ever saved was gone because no one had ever been there to save them. He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, slamming the laptop closed.

The next morning, Dean stood in front of his father's grave at the cemetery.

"All of them. Everyone that you saved, everyone that Sammy, Alex, and I saved. They're all dead. And there's this woman haunting me. I don't know why, I don't know the connection yet. It's like my old life is comin' after me or somethin' like that. But why is it my job to save these people? What about us?"

The tears rolled down Dean's face as he stared at his father's engraved tombstone. He stood there for quite a while before wiping away his tears and leaving the cemetery.

That night, Alex heard a slight rustling in the kitchen that woke her up. She sat straight up in bed, glancing at her alarm clock on her bedside table. It read 12:45 AM. She then glanced at her husband, Kellan. He was sound asleep, facing away from her. His muscular back was turned towards Alex, the covers only covering his bottom half. Alex sighed, kissed his cheek gently so as not to wake him, and climbed out of bed, heading towards the kitchen.

Alex walked down the stairs and flipped on the kitchen light to see Dean digging through the drawer full of silver knifes, forks, and spoons.

"Dean, why are you rummaging through the silver?" asked Alex, leaning against the kitchen doorway with her eyebrows raised and her arms crossed across her chest.

Dean whirled around to face his youngest sibling, looking at her skeptical facial expression.

"Honestly? I need money. I lost a game of poker," answered Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"I don't know how we're related. I can't _believe _we're even related."

"Alex, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we don't get along and I wish to hell I could stay and fix it. But I gotta do this. People's lives depend on it."

He grabbed a few silver knifes from the silverware drawer.

"What are you talking about, Dean?"

"Nothin'. Just, uh, tell Mom I love her."

Alex's face looked very confused as Dean kissed her forehead gently and walked past her to the front door.

"And kiss my nephew for me."

Alex watched as her oldest sibling walked out her front door before sighing. She trudged up the stairs, checked on her still sleeping son, called Sam, and got dressed.

Dean watched as Sam pulled up to Alex's house. Sam climbed out of his car and walked slowly over to the Impala, where Dean sat. He climbed in the passenger seat after Dean had unlocked the door. Alex finally walked over to them from her house's front porch, where she had been sitting and waiting for Sam to arrive.

"Get out of here. Both of you," said Dean.

"Nope. We're going with you," said Sam.

"You're just gonna slow me down."

"Tough luck," said Alex, opening Sam's door and climbing into the backseat of the Impala.

"This is dangerous and you both could get hurt," said Dean.

"So could you, Dean."

"I don't understand. Why are you doing this?" asked Dean, looking at his siblings.

"'Cause you're still our brother," said Sam.

Dean stared at him for a little while before putting the car into drive and pulling away from the curb.

A few minutes into their drive, Alex grabbed the brown paper bag that was resting beside Dean and she pulled out a container of blood.

"Dean, why do you have blood?" asked Alex.

"You don't really wanna know," answered Dean.

"No, I really, really wanna know," said Sam.

Dean sighed.

"I needed a silver knife dipped in lamb's blood to hunt this thing called a djinn," explained Dean.

Alex placed the container of blood back into the brown paper bag and set it back down beside Dean.

"Thanks."

Alex held onto Sam's hand as they walked slowly through an old abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. Dean was obviously leading the way while Sam and Alex trailed behind him.

"There's nothin' here, Dean," said Sam.

Suddenly, they all stopped talking when they heard what sounded like crying coming from a few rooms away.

"What the hell was that?" asked Sam.

"Be quiet and keep your mouths shut," said Dean.

The three of them walked around the corner and saw two skeletons hanging by their wrists from somewhere above them. They were drained of blood and Dean looked over to see the girl that had been haunting him recently shackled up the same way the skeletons were hanging except she was still alive, but just barely.

"Dean, what the hell is going on here?" asked Sam.

They all quickly hid behind a wall as they heard someone entering the room from around the corner. The djinn appeared and touched the young girl, who was still hanging from the ceiling. She fell back asleep and the djinn creature drank some more of her blood as she slept. Once he was finished, he climbed up a set of stairs and entered a small office a few feet above the siblings and the girl.

"The djinn doesn't grant you a wish, it just makes you think it does," whispered Dean, still hiding behind the wall with Sam and Alex.

"Dean, please. Let's just go," pleaded Alex.

"What if this is me? What if this is all in my head?" asked Dean, standing up as he came to the realization that his life right now was no longer his reality.

Dean pulled out his silver knife, getting ready to stab himself when Sam yelled at him.

"Wait!"

Dean watched as his whole entire family walked up to him. His mom, Carmen, Jessica, Kellan, and his nephew, John. They all gently smiled at him.

"You're not real," whispered Dean, his eyes filling up with tears as he stared at all of them.

"Give me the knife," said Alex, holding her hand out with her palm up.

"I'm sorry," said Dean.

He stabbed himself right in the middle of his abdomen.

"Dean!" yelled Alex.

Dean's eyes slowly opened. He was strung up from the ceiling, his face and body pale from blood loss.

"Oh, thank God. I thought I lost you for a second," said Alex.

"You almost did," croaked out Dean, his throat dry.

He winced as she pulled the IV needle out from his neck and threw it down on the dirt-covered floor. She reached up to cut him down from his bindings when the djinn came out from the shadows to attack them both. Sam charged at the creature from the left side as Alex began frantically cutting Dean free. The djinn had Sam by the throat when Alex suddenly grabbed silver knife dipped in lamb's blood and stabbed the djinn right in the middle of its back. The djinn fell to the floor, dead. Dean sat down beside it, sighing.

Dean was sitting on one of the motel room beds as Sam got off of his cell phone. Alex sat next to Dean as Sam approached them.

"The girl's stabilized," said Sam, referring to the girl that they had rescued from the djinn's lair. Dean nodded.

"You should've seen our lives. Alex, you had a son," said Dean.

"Really? Was he cute?" asked Alex.

"Adorable. And Sam, you were a pussy. We didn't get along."

Sam nodded, smirking.

"Well, I'm glad we do. And I'm glad you dug yourself out, Dean," said Sam.

"Yeah. I wanted to stay. So badly," said Dean.

"But we save lives everyday. And we do it together," said Alex.

Dean smiled.

"Yeah. We do."

Sam smiled as well and Alex kissed Dean's cheek as they all sat together, one happy, but somewhat dysfunctional family.


	30. Chapter 30

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update! School has been keeping me busy, but I promise to try and work harder and get better at updating quickly! Don't give up on me!

Chapter 30

Dean pulled up to an old-time looking diner in the middle of nowhere and put his precious Impala into park.

"Don't forget the extra onions this time," said Dean, handing a $20 bill to Sam.

Sam sighed, but got out. He pushed the passenger seat forward and let Alex out behind him. Dean gave her a questioning look as to why she was leaving the car.

"I gotta pee," she said.

Dean nodded.

"Hey, see if they got any pie," said Dean as Sam and Alex walked into the diner.

He turned up the radio as Sam and Alex walked into the diner. Alex entered the restroom and Sam walked up to the counter to place their dinner order.

Back in the parking lot, the radio began to fade in and out, static coming through the speakers more and more. Dean tapped the dial, but it wouldn't stop. He turned around to look out his back window to see if there was anything that would mess up the signal, but he saw nothing. He shrugged and turned back around to face the front. He looked up and into the diner windows, but there was no one inside. Dean hurried out of the car and ran inside, the bell over the diner's door jangling as Dean opened the door. He glanced in all of the booths. The man who was sitting in the first booth was dead, his face down on the table in a pool of crimson blood. Dean pulled his gun out from his waistband and stepped forward slowly.

"Sam? Alex?"

Dean walked around the counter and saw two more people dead on the floor. He entered the kitchen and pushed open the back door of the diner, sticking his head out slowly and looking in every direction for his siblings.

"Alex? Sam?"

Dean slammed the door closed and looked at the white substance that was now on his hands.

"Sulfur," he whispered to himself.

He quickly ran into both restrooms to check for his siblings there, but he knew they weren't there. Dean rushed back outside to the front parking lot, rain splashing against his legs and pouring onto his face as the storm finally hit.

"Sammy! Alex!"

Sam awoke in a foreign place and took in his surroundings as he slowly and cautiously sat up, looking around. He was lying on some sort of wood structure, Alex also sitting up beside him. They both stood up slowly and saw that they were in some sort of old, abandoned ghost town. Alex grabbed Sam's hand and they walked together, Sam interlacing their fingers, needing her confidence and comfort just as much as she needed his.

"Our cell phones don't work out here," said Alex.

Sam nodded and they stepped up to one building, Sam peeking into the window. They heard a squeaking noise, so Sam quickly grabbed an old piece of wood and held it up to protect not only himself, but his sister as well. A man came around the corner and ducked swiftly as Sam swung at him.

Alex glanced at the man and her face showed confusion.

"Andy?" she asked.

"Alex? Sam? What are you doing here?" asked Andy.

"We don't honestly know," said Sam, throwing the piece of wood to the ground and wiping his hands clean on his jeans.

"I just woke up in fuckin' frontier land, I don't know where I am," said Andy.

"Well, what's the last thing you remember?" asked Alex.

"Honestly, my fourth bong load. All of a sudden, there was this really intense smell, like a…"

Andy trailed off as he tried to come up with the words to describe the intense smell.

"Like sulfur?" asked Sam.

"How do you know that?"

"Dean," said Sam.

"Your brother. Is he here?" asked Andy.

"I don't know where he is," said Alex.

She shivered from her thoughts and Sam grabbed her hand again as reassurance. A scream suddenly sounded from behind them and they all quickly jumped up and began following the sound. They came to a locked closet and Sam broke the lock with a large rock that was lying beside his foot. He pulled the small closet door open quickly and saw Ava inside.

"Ava?"

"Oh, my God. Sam," cried Ava.

She ran out of the small and tiny closet space and into Sam's arms, crying hysterically.

"Guess you guys know each other," said Andy.

Ava stepped out of Sam's hold, her crying finally starting to subside. She wiped her tears off of her face using her jacket sleeve.

"Ava, you've been gone for five months. Have you been here the whole time?" asked Sam, concern etched all over his face.

"No, no, no, no. That's impossible, Sam, because I just saw you two days ago," said Ava.

"No, you didn't, Ava. I'm sorry," said Sam.

Ava looked over at Alex and Andy.

"This is Andy and my twin sister, Alex," introduced Sam.

Ava nodded in understanding.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" called out another voice.

The four of them quickly ran into the middle of the small town they were currently trapped in and saw a young black man and a small white woman standing there.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" asked Sam.

"Think so," said the man.

"I'm Sam."

"I'm Jake."

"Lilly," said the girl behind Jake.

"Are there any more of you?" asked Sam.

Jake shook his head slowly.

"How did we even get here? A minute ago, I was in San Diego," said Lilly.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I went to sleep last night in Afghanistan," said Jake, explaining the Army uniform he was dressed up in. Ava's eyebrows rose.

"Let me take a wild guess. Um, you two are both 23?" asked Sam.

Lilly and Jake looked at him strangely, wondering how he had known.

"We all are. And we all have abilities. Started a little over a year ago? Found you could do things, things you didn't think were possible?"

All of them stared at Sam.

"We have visions," said Alex, joining Sam's side. "We're twins and we see things before they happen."

"Yeah, me too," said Ava.

"And I can put thoughts into people's heads, make 'em do stuff. But don't worry, it doesn't work on you guys," said Andy.

"I touch people and their hearts stop. I'd kill for something like visions," said Lilly.

"So who brought us here?" asked Andy.

"It was, um, a demon," said Sam, looking at the ground as he answered.

Dean looked at the map that Bobby had spread out over the Impala's hood.

"This is it. All demonic signs and omens over the past month," said Bobby.

"There's nothin' here," said Dean, looking at Bobby.

"Exactly. That's what I'm tellin' ya. It's completely quiet."

"Then how are we supposed to look for Alex and Sam?" asked Dean.

He pulled his now ringing cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Ash. What have you got?"

"Listen, Dean. I can't talk over this line. It's huge. So get here. Now," said Ash cryptically.

He hung up quickly and Dean slammed his phone closed as well.

"Looks like we're goin' to the Roadhouse," said Dean, looking up at Bobby.

"Look, I know it sounds crazy," said Sam.

"Crazy doesn't even begin to cover it," said Jake.

"Honestly, I don't really care what you think. Now, we have to- "

"The only thing I gotta do is stay away from wack jobs, okay? I've heard enough. I'm better off on my own. FYI, so are all of you," said Jake.

He stepped off of the porch he had been standing on and walked away from all of them. Alex sighed and Lilly looked straight at Sam, her arms crossed across her chest.

"C'mon," said Sam, turning around and leading the way into the town, going the same direction as Jake.

Alex walked in step with Sam as they traveled through the little tiny abandoned town that they were all currently stuck in. Suddenly, they heard a struggle coming from a small building to their left. Everyone ran towards it and saw Jake inside the building. A little demon girl was slowly walking towards Jake and Sam stepped inside the doorway, grabbing a fireplace poker from inside a basket that rested inside the doorway of the building. Sam swung the fireplace poker at the young demon child, who was now standing directly in front of Jake. She turned into a cloud of black smoke as Sam swung the poker through her and she disappeared out through the door.

"Just so you know, that was a demon," said Alex.

She led the way back into the center of the small town and pointed to a bell that was hanging from a building.

"I've seen that bell before. I think I know where we are now."

"Kolduck, South Dakota," said Sam, recognition filling his eyes. "A town so haunted, every single resident fled."

"Swell," said Ava sarcastically.

"Clearly the only sane thing to do here is to get the hell out of Dodge," said Lilly, walking away from all of them.

"But Lilly, we have to all stick together!" said Alex.

"Please, don't say we. I'm not part of we."

"Please. Just stay," pleaded Sam.

Lilly looked at Sam and then at the others in their small circle of people.

"Fine," said Lilly, walking back towards them.

Dean pulled his car into the Roadhouse parking lot to see half of the building burnt to the ground.

"What the hell?" asked Dean.

He drove up to the still smoking ruins and he and Bobby quickly got out of the car. They walked through the still somewhat smoking rubble carefully.

"I don't see anyone," said Bobby sadly.

Dean knelt down and saw a blackened wrist with a watch on it lying in the rubble.

"Aww, Ash. Damn it!"

Sam led the way through one of the abandoned buildings as they all looked for any sort of weapons with which to protect themselves with. He opened a trunk that was lying in a dusty old corner and found a rather long knife. He stuck it in his back pocket.

"Guys, I found something!" yelled Andy.

They all ran to the room that Andy was standing in. He held up two full bags of salt.

"Salt! That's wonderful, Andy," said Alex.

"Um, where's Lilly?" asked Sam, scanning the room with his eyes and finally noticing that she wasn't in there with all of them.

All of them looked around quickly as Sam had just done, but didn't see her either. They all walked outside, calling her name when suddenly, Ava looked up and screamed, her hands flying up to cover her mouth in shock and horror. Lilly's now lifeless body was hanging from the town's old windmill, a noose wrapped around her neck. She was dead and Ava turned away in horror.

"She was trying to leave," whispered Alex.

"I'll get her down," said Jake, trudging over to where Lilly's body was hanging and climbing all the way up to the top of the windmill to remove her carefully.

"Hey, Andy? Do you think you could maybe send thoughts to Dean?" asked Alex, biting her lip.

"Sure. Do you have something he touched?"

Alex dug around in her pockets and found a receipt from a couple of days ago. She handed it to Andy and he held it in his palm, closing his eyes as he tried to reach Dean.

Dean was standing next to his precious Impala when his head began to hurt, and badly.

"Dean?" asked Bobby.

Dean put his palm to his forehead as the pain significantly increased. He saw the bell that Alex had spotted earlier and then the pain suddenly decreased, finally stopping after a couple of minutes.

"What was that?" asked Bobby.

"Headache. But I could've swore I saw something," said Dean.

The headache suddenly came back, the pain worse than the last one, and Dean fell to his knees, groaning along with the intense pain he was feeling in his forehead. He saw that same bell again, along with the faces of Alex and Sam. Bobby quickly rushed over to him.

"Bobby. I saw Sammy and Alex this time."

"Anything else?" asked Bobby.

"Um, there was a bell. It had an engraving on it. Like an oak tree almost," said Dean.

Bobby stood up then, looking at Dean.

"Dean, I know exactly where Sam and Alex are."

Alex poured salt all over the windows and floors to keep any and all demons out from their hideaway. Sam did the other room as the thunder loudly clapped outside. Alex stood up from her crouch as Sam entered the room. She looked at him, her lower lip in between in her teeth as she tried to hold back the tears she'd wanted to release all day. Sam looked at her sadly, and Alex just burst into tears. Sam crossed the room in two large strides and pulled her into his chest.

"Shh," he soothed.

Alex cried into his chest.

"I just want to go home. I wanna see Dean."

"I know, I know," said Sam, stroking her hair.

He sat down on the ground as comfortably as he could with Alex situated in his lap. He held her until she cried herself to sleep in his arms, her head leaning against his chest as she peacefully slept. Ava and Andy were also already asleep as Jake finally entered the room. He had been in the other room, keeping to himself. He held a tire iron in his hands as he walked in. Sam looked up at him. Jake glanced at Alex, who was still sleeping in Sam's lap.

"I'll take first watch," said Jake.

Sam nodded and Jake turned away from all of them, standing in the doorway. Sam rested his head on top of Alex's and fell asleep quickly, more exhausted than he fully realized.

A few hours later, Sam awoke with a jolt and looked down at Alex, who was also awake. She smiled up at him and kissed his cheek, thanking him for letting her sleep. She climbed out of his hold and saw down beside him. Andy was still asleep in the middle of the room, but Ava was no longer in the room with them.

"Bathroom," said Alex, and Sam nodded.

"Alex, the yellow-eyed demon was in my dream," said Sam.

"And?"

"He said only one of us was gonna leave here alive. He only needs one of us," whispered Sam.

"Well, I kinda knew that," said Alex.

"He also showed me Mom's death."

Sam looked at Alex.

"She already knew him, Alex."

Alex's lips parted to respond when Jake ran into the room, panting.

"Ava's missing."

Alex stayed in the room with Andy as Sam and Jake went outside to look for Ava. Alex and Andy were standing in a small circle of salt that Sam had made around them when they heard a creak come from the adjacent room. Andy began to step out of the circle when Alex grabbed his arm.

"Andy, please. Don't," begged Alex.

Andy shrugged her off and stepped out of the circle.

"I'm sorry, Alex. Just stay in here, I'm sure it's nothing. I'll be right back, kid," reassured Andy.

Andy left the room with Alex calling after him.

"Andy! Damn it, come back!"

Andy stepped slowly into the next room to see Ava with her back towards him.

"Ava. Where'd you go? Didn't you hear us all yelling?" asked Andy.

Alex closed her eyes and sighed from the other room.

"Fuck this," she said, and stepped out of the circle. She quickly crawled towards the window that showed the other room where Andy was with Ava. Alex watched as Ava ran her fingers through the window sill, breaking the salt barrier. It was such a subtle movement that Andy didn't even notice.

"Fuck, she's possessed," whispered Alex.

"Yep, I heard you," said Ava.

Andy's face fell as he watched Ava summon the small demon girl from earlier that almost attacked Jake. The demon entered through the window.

"What are you doing?" asked Andy.

"Andy, get back in here now!" yelled Alex.

But it was already too late. The demon had pushed Andy to the floor and was killing him as Ava watched with a sadistic smile on her face the whole entire time. Once Andy was finally dead, Ava's smile faded and she screamed in terror. Sam quickly rounded the corner and ran into the room.

"What happened?"

Sam glanced at Andy's dead body and his eyes widened.

"How'd that thing get in?"

Alex stepped into the room then and she looked at Sam. They stared at each other for a few seconds and Sam turned back to Ava.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"I just went to get some water from the well. I was only gone, maybe two minutes," replied Ava.

Sam glanced at around the room, quickly spotting the window sill and the line of salt that had been disturbed.

"Who did that?" he asked, pointing to the window sill.

Ava glanced at it.

"I don't know. Maybe Andy."

"Andy wouldn't do that. Ava, that line wasn't broken when I left."

Ava smirked, wiping away her fake tears.

"I've been here a long time. And people just keep showin' up! Batches of three or four."

"You killed them?" asked Alex.

"I'm the undefeated heavyweight champ," said Ava.

Alex sighed and Sam's face looked disgusted with this girl that he once knew. Ava put her hands to her temple and closed her eyes, beginning to summon the demon girl once more, but before she could finish, Jake came up from behind, grabbed her head and twisted it to the side, breaking her neck with a sickening crunch.

The demon girl disappeared and Ava's lifeless body fell to the floor as Jake dropped her.

Dean and Bobby pulled up to the edge of the abandoned ghost town. They popped the Impala's trunk and grabbed a ton of guns. They quickly headed into the small town to find Alex and Sam.

"I think we can make it out of here now," said Sam.

He, Jake, and Alex walked into the street and began heading out of the small town.

"We gotta go," said Alex, grabbing Sam's hand and pulling him along.

"No, not we," said Jake.

He stopped walking and both Alex and Sam turned to face him.

"Only one of us is gettin' out of here. I'm sorry."

"What?" asked Sam.

"I had a vision. That yellow-eyed demon talked to me!"

"No, Jake. You can't listen to him," said Alex.

"He's not letting all of us go. Only one. He'll kill us if we don't play along. Now, I like you guys, I really do. But do the math," said Jake.

Sam sighed and pulled the knife out of his pocket.

"Just let my sister go. Please," plead Sam.

Jake looked at Alex, conflict raging behind his deep brown, almost black, eyes. Finally, he sighed.

"Go. Now!"

"Sammy, come with me," begged Alex.

Sam pulled her into a hug, staying strong for the both of them. He kissed her forehead, his eyes closing as he did so to hold back his tears.

"Alex, I can't protect us both well enough in this fight. Now, just go. I'll catch up with you later, I promise. I love you. Please, just go."

Alex nodded and ran away from them, turning a corner and disappearing from their sight. Sam set the knife he held onto the ground.

"Just come with me, Jake. Don't do this. Don't play into what it wants," said Sam.

Jake also set his own weapon down onto the ground as the rain began to fall slowly from the sky. Sam nodded, but Jake took advantage and punched Sam. Sam flew back into a small field of now dead grass and Jake sauntered toward him. Sam kicked Jake when he came close, but Jake bounced right back up. He hit Sam in the back and dislocated Sam's right shoulder. Sam didn't even flinch and nailed Jake in the stomach, causing Jake to fall to the ground in a moment of weakness. Sam walked over to the weapons and grabbed the tire iron. He walked back over to where Jake was gasping for breath and hit Jake over the head repeatedly with the tire iron, knocking him out cold. He threw the tire iron to the ground as the rain began to fall harder.

Alex rounded a corner and literally ran straight into Dean and Bobby.

"Alex," said Dean, relief evident in his voice.

Alex ran into his embrace and Dean held her close, breathing in her scent.

"Alex, where's Sam?" asked Bobby.

"He was with Jake. Jake was gonna kill him," said Alex, her voice muffled since she was still huddled into Dean's chest.

"Well, let's go find him," said Dean.

He pushed Alex in between Bobby and himself as they all walked forward into the middle of the small town.

Sam held his right arm in pain as he walked toward the sounds of his name being called. He rounded the street corner and saw his small family of Alex, Dean, and Bobby.

"Sam," said Dean, relief evident in his tone as he saw his younger brother walking towards them.

"Dean," cried out Sam.

"Sam, look out!" yelled Dean.

Jake suddenly came up from behind Sam and literally stabbed him in the middle of the back. Jake dug the knife further and further into Sam's spinal cord as Sam fell to his knees.

"No!" cried Dean, already running towards Sam.

Bobby and Alex ran for Sam as well. Once Dean and Alex reached their sibling, they fell to their knees in front of Sam as Bobby ran in pursuit of Jake. Dean grabbed the front of Sam's jacket to look at him and to hold him up.

"Sam."

Sam's head fell forward, his eyes already closed, onto Dean's shoulder.

"Sam. Hey," said Dean.

He put his hand on Sam's wound. His hand came away covered and drenched in Sam's blood.

"Sam, look at me."

Sam slowly picked his head up to look at his brother, his eyes barely opened.

"It's not even that bad, alright? Sammy!" cried Dean. "We're gonna patch you up. I got you, I'm gonna take care of you. It's my job, right? Watch after my pain in the ass little brother."

Sam's eyes slowly fluttered closed again and he stopped breathing, his body limp against Dean.

"Sam? Sammy?"

Alex began sobbing as Dean laid Sam's head on his shoulder. Dean's eyes filled with tears as he held his little brother's dead body in his arms.

"Sam!" he cried out as the tears finally spilled over.

Dean leaned against the doorframe of the room that Sam laid in. Sam's body rested peacefully on an old mattress. Alex was asleep in the next room, curled up into a ball on a small pile of jackets. Bobby entered the small house, holding a bucket of fried chicken in his hands.

"I brought you this. You really should eat something," said Bobby.

"I'm fine," said Dean.

He turned and walked over to the table where Bobby stood. He took a long drink from a whiskey bottle, and then set it back down on the table.

"Dean, I hate to bring this up, I really do. Don't you think maybe it's time we bury Sam?" asked Bobby.

Dean looked at him sternly. "No."

He sat down at the table, the dark circles under his eyes more visible in the lights.

"Dean, something big is going down. Like end of the world big," said Bobby.

"Then let it end!" yelled Dean angrily.

"You don't mean that."

Dean stood up quickly, his chair falling to the floor. He stood directly in front of Bobby, his eyes flashing dark with rage.

"You don't think so? Huh? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. If you know what's good for you, you'll turn around and get the hell out of here. Go!" yelled Dean, shoving Bobby angrily.

Bobby stumbled, but looked at Dean sadly.

"I'm sorry. Please, just go," said Dean softly.

He turned away from Bobby.

"Well, you know where I'll be."

Bobby turned and walked out the front door. Dean listened carefully and heard the door slam shut as a small tear fell down his cheek.

Dean was sitting at the table a few hours later when he heard Alex begin to stir. He stood up slowly and walked over to where she was lying down. She was sitting up now and Dean sat down beside her.

"Where's Bobby?" she asked, a large yawn overtaking her small mouth as she stretched.

"We, uh, had a fight. So he left," answered Dean.

Alex nodded sadly.

"I miss Sammy," she whispered after a few long moments of silence.

Her tears fell onto Dean's arm and Dean pulled her into his side as she cried once again.

"I know. Me too."

He laid down beside her on the makeshift bed and Alex laid her head on his chest, her tears spilling onto his shirt as she cried herself to sleep once again.

Dean pulled Alex to the small couch in the room and he pulled a dining room chair up the Sam's bed.

"You know, when you were little and you couldn't have been more than five, you just started askin' questions. How come we didn't have a mom, why do we always have to move around. Where'd Dad go? He'd take off for days at a time. Remember, I begged you to quit askin', Sammy. You don't wanna know."

Dean stared at Sam's body as he paused.

"I just wanted you and Alex to be kids. Just for a little while longer. I always tried to protect you two. Keep you safe. Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just always my responsibility, you know? It's like I had one job, that one job."

Dean leaned forward in his chair, his elbows resting on his knees as the tears entered his voice. He didn't notice Alex leaning against the doorway, listening to him.

"And I screwed it up. I blew it. And for that, I'm so sorry."

Tears fell down his cheeks as he looked at Sam's dead body.

"But I guess that's what I do. Let down the people I love. I let Dad down. And now I guess I'm just supposed to let you down too? How can I? How am I supposed to live with that? What am I supposed to do? Sammy," cried Dean, his tears falling rapidly now.

Once he had himself under control, Dean stood up, turned around, and spotted Alex leaning against the doorframe.

"What am I supposed to do now?" he asked.

Alex shrugged, wiping away her tears. She hugged Dean and kissed his cheek gently.

"I don't know, big brother. I just don't know."

Alex was sitting in the room with Sam's body as Dean shrugged on his jacket. He quietly snuck out of the house and got in the Impala. He peeled out of the gravel road and went to the nearest crossroads. He put together a box and stuffed it in the ground. He looked to his right and there stood a beautiful demon woman in a slinky black dress.

"Dean. It is _so_ good to see you," she said. She appraised him before continuing. "So you're following in Daddy's footsteps, huh? You wanna make a deal."

She smiled.

"Little Sammy back from the dead and you're offering up your own soul?"

"And it's all yours. All you gotta do is bring Sam back. Give me 10 years. And then you can come for me," said Dean.

"You must be kidding.

"It's the same deal you give everybody else."

"You're not everybody else, darlin'. Why would I wanna give you anything?"

"Nine years," bargained Dean.

"No."

The demon smiled and walked away from him.

"Make sure you bury Sam before he starts stinkin' up the joint," she said as she walked away from Dean.

"Wait," called out Dean.

They both turned around to face one another.

"What do I need to do?" he asked.

She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'll bring him back, I will. And because I'm such a saint, I'll give you one year and one year only. But if you try to weasel your way out, the deal's off. Sam drops dead like before. So, what do you say? Deal?"

Dean looked at her closely before grabbing the back of her neck and pulling her mouth to his, sealing the deal with a kiss.

Alex was pacing in the kitchen, redialing Dean's number for what seemed like the millionth time, when she heard gasping from behind her. She froze, her eyes widening.

"No," she whispered.

She slowly turned around to see Sam sitting up on the bed. He looked at her, his eyes just as wide as her big blue ones.

Alex and Sam were looking at Sam's stab wound in the mirror when they heard the door open. Alex let go of Sam's shirt, which she had been holding up to get a better look at his almost non-existent stab wound, and both Sam and Alex watched Dean walk into the room they were currently standing in. Dean stared at Sam, relief flooding his face.

"Thank God," whispered Dean.

He grabbed Sam and held him in a tight hug. Sam groaned in pain and Dean quickly let go.

"Sorry. I'm just so happy to see you up and around."

The boys sat down at the small kitchen table and Alex stood behind Sam's chair, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"What happened to me?" asked Sam.

Dean quickly glanced up at Alex, who shook her head, indicating that she hadn't told Sam anything.

"Well, what do you recall?" asked Dean, leaning forward in his chair with his elbows resting on his knees.

"I saw you, Alex, and Bobby. I felt this sharp pain and that's about it," recalled Sam.

"Yeah, um, that kid stabbed you in the back. You lost a lot of blood," explained Dean. "Who was that guy anyway?"

"Jake. Did you get him?" asked Sam.

"Nah, he ran off into the woods," said Alex.

"We have to find him. I'm gonna kill him," snarled Sam, his hands clenching into fists as he suddenly stood up.

Dean stood up as well.

"Whoa, hold on. You just woke up. Let's get something to eat," said Dean.

Sam nodded, his anger subsiding.

"I'll get some pizza," whispered Alex.

Sam was asleep once again as Alex and Dean stayed awake, watching him.

"Dean, you know he's not gonna wait. He'll want to fight. We'll have to go see Bobby," said Alex.

Dean sighed, knowing she was right. He rubbed a hand through his hair.

"I know," he whispered.

The nest morning, Dean knocked on Bobby's door as he, Alex, and Sam stood on the front doorstep. Bobby opened the door and just stared at Sam.

"Sam. It's good to see you up and around."

Sam stepped inside, patting Bobby's shoulder.

"Thanks for patchin' me up."

Sam continued into the house with Dean and Alex following him. Bobby shut his front door and looked at Alex. Alex shook her head and pointed to Dean's retreating form. Bobby nodded.

Alex and Dean walked outside with Bobby as Sam stayed inside, looking over some new information Bobby had found on their current case. Once they were far enough away from the house, Bobby turned to face them. He looked straight at Dean.

"What did you do?!"

Dean looked at the ground.

"You made a deal for Sam, didn't you? How long they give you?" asked Bobby.

"Bobby," sighed Dean, not wanting to hash all of his problems out in front of Alex.

"How long?" asked Alex, looking at her oldest brother.

"One year," answered Dean, his eyes suddenly filled with pain.

"Damn it, Dean," said Bobby, as he watched Alex walk away from them.

"Which is why we gotta find this yellow eyed son of a bitch. I got nothin' to lose," said Dean.

"What is it with you Winchester men? You, your dad. Just itchin' to go to hell," said Bobby.

"I couldn't let him die, Bobby. He's my brother."

"Yeah, and how's your brother gonna feel when he finds out you're going to hell? How do you think Alex felt when she found out John brought her back?" asked Bobby.

"Alex," whispered Dean.

"Yeah, Alex. Did you think about her at all?" asked Bobby.

Dean sighed, knowing he had seriously messed up. Bobby nodded and walked over to where Alex was standing, Dean following him.

"Alex," said Dean, his voice pained.

"Did you ever think about me? Sammy dying hurt me too, but I was always there for you. I was alive and well. I wanted to help, but you wouldn't let me in. And now, you're gonna die. Do you know how much that's gonna kill me? I just lost one brother, and now, I'm gonna lose another," said Alex, looking up at Dean.

"I'm sorry," whispered Dean.

"Sorry won't change anything. You're still gonna die in a year," said Alex.

"I know, but-"

"Guys! I got something!" yelled Sam.

That night, Dean and Alex hid behind some tombstones as they watched Jake pass by. They were in a cemetery in Wyoming, where Hell was literally about to break loose. Bobby and Sam were also hidden among the headstones, along with Ellen, who had survived the fiery blaze that had burnt down the Roadhouse. As Jake reached out to open the doors of the mausoleum that housed Hell, Sam stepped into Jake's line of sight.

"Howdy, Jake."

Bobby, Ellen, Dean, and Alex also emerged from their hiding places, guns raised at their enemy. Jake stared at Sam, in complete and total shock.

"Wait. You were dead, I killed you."

"Next time, I guess you better finish the job," replied Sam.

"I did. I cut clean through your spinal cord, man."

Sam looked over at his siblings, confusion written all over his face.

"Just take it real easy there," said Bobby.

"And if I don't?" asked Jake.

"You'll see!" yelled Sam.

Jake continued to look at Sam. He began laughing.

"Hey, lady."

Jake's eyes flashed as he looked at Ellen.

"Put that gun to your head."

Jake smiled as his psychic powers made Ellen point her gun at herself.

"Shoot him," said Ellen.

"Put your guns down," said Jake.

Everyone except Ellen put their guns on the ground. Jake ran to the mausoleum, stuck his gun into the special keyhole, and the keyhole began spinning quickly. Sam ran over to Ellen, knocking the gun out of her hand. He shot Jake six times, killing him instantly. The gun and the keyhole stopped spinning. Dean grabbed the gun from the hole.

"Take cover, now! It's Hell!" he yelled.

The siblings jumped over tombstones and Dean and Sam shielded Alex with their bodies as Hell literally broke loose.

"What the hell just happened?" yelled Dean.

"That's the Devil's Gate, a damn door to hell," answered Ellen.

"We gotta shut it," said Bobby.

The five of them all jumped up, running toward the gates. Dean held the special gun that had unlocked the gates of hell in his grasp.

"If the demon gave this to Jake, then maybe…"

Dean turned around, but the yellow eyed demon was already there behind him. He grabbed the gun from Dean and flung Dean across the graves. Dean hit his head on a tombstone, causing his head to begin bleeding profusely. Ellen, Bobby, Sam, and Alex were trying to shut the gates when Alex saw the demon walking towards Dean again.

"Dean!" yelled Alex.

She ran to him, but the demon saw her coming and flung her into a tree, keeping her stuck there with his demonic powers.

"Dean!" she screamed, trying to break free and struggling profusely.

She watched as the demon spoke to Dean, wondering what was being said. Suddenly, a figure came up behind the demon, grabbing him. The gun, also called the Colt, fell from his grasp as John Winchester wrestled the demon. Dean grabbed the Colt as John let go of the yellow eyed demon and Dean shot him. The demon fell to the ground, dead, a huge bullet hole through his forehead.

Ellen, Bobby, and Sam finally got the gates of Hell shut and Alex was broken of the hold the demon had placed on her. The siblings all looked at their father. John Winchester let a small tear roll down his face as he smiled at his beautiful children. All of their own eyes welled up with tears as he stepped back and disappeared once again, leaving their lives, yet again.

The siblings stared at the now dead yellow eyed demon that had been haunting them and their family for so long.

"Our whole lives has led up to this," said Sam, looking at the demon.

"That was for our mom, you son of a bitch," said Dean, looking at the demon with utter disgust and contempt.

"C'mon. Let's get outta here," said Alex.

They walked to the car together.

"Alex," called out Sam.

Alex stepped back to walk beside her twin brother.

"What really happened the night I was stabbed?"

Alex said nothing, just grabbed her bottom lip with her teeth and began chewing on it nervously.

"Tell me the truth. Please," whispered Sam, a pleading look in his eyes.

Alex looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears.

"He only got one year," she answered.

Sam sighed and looked at her.

"Why would he do that?"

"To save you. Always to save you," said Alex.

Sam ran a hand over his face.

"We're gonna get him out of this. I don't care what it takes. He's our older brother. It's now time for us to save his ass for once," said Sam.

Alex nodded. Sam smiled and pulled her in for a side hug. He kissed her temple gently.

"I love you, baby girl."

I love you, Sammy."

The two of them stepped onto the road where Dean, Ellen, and Bobby stood, next to the Impala.

"Well, I hope you three are ready for a war. There were at least 100 demons that got out, maybe more," said Bobby.

Dean nodded and opened the Impala's trunk. Sam and Alex stood on either side of him and Dean threw the Colt into the trunk, along with the rest of their arsenal.

"We got work to do," said Alex, and Dean slammed the trunk closed.

Sam and Alex sat in the Impala, giving Dean some privacy as he hooked up with a girl he picked up in the local bar. Sam flipped through a book about crossroad demons, trying to save Dean from his deal, while Alex sat in the backseat, trying to fall asleep. Suddenly, Sam's phone rang. Sam pulled it from his pocket and answered.

"Hello?"

"Sam," said Bobby, on the other end of the call.

"Hey, Bobby."

"What 'cha doing?"

"Ah, same old stuff."

"You buried in that book again?"

Sam didn't answer and Bobby sighed.

"The answer to saving Dean won't be in a book," said Bobby.

"I know," sighed Sam.

"Well, you three better pack it up. I think I got something."

"Will do," said Sam, hanging up.

He threw his phone in a cup holder and groaned.

"You have to get Dean, huh?" asked Alex, sitting up in the backseat.

Sam looked at her, nodding.

"Well, good luck!"

Alex laughed and Sam glared at her as he opened his car door.

An hour later, the three siblings were on the road to Lincoln, Nebraska.

"What's Bobby got?" asked Dean.

"Not much, just some crop failure and cicada swarms outside of Lincoln," answered Sam.

Dean shook his head in frustration.

"It's our only lead," said Alex.

"I know, but it's just weird. The night the Devil's Gate opened, all these storm clouds were spotted over 17 different cities and there's been absolutely nothing," said Dean.

Sam sighed.

"Be careful what you wish for," whispered Alex, lying down in the backseat and closing her eyes.

The next morning, Dean pulled up to a run-down house in the middle of nowhere. Bobby stood out in front of it, so they all three climbed out of the Impala.

"Hear those cicadas?" asked Sam.

Dean and Alex nodded.

"Nice to see you three. Now, let's go in," said Bobby, leading the way into the old house.

They headed up onto the front porch of the house, Dean picking the lock. The four of them stepped inside and almost immediately gagged at the rancid smell surrounding them.

"That can't be good," whispered Sam.

They each pulled out a weapon and began slowly walking through the house. Dean walked with Bobby, while Sam obviously stayed with Alex.

"Hey, listen," whispered Sam.

A woman was talking and they followed the sound, kicking down a door and gagging at the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh, worse than when they had all stepped into the house. A small family sat on their living room couch, dead and rotted. Flies buzzed all around them and the T.V. was on. Dean and Bobby entered the room, their faces disgusted.

"Bobby, what the hell happened here?" asked Sam, his nose buried in the crook of his elbow so as to block the disgusting stench.

"I have no clue," answered Bobby.

"Check for sulfur," said Dean, and they all went to work.

Dean was checking out the windowsills when a shadow passed by outside on the front porch. He stood up slowly and quietly whistled, getting the attention of the others. They all separated, taking areas of the house to inspect.

Dean walked slowly onto the front porch, only to be attacked and knocked to the ground. A shotgun was shoved into his face and a fierce looking man and woman looked at him.

"Isaac? Tamara?" asked Bobby, standing and watching from behind Dean.

Dean watched as Bobby walked up to the couple and they smiled warmly at him.

"Hey, Bobby," said Isaac, shaking his hand.

Bobby helped Dean up then, and followed the couple out to their car.

A few hours later, Bobby and the Winchesters stood in the basement of Isaac and Tamara's house. Dean was on the phone with a woman from the coroner's office, asking about the dead family they had recently found. Sam and Alex stood with Bobby, looking through all of Isaac and Tamara's hunting items. Dean hung up the phone a few minutes later and looked at all of them.

"So, get this. The family died of dehydration and starvation."

"But there was a fully stocked kitchen not feet away," said Bobby, his eyebrows pulling together in utter confusion.

"It's like they sat down, but never got up," said Dean.

"Well, what now? What should we do?" asked Alex.

"Uh, we're not doing anything," said Isaac. "We don't play well with others."

"And no offense, but we're not teaming with the damn fools who opened the Devil's Gate," added Tamara, looking down on them.

Alex stepped forward to give them a piece of her mind, but Sam grabbed her wrist, holding her back and in place.

"You brought a war down on all of us," said Isaac.

He glared at the four of them and Bobby took a step away from the couple of hunters he once knew.

"Fine. We know when we're not wanted," said Dean.

He grabbed Alex's elbow gently and led her away from Isaac and Tamara, Sam and Bobby quickly following the two of them.

The next afternoon, Sam watched as police inspected the scene of a murder that had taken place just an hour or so before he had gotten there. He looked at the blood on the sidewalk before entering the department store across the street from the crime scene, where Dean stood, asking people questions. Sam walked up to him, watching a very pretty girl give Dean a hug and then walk away.

"Dean, what are you doing?" asked Sam.

"Comforting the bereaved. What are you doing?" asked Dean.

"Workin'," answered Sam.

Dean nodded, accepting Sam's answer, and whistled as Bobby approached them wearing a suit and a tie.

"Whoa, Bobby. What were you?"

"An attorney for the D.A.'s office. I just spoke to the suspect."

"Well, what'd you think? Was she possessed?" asked Sam.

"I don't think so. None of the usual signs were there. She just really wanted those shoes," said Bobby. "You guys find anything around here?"

The boys shook their heads, but then Alex came up to them, a DVD perched in her small hands.

"Security camera film," she said, handing it to Bobby with a smirk on her flawless face.

Later that day, they all watched the film and saw the female suspect talking to a man. He pointed out the woman who had the shoes and then he gently touched the suspect's shoulder.

"Here's our guy," said Alex.

At ten minutes past midnight, Dean, Bobby, and Alex sat in the Impala. They were parked outside of an old bar, hoping to catch the man from the film. Sam knocked on the window and climbed in the backseat with Alex, sitting next to her.

"So John Doe's name is Walter Rosen. He went missing 'bout a week ago," said Sam.

"The night the Devil's Gate was opened," said Alex.

Sam nodded.

"You think he's possessed?" asked Dean.

The other three nodded.

"Hey, look," said Bobby.

He pointed out the window to his right and they all watched as Walter Rosen climbed out of his car and headed into the old bar.

"Don't move just yet. We don't know what to expect from demons like these. We need to wait and see," said Bobby.

"Yeah, I don't really think that's an option anymore," said Sam.

He nodded towards the left, where Tamara and Isaac had just stepped out of their own car and were heading into the bar right behind Walter Rosen.

"Damn it!" yelled Bobby, banging his hands on the steering wheel.

"We gotta help them," said Sam.

Bobby nodded and the four of them climbed out of the Impala. Dean and Bobby ran for the door, trying to knock it down, but it wouldn't move. Sam and Alex grabbed weapons from the Impala's trunk. As they shut the trunk, they saw Dean and Bobby running back toward them.

"We're gonna have to drive through the door," said Dean, climbing back into the Impala's driver's seat.

The rest of them also climbed into the car and hold on for dear life as Dean punched the gas pedal all the way onto the ground and headed straight into the bar.

Tamara was screaming in pain as they ran down and through the doors. They all rushed out of the vehicle, pouring holy water over all of the demons in the bar. Sam grabbed Tamara, who was screaming for Isaac. Alex looked down at Isaac, who was lying in a pool of his own blood, dead and on the floor. She shook her head and got into the car behind Sam, while Dean and Bobby continued fighting off the demons. Bobby hopped into the driver's seat while Dean still continued fighting off Walter Rosen. He shoved Walter into the Impala's trunk and ran to the front of the car, literally leaping into the passenger seat.

"Go, go, go!" he yelled, once he was safely and fully inside the vehicle.

As Walter sat tied in a chair in another room, the Winchesters yelled at Tamara, trying to explain to her why she couldn't go back for Isaac, her now dead husband.

"You don't even know how many there are!" yelled Sam.

"Yeah, we do, actually," said Bobby, holding a rather large book in his hands. "Seven. Do you have any idea who we're up against?"

Dean shook his head, but Alex looked at Bobby, her huge, blue eyes opened wide in complete terror.

"The seven deadly sins," she whispered. "Of course."

Bobby nodded.

"The family. They were touched by Sloth," said Sam, finally beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"And the shopper?" asked Dean.

"That's Envy, tied up in the very next room," said Bobby.

"Isaac was touched by Gluttony," said Alex.

"We've never faced a thing close to this, so we're gonna take a deep breath and figure out what our next move is, alright?" said Bobby, shutting the large book he had been holding in his hands and setting it down on a nearby end table. Tamara left the room to speak to Walter Rosen and the rest of them followed her, not wanting it to get completely out of control.

"So you know who I am, huh?" asked Walter, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Why are you here?" asked Sam.

Walter just laughed at all of them.

"We already have what we want."

"And what's that?" asked Alex.

"We're out. We're free. Thanks to you, my kind are everywhere," said Walter, still smirking.

Tamara stepped up to him and punched him directly in the face two times before Dean and Bobby grabbed her and pulled her away from Walter Rosen. Walter flexed his jaw a few times, but then began smiling again.

"The truth is, you are just animals. We're not sins, man. We are natural human instincts. Oh, and the others? They're comin' for me."

"Maybe, but they're not gonna find you," said Dean.

"'Cause you'll already be back in hell," finished Alex.

She handed Tamara the book of exorcisms and followed Bobby and her siblings out of the room as Tamara began reading.

Once Envy had been sent back to Hell, the gang began gearing up for the other demons to find them. Sam sat with Alex and Dean as they all loaded their guns and found more holy water to use as a defense mechanism. Sam stood up once his weapon was loaded and looked out into the night. Dean and Alex stood beside him, but saw nothing. Salt covered all of the doorways. The night was silent until they heard Isaac's screams piercing the night air.

"Tamara! Help me!"

Bobby looked at Tamara, who had begun to cry, her lower lip trembling slightly.

"Don't do it, Tamara."

Tamara looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry, Bobby."

She opened the front door and ran out into the night and straight into Isaac, knocking him to the ground. Once she opened the front door, all of the demons ran inside, searching for their companion, Envy. One demon saw Bobby and walked towards him, but Bobby led him right into and under a Devil's Trap that was painted onto the ceiling.

Dean ran through the halls of the abandoned house, running right into the pretty, blonde demon. She smiled at him and pushed him into a bedroom.

"I suppose you're Lust," said Dean.

"Baby, I'm whatever you want me to be," she said, grabbing the back of Dean's head and pulling it towards her so she could finally kiss him.

Alex and Sam stood together in one room, their flasks of holy water gripped tightly in their hands as three demons entered the room. They stepped closer, but one looked up, noticing the Devil's Trap that was painted onto the ceiling.

"You really think something like that would fool me? Me?" asked the man in the front of the pack.

"Let me guess. You must be Pride," said Sam.

The man nodded, a smile on his face, and gently waved his hand, cracking the ceiling and the trap in half. All three of the demons smiled and stepped ever closer to Sam and Alex, closing in on them and leaving no way of escaping.

"And you are Sam Winchester," said Pride.

Sam's eyes looked confused.

"Yes, we've heard all about you. Prodigy. The boy king. Lookin' at you now, I gotta tell you. I don't believe the hype."

Alex looked up at Sam then, fear clearly evident in her eyes.

Dean walked backwards slowly as he kept kissing the demon of Lust. Once he was far enough back, he shoved her forward and into the bathtub, which was full of holy water. She screamed and fought against his hold, but Dean continued holding her under the water.

Pride grabbed Sam once he was close enough and put him in a headlock, Sam fighting him every step of the way. Alex reached out and punched one of the remaining two demons in the nose, but the other one grabbed her and held her arms behind her back. As both twin siblings struggled, a blonde woman suddenly appeared in the doorway of their room, wielding a very strange looking knife. Alex watched as this woman cut one of the demon's throats. The demon that was still holding Alex let go of her to fight this mysterious blonde woman. The demon punched her, but the woman turned around and stabbed the demon in the neck, kicking the lifeless body to the ground. Pride finally let go of Sam to grab the girl, but Sam punched him in the nose and he let go of her. The girl finally jabbed her knife into his throat and the lifeless body fell to the hardwood floor. Sam stared at the blonde woman, his chest rising and falling as he took fast and quick breaths. Alex stood up from her sitting position, standing beside him, breathing heavily, as well.

"Who the hell are you?" they asked in unison.

"I'm the girl that just saved both of your asses," she replied.

"Well, I just saved yours too," shot back Sam, a smirk on his face.

She smirked right back at him.

"See ya around, twins."

She left the room then, never once looking back at them.

"What the fuck just happened?" asked Alex.

Sam shrugged, just as confused as his twin sister.

The very next day, Sam, Alex, and Dean threw all of the dead bodies into a gigantic hole as they also salt and burned the bodies. They watched as Tamara gave Isaac a Viking funeral. Bobby walked up to the three of them, glanced at Tamara, and then spoke.

"The pretty girl and the heavy guy will make it."

"What kind of blade could kill a demon?" asked Sam.

Bobby shrugged. "I have no clue."

"So if we let out the seven deadly sins, what else did we let out?" asked Alex.

The four of them looked at the burning bodies once again, not answering the question.

"Hey, Bobby? We can win this war, can't we?" asked Sam.

Bobby didn't answer, but just looked straight ahead instead.

"See you later, kids."

He walked over to his car and they all watched him pull away.


	31. Chapter 31

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

**Chapter 31**

That night, Dean was fast asleep in his bed, snoring loudly. Sam sat on the motel room bed that he shared with Alex, his laptop open and on. Sam scrolled down a website page about crossroad demons, looking for a way to save Dean. Alex sighed as she stepped out of the bathroom and saw Sam on his laptop once again. She walked over and sat next to him on the bed.

"Sam, it's late. Get some sleep."

Sam shook his head and Alex sighed.

"Alex, I have to save Dean from this stupid deal."

"You can't," she whispered.

Sam stopped scrolling down the webpage he was currently looking at and looked at her sadly.

"What did you just say?"

"I said, you can't save him. If you save him, you die again. He couldn't live with that, so he made the deal," explained Alex.

Sam cursed and shut down his computer, slamming it closed and setting it on the floor beside his bed.

"I'm sorry, Sammy, I really am," said Alex, looking at him.

"It's not your fault," said Sam.

He pulled her into his side and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled into him comfortably and fell asleep within minutes, while Sam stayed awake, thinking of any possible ways to save Dean.

Sam and Alex sat in a local café, Sam on his phone, talking to Bobby.

"Bobby, we have to save him," said Sam.

Alex looked around the café for Dean, waiting for him to walk in. She smacked Sam's shoulder when Dean walked into the café.

"Uh, okay. Bye," said Sam, ending the call and looking up at Dean as he stood at the end of the table.

"Who was that?" asked Dean.

"No one. Just ordering pizza," said Sam.

Alex sighed, shaking her head at Sam's lame excuse as Dean looked around the café, a smirk beginning to form on his lips as he turned back to look at Sam.

"Dude, they serve food here."

"I know. I just felt like pizza," said Sam.

Dean raised his eyebrows, but sat across from them in the booth.

"I think I got somethin'. Cicero, Indiana. Guy falls on his own power saw," said Dean, handing the newspaper article over to Sam and Alex.

"That's it? One power saw?" asked Alex.

"Well, yeah," said Dean.

"And you think this is a case?" asked Sam.

Alex looked at Dean, drumming her fingers on the tabletop and staring at Dean until he finally caved and told the truth.

"Alright, there's somethin' else in Cicero," admitted Dean.

"And she is?" asked Alex, smiling.

"Lisa Braden," smirked Dean. "I took a road trip about eight years ago when you two were with Dad once. I spent most of my time in Lisa Braden's loft."

"So you wanna drive all the way to Cicero to hook up with some chick?" asked Sam.

"It's my dying wish!" exclaimed Dean.

Alex and Sam looked at Dean, their faces suddenly serious.

"That's really not funny anymore. At all," said Alex.

She threw some change down on the table for her coffee.

"Now, let's go. We've got a long trip ahead of us."

She walked out the door and the boys followed, Dean throwing a fist pump of victory into the air.

A few hours later, Dean pulled up to the local Cicero motel. Sam and Alex climbed out of the car, grabbing their bags from the trunk.

"Don't wait up," said Dean, wiggling his eyebrows and smirking at them.

Alex waved him off with a flip of her hand and Dean quickly drove off in search of Lisa.

Dean parked his car across the street from Lisa's house, glancing at the balloons adorning the mailbox. He knocked on the front door and a beautiful, young brunette opened the door, her smile growing bigger when she took in the sight of Dean.

"Dean!"

Dean's smile grew even bigger.

"How long's it been then?" she asked.

"Eight or nine years. Crazy, right?" asked Dean.

"Yep. So what are you doing here?" asked Lisa.

"Oh, just passin' through. And I couldn't resist."

"Wow. Well, you actually came at a bad time. We're havin' a party."

"Well, I do love parties," said Dean.

Lisa sighed, but stepped aside to let Dean in.

Dean followed Lisa out to her backyard, where kids were running around and where a bounce house was resting in the middle of the backyard.

"So, uh, who's the little party for?" asked Dean.

"Ben, um, my son," answered Lisa.

She pointed out a young boy who was sitting in a white lawn chair, holding a newly opened AC/DC CD in his hands and sticking out his tongue.

"That's him. That's my Ben."

"Um, how old…"

"Eight," answered Lisa.

Dean's face fell and continuously paled as he did the math in his head.

"Dean, excuse me for a moment," said Lisa, putting her hand on his shoulder and disappearing back into her house.

Dean walked further into the backyard and grabbed a small piece of birthday cake off of the small cake table and saw Ben standing off to the side of the table. Dean grabbed the piece of cake, and walked over to stand beside Ben. Ben looked up at him.

"'Sup?" asked Ben, looking up at him and giving him the nod of approval.

"'Sup with you?" asked Dean.

Ben said nothing, just took a bite of his own piece of cake and watched a little girl and her mother walk by the both of them, checking out the little girl. Dean smirked as he saw Ben check out the little girl and took a bite of his own piece of cake.

"Cool party," said Dean.

"Dude, it's so freaking sweet! And the moon bounce is epic!" said Ben.

Dean smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty awesome."

"Chicks dig it, man. It's like hot chick city," said Ben, slapping Dean's elbow.

Dean watched as Ben threw his empty cake plate onto a nearby table and ran off to go play in the moon bounce with all of the little girls. Dean smiled, but when Ben was gone, his smiled quickly faded and counted in his head again, trying to calculate Ben's age with the times he had slept with Lisa, and ran off to find her.

Dean glided smoothly into the kitchen where Lisa stood, looking out into the backyard where all the kids were running around, still playing.

"So I met Ben," said Dean.

Lisa's head snapped to face him.

"Yeah, I can't help but notice that he's, uh, turning eight."

"You're not trying to ask me if he's yours, are you?" asked Lisa.

Dean scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Of course not."

Lisa nodded firmly and she and Dean watched as a woman led her daughter from the party in the backyard and out of the house through the kitchen, not saying a word to Lisa or Dean as they quickly passed them both.

"What's wrong with your friend?" asked Dean.

"Her ex-husband just died in this horrible accident," said Lisa, her tone turning sad.

Dean stood up straight.

"The power saw?" he asked.

Lisa nodded.

"There's just been a lot of bad luck in this neighborhood lately."

Sam sat at a local café, his laptop opened and on in front of him. Dean was still with Lisa and Alex was back at the motel room. As Sam worked to find Dean a way out of his stupid deal, someone sat across from him in his small booth. He looked up to see the blonde woman that had helped them defeat the seven deadly sins not a week earlier.

"Hello, Sam."

She slammed his laptop closed and stared at him, a smirk playing on the corners of her mouth. Sam stared right back at her, his glare almost deadly.

"You've been following me since Lincoln," he stated. "That knife you had. You kill demons with that thing?"

"Sure comes in handy when I have to swoop in and save your ass."

"Why are you following me?"

"I'm interested in you," she calmly stated. "You know the whole Anti-Christ thing."

"Excuse me?" asked Sam, his eyebrows raised as he continued to stare at her.

"You know. Psychic kids, yellow-eyed demon rounds you all up, death match ensues. You're the sole survivor," she answered.

She picked up his glass of ice water and took a drink from it before continuing her story.

"Whoops. Can't forget about Alex, though."

"How in the hell do you know about all of that?"

"I'm a _very _good hunter, Samuel. So, even though yellow-eyes is now dead, it doesn't change the fact that you're special. With your visions and shit," she said, leaning back casually in the booth.

Sam shook his head.

"Nope. None of that's happened since yellow-eyes died. And don't call me Samuel. Ever," said Sam, sternly.

"I'm thinking you're still a pretty big deal. I mean, after all that business with your mom?"

"What about my mom?"

The girl's bright blue eyes widened significantly.

"You mean, you don't know. Well, you've got a little bit of catching up to do."

She grabbed Sam's right hand and then grabbed his pen from off of the tabletop, writing her number on his palm.

"Call me when you've checked out your mom's pals," she said, standing up from the booth.

Sam watched her leave, but was snapped out of his stupor by his cell phone ringing. He answered it.

"Hello?"

"Sammy. There's a job here," said Alex, who was on the other end of the call.

"Alright. I'm on my way back."

Sam hung up quickly and gathered up all of his stuff, heading back to the small motel.

Sam walked into the motel room to see Alex all sprawled out on the bed that she and Sam shared, wearing a pair of Sam's boxers and one of Dean's old concert tees. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and her feet were bare, her toenails painted a pale pink. She was chewing on the end of a pen, the cap in her mouth as she thought about the case, looking at the papers in front of her that were sprawled all the way across the bed. He chuckled as he saw her wearing his clothes. He threw his stuff on the one and only table in the room, kicked off his shoes, and sat beside her on the bed. She sat up then, crossing her legs to sit cross-legged beside him.

"Hey, sis. What's going on?"

Alex looked at him, a tendril of her curly blonde hair falling into her face as she spoke.

"So the power saw isn't the only unexplained death in this town."

Sam looked confused, so Alex continued talking.

"There have been four others before that, but none made it in the paper until the power saw one."

The door opened and Dean walked into the room then. Sam and Alex turned to look up at him as he threw off his jacket.

"There's somethin' going on with the kids in this damn town," said Dean.

He looked at Alex wearing one of his shirts, but just shrugged, pulling a chair up to the bed and sitting in it backwards as Alex asked them both a question.

"What do you know about changelings?"

"Evil monster babies? Or creepy, stare at you kids?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded. "The second option. There's one in every victim's house."

She looked at a map of the town that she had found, circling a few items before handing it over to Sam and then Dean.

"Changelings can perfectly mimic children. Rumor is, they climb in the window and then snatch the kid," explained Sam.

"There was a mark on every single kid's window when I was investigating earlier," said Alex.

"Changelings feed on the mom for a few weeks until she finally croaks. Anyone who stands in the way of their energy source is killed," finished Sam.

"Fire's how we're gonna kill 'em," said Dean. He stood up and began moving around the room, packing a rather large duffel bag with torches, lighters, kerosene gas, and matches.

"Wait, what about the real kids?" asked Dean, finally zipping up the bag he had fully packed.

"Well, according to lore, they're stashed underground somewhere. Don't know why, but if it's true, the real kids could be out there somewhere," said Alex.

Dean nodded solemnly.

"We have to make a stop. Alex, put on some real clothes."

He walked outside to the car, Sam throwing Alex her clothes to change into before following Dean outside.

Dean pounded on Lisa's front door later that night. She flung the door open roughly, her expression turning from anger to slight confusion when she saw that it was Dean.

"You know, I feel really terrible about not getting Ben a birthday present, so here."

He handed her a black credit card and Lisa just looked at it.

"What?"

"Yeah. Take a long weekend vacation, on me and my family. In fact, go right now. Avoid the traffic," said Dean.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" asked Ben, appearing rather suddenly behind Lisa.

"It's cool, Ben," said Dean, smiling softly at Ben.

Ben did not smile back at all. His expression stayed exactly the same and he didn't even glance over at Dean.

"Mommy, make him go away."

Dean stared at Ben sadly, knowing that it wasn't really Ben anymore and that Lisa was in a lot of serious trouble now.

"Lisa, please," pleaded Dean.

"Get out!" she yelled, slamming the door directly in his face. Dean heard all of the locks click and then he sighed, but began to move, pulling a small flashlight out of his jacket. Dean quietly moved to the back of the house, finding the small window to Ben's bedroom. There, he saw a mark of what looked to be blood on the windowsill, in the form of a handprint. He cursed silently and rushed back to the Impala, where Sam and Alex were waiting for his report.

"They got Ben. He's changed," panted Dean, once he reached the Impala.

"What? Are you absolutely sure?" asked Alex.

"Yes, I'm sure. I just checked his damn windowsill," said Dean, climbing into the Impala's driver's seat and turning the key over to start the engine.

"Blood?" asked Sam, a little incredulous.

"I don't think his blood, but I think I know where the kids are being held."

Dean quickly peeled away from the curb, his tires squealing as he did so.

Dean parked the Impala in the front of the house that was in the process of being built. Sam and Alex hopped out of the car and followed behind him. Dean grabbed a handful of red dirt from the rather large pile that rested beside his right front tire and let it slip through his fingers.

"Red dirt," said Sam.

"That's what was on the window sills. Not blood, thank God," answered Alex, who was quietly standing behind her older brothers.

Dean nodded and went back to the Impala very quickly, grabbing some smaller duffel bags and throwing them to his siblings.

"Alright, you guys take the front and I'll go around."

They split up and each one of them entered the house.

Sam and Alex walked into the front of the halfway built house, Sam obviously leading the way. He quietly began walking forward and up the stairs, Alex following closely behind him. They stepped onto the landing, but heard a small, faint noise. Sam flashed his small flashlight to the left, and then to the right, trying to track down the small noise.

"Back down?" asked Alex, in a small whisper.

Sam nodded and began following Alex's lead this time back down the small stairs.

Dean was currently in the completely unfinished basement, also trying to pinpoint the location of the same noises Alex and Sam had recently been hearing. He rounded a corner and his eyes suddenly widened. In front of him were small cages, but cages big enough to hold small children. In a cage to Dean's left was Ben, his little fingers reaching through the small spaces and upwards towards Dean's hand. Dean rushed over to him, grabbing the top of the cage and pulling on it with all of his strength.

"Ben. I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?"

Alex was still leading the way into another portion of the unfinished house when a woman from the Homeowner's Association stepped up a few feet behind them. They had only seen and met this woman once or twice, when they had first waltzed into town. Sam and Alex both spun around, Sam facing the woman first with Alex partially hidden behind him.

"What do you two think you're doing?" asked the woman.

Sam glanced at her reflection in the window lying on the ground beside his feet and leaning against the wall as she gently inched closer and he saw that she was an adult changeling. He silently gulped and Alex grabbed onto his wrist, seeing the reflection as well. They faced her head on.

"This is private property, I am calling the police."

Sam and Alex just stared at her for a few more seconds, causing her to become very angry.

"Get out!" she yelled.

"Just let us grab our things. Please," said Alex, as Sam reached down to grab the duffel bag he had left on the floor earlier. He quickly pulled out a small lighter and a smaller kerosene tank, lighting the gas on fire quickly and swiftly. He aimed it at the woman in front of them. After a few seconds, he shut it off and the woman was suddenly gone. Sam looked one direction, while Alex looked in the other, but she was nowhere in sight.

While Sam and Alex continued to be on the lookout upstairs, Dean had finally managed to pry open the door of Ben's small cage using a crowbar that was lying around on the floor. He managed to pull Ben out of his cage and then set Ben on his feet right beside him. Dean looked him over, patted his head gently, and told Ben to follow him. Ben did as he was told and as Dean pried and pulled open all of the cages to release the other small children, Ben would hold out his hand, helping each scared child out of their cage gently and slowly. Dean watched Ben carefully help each child out, say a few kind, encouraging words to them, and lead them over to a safe corner against the wall. Dean felt a small, but quick sense of pride towards Ben, but then shook his head and continued on his mission. After every child had been let out of their cage, Dean ran over to one of the many cement walls in the basement, where a small window was locked up. He cursed under his breath to himself, but then looked at the kids.

"Alright, everyone back up!" yelled Dean and the kids quickly obliged.

"Cover your eyes!"

All of the kids turned away, their eyes tucked away into their little elbows as Dean smashed the window open with his metal crowbar. Glass rained down all over the floor and the window sill and the kids uncovered their eyes, looking back up at Dean. Ben suddenly took off his little denim jacket, seeing all of the glass that was still littering the windowsill.

"Here. Use this," offered Ben.

Dean quickly grabbed it, laid it down over all of the glass, and looked at the scared and shaking children.

"Alright, Ben. C'mon, c'mon," urged Dean, eager to get the kids as far away from the dangerous situation as possible.

Ben shook his head and urged another little boy to go first instead just as Sam and Alex came running into the basement.

"There's a mother changeling," yelled Sam.

"A mother changeling?" asked Dean, hoisting the little boy out of the window.

"Yes. So we gotta get these kids out of here, fast," said Alex.

Sam threw their duffel bags to the ground and they slid over into a corner. Sam then grabbed Dean's discarded crowbar, using it to break the lock on the last cage. Sam held out a hand and helped the older woman, the mother, out of her cage, just as Alex handed another child over to Dean. Suddenly, one little girl let out an ear-splitting scream. The mother changeling was directly in front of her. Sam, Alex, and Dean all turned around to look at her.

The mother changeling blew past the children, who all huddled around Alex's legs. Alex put her arms around them, trying to calm them down. The mother changeling headed straight for Dean, throwing him straight across the basement floor. He landed in another part of the basement completely, cradling his head and cursing the monster. She walked towards him, but Sam had grabbed his lighter and gas tank. He tried to hurry, but she turned and kicked the lighter directly out of his hands and then punched him in the face twice. She threw Sam into another wall and was heading for the kids and Alex. Alex huddled the kids behind her, ready to fight for them and protect them as they held onto the back of Alex's shirt and jacket. Dean ran up behind her, but she spun around quickly, punching him straight in the mouth. She threw him down onto the ground and Dean reached over, grabbing a large brick that had fallen down beside him throughout the fight. As he stood up, he looked at his little sister and nodded.

"Alex! Get them out of here!" he yelled.

He swung around with the brick still in his hands and knocked the changeling flat on her ass.

"Okay, stay here, kids," said Alex.

She was too short to reach the window sill to lift the children up safely, so she had to find something to boost her up so that she could reach. She began to panic as she looked around, but she finally saw a white bucket resting against the wall. It was full of extra cement, so she lugged it over to where the rest of the kids still stood. She set it down directly against the wall and helped each child climb up and out of the window, Ben standing right beside her side every step of the way.

Dean continued his fight with the mother changeling, kicking, pushing, and punching the hell out of her. Sam finally got up from his position on the floor as Dean fought the changeling. Sam grabbed the gas tank and found the lighter in the corner. As Dean punched the changeling, causing her to turn and look away, Sam placed himself directly in front of Dean. When she finally looked back towards them, she screamed with terror as Sam lit the kerosene gas tank, the flames finally searing the changeling. She turned into black smoke, burned into a crisp, and was finally gone.

The next morning, Sam was behind the wheel of the Impala as they pulled into Lisa's driveway. Lisa's front door flew open as she ran outside, looking for her son.

"Ben!" she yelled.

Ben jumped out of the Impala behind Dean as soon as Sam had placed it in park and ran into his mother's open and waiting arms.

"Oh, baby, are you okay?" she asked him, holding him as close to her chest as she could possibly manage.

"I'm alright, Mom," said Ben, calmly.

She cried into Ben's shoulder for a few short minutes while the Winchesters looked on, smiling. Finally, she set Ben down onto his feet and looked straight at Dean.

"What in the hell just happened?"

"I'll explain everything, but only if you really want me to because honestly, you probably don't want me to."

He handed Lisa Ben's denim jacket and looked at Ben, gently resting his hand on Ben's small shoulder.

"The important thing is that Ben's safe."

Dean smiled at Ben and Ben smiled back gently.

"Thank you," whispered Lisa, and she hugged Dean hard, crying onto his strong shoulders.

Alex nudged Sam with her elbow and she walked around to the passenger's side door, opening it and climbing inside.

"Um, we're gonna give you all some time," said Sam.

Dean nodded and followed Ben and Lisa into their house.

Dean and Lisa looked on as Ben played in the living room.

"Changelings," said Lisa, almost as if she was testing the word out slowly on her tongue.

"Remember how I never mentioned my job? Well, this is my job," said Dean.

"I so did not wanna know that," said Lisa, looking away from Dean's face and back to her son, who was still playing with his toys.

Dean nodded and looked at Ben too, who was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich while listening to music through his headphones. After a few silent moments, Lisa finally broke the silence.

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Yeah, I think he'll be just fine," said Dean, with absolutely no hesitation at all.

He glanced at Ben again before looking at Lisa once again.

"But seriously, you're absolutely 100% sure he's not mine?"

Lisa laughed, her gorgeous smile finally popping out for the first time during their conversation.

"Yep. You're completely off the hook. I, uh, did a drug test when he was just a baby. So, yeah. You can definitely relax."

Dean nodded and finally gave Lisa a small smirk.

"Well, good."

Dean looked at Ben, who was currently bobbing his head along with the beat of whatever song he was listening to.

"I swear, you look almost disappointed," said Lisa, looking at the longing that was obviously evident on Dean's face.

Dean looked at her then, his face suddenly turning serious again.

"Yeah, I don't know. It's weird, I'll never have this kind of life with a house or a kid. Some stuff happened to me recently…"

Dean trailed off then and Lisa just looked at him seriously.

"Well, Ben may not be your son, but he wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for you. That takes a lot, if you ask me."

Dean looked at Ben one last, final time before heading backwards for the front door, Lisa walking behind him. Right before he got to the front door though, Dean turned and looked at Lisa.

"You know, if you ask me, you've got an absolutely great son. And I would be awfully proud to be his dad."

Dean shrugged, a small smile on his lips. Lisa smiled back at him and almost skipped the next few steps it took her to reach Dean, launching herself into his arms and planting a huge kiss onto his soft lips, both of them closing their eyes as they kissed. After a few seconds, Lisa pulled away from him, looking down at the floor.

"Look, you're more than welcome to stay for a while, if you wanted to," she offered, looking back up at him.

Dean looked at her smiling, but his eyes held sadness.

"I can't. Believe me, I really wish I could, I do. But I've just got a lot of work to do and this isn't my life anyway."

Lisa nodded, smiling at him gently and Dean smiled back quickly before taking one last look at Ben and Lisa. He turned away then, never looking back at the woman and child he left behind.

Alex was lying on her motel room bed as Sam continued making multiple phone calls.

"Sam. Who in the hell do you keep calling?" she asked, yawning and stretching her arms above her head.

"Um, no one. Hey, would you mind grabbing us some dinner?" asked Sam.

Alex nodded her head and stood up, grabbing the keys out of Sam's palm.

"I'll be right back," said Alex.

Sam nodded to her, indicating he had heard her and Alex stepped outside, heading for the nearest McDonald's. Literally seconds after Alex had left, a blonde woman appeared from out of thin air into the motel room. Sam just looked at her, knowing it was the same woman who had told him to look up his mom's friends a few days ago in the small local café.

"Well, they're all gone. Someone's gone through a lot of trouble to just systematically wipe all of my mom's friends off of the map," said Sam.

"Yep. The yellow-eyed demon," she responded.

"So what's your deal? You show up wherever the hell I am, you know all about me. You know all about my mom."

"I already told you, I'm jus-"

"Oh, that's right. Right, just a hunter that knows more about my own family than I do," said Sam, cutting her off.

They stared intensely at each other for a few moments until Sam broke the silence.

"Just tell me who you are. Seriously!" yelled Sam, right up in her face now.

"Fine."

The girl's eyes flashed as black as a starless night and Sam stepped backwards quickly. He reached for some holy water that was resting atop his duffel bag that was lying on top of his bed.

"You're a fucking demon," said Sam.

"I'm here to help you, Sam. God's honest truth, or whatever," she said, rolling her eyes, which were now back to her normal bright blue color.

"You have to trust me, Sam."

"Trust you?" asked Sam, holding a flask of holy water in front of him now, almost like a shield.

"Not all demons are the same, Sam. Not all of us want the same thing. I want to help you from time to time. And Sam, I can help you and Alex save your brother," she finished.

Sam looked at her, his face suddenly somber and more serious.

"Please leave," he finally whispered.

Dean was driving the Impala down a narrow dirt road much later that night, or early the next morning, since it was currently 4:30 A.M. Sam sat in the passenger seat, Alex sat in the backseat.

"Sam, the second you find out that this Ruby chick is a demon, you go for the fucking holy water, you don't chat!" yelled Dean, glancing at his little brother.

"No one was chatting, Dean."

"Then why didn't you send her ass back to hell?"

"Because she said she might be able to help us out!" yelled Sam, beginning to get frustrated with his brother.

"How?" asked Dean.

Sam was silent then and Dean finally looked over at him again. Alex was also silent in the backseat of the Impala, glancing between her brothers.

"She said she could help you, alright?"

"What in the hell is wrong with you, huh? She's lying and you have to know that. Don't you? She knows what your weakness is, it's me," said Dean.

Sam scoffed and looked away out the passenger side window, remaining silent and not looking at either one of his siblings. Alex sighed.

"What else did she say?" asked Dean, after a few, long moments of deafening silence.

Sam was still silent, so Alex nudged his shoulder gently. She raised her eyebrows as Sam glared at her and nodded towards Dean silently. Dean watched their interaction, their silent conversation a common occurrence between the twins.

"Sam?" asked Dean, getting tired of their silent communication.

"Nothing, alright? Look, I'm not an idiot, Dean. I'm not talking about trusting her, I'm talking about using her. I mean, we're at war, right? And we don't know jack shit about the enemy. Where they are, what they're planning or doing. Now, this Ruby girl definitely knows more than we will ever find out on our own. Yes, it's a huge risk, and I realize this. But we need to take it," finished Sam, his chest rising and falling steadily with his breaths after he spit out his ideas.

Dean said nothing, staying focused on the narrow road ahead of them when a cell phone's shrill ringing broke the awkward and tense silence between all of them.

"It's not mine," yelled Sam, still very angry and frustrated.

"Lex?" asked Dean, but Alex just shook her head.

Dean's eyes suddenly widened and he nodded urgently toward the glove compartment in front of Sam.

"Check the glovebox. It's Dad's."

"Dad's?" asked Alex and Sam at the exact same time.

"Yes, I keep it in there just in case any of his old contacts call."

Sam opened up the glovebox and grabbed the cellphone, which was resting on the very top of all of the papers resting in the glove compartment.

"Hello?" answered Sam, flipping the phone open and holding it to his right ear.

"Yes, this is Edgar Casey," Sam responded after a few seconds. He shrugged at his sibling's weird looks and listened to the person on the other end of the call.

"No, no, no, don't call the police. I'll take care of it myself. Thanks, Um, can you just go ahead and lock it back up for me?"

The caller responded to Sam's question and then Sam asked another one of his own.

"Um, actually, can you give me the address again? I don't have my book directly in front of me."

Alex dug around in the backseat and produced a small piece of paper and a pen, handing it up to Sam as he braced the phone against his cheek and his shoulder so he could write down the address.

"Alright, sir, go ahead." Sam scribbled down an address and then sat up, holding the phone in his hands again.

"Great, thanks."

Sam flipped the phone shut and looked at his siblings.

"Did Dad ever tell either one of you that he kept a container at a storage place?" asked Sam.

"What?" asked Alex.

"Yep. Right outside of Buffalo, apparently," responded Sam.

"No way," said Dean.

"Yep. And someone just broke into it."

Dean sighed and sped the car up, now heading towards Buffalo.

A few hours later, the three Winchester siblings were in Buffalo at the storage building. They were currently on a service elevator, heading down for their Dad's storage place.

"Oh, man. Dad and his damn secrets," said Dean, shaking his head. "I mean, seriously. We spend all this time with the guy and it's like we barely even know the man."

The service elevator stopped then and Sam and Dean opened the doors, pulling them upwards.

"Well, we're about to learn a few things," said Alex.

She followed behind her brothers as they walked over to the storage that had belonged to their father. Dean unlocked the door. He slid the door open and Sam shined his flashlight into the semi-large room full of random stuff. A Devil's Trap was drawn on the floor and bloody footprints were inside of it.

"No demons allowed," said Sam.

"Blood," remarked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes as she stood behind them. She pushed past both of them and entered the large room. The boys followed, but Alex crouched down in front of them, blocking their path. She held a trip wire between her fingers.

"Check this out," she said.

"Well, whatever was in here must have been attacked," said Sam, looking around the room.

"Oh, good dear old Dad," said Alex.

She pulled out her own flashlight and shined it on the bloody footprints.

"Must have been a two man job. There are two sets of bootprints here," she said.

"And the friend with the shot in him just kept walking," said Dean, pointing at the puddled blood.

Alex stood up from her crouch and gently stepped over the small trip wire into the rest of the rather large room.

"So what's the deal here? Dad do work in here or something?" asked Sam.

"Livin' the high life, as usual," said Alex, her tone dripping with sarcasm as she glanced at the shelves around the room.

They all began exploring separate corners of the large room, shaking their heads at things they found. Dean found a small trophy and blew the dust off of it.

"1995," said Dean and Alex and Sam flocked over to him.

"No way," said Sam.

He took the trophy from Dean.

"That's my Division II championship soccer trophy. I can't believe he kept this."

Dean smiled and walked around Alex and Sam, grabbing a sawed-off shotgun off of a small desk.

"Aww, man. This is my very first sawed off. I made it myself in the sixth grade."

Dean set the shotgun down again once he saw Sam and Alex enter an even smaller room in the storage compartment. Dean whistled as he looked at the small arsenal located there.

"They didn't take the landmines or the guns. I guess they knew what they were after," said Alex.

"Guys, look at this," said Sam.

Dean and Alex walked over to Sam, who was staring at a shelf that held multiple old boxes.

"See those symbols?" he asked them, pointing to one particular box located in the middle of the shelf.

"Yep. That's binding magic. Those are cursed boxes," answered Alex.

"Cursed boxes? Supposed to keep the evil mojo in like the Pandora deal?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded.

"Yeah, they're built to contain the power of the cursed object," said Sam.

"This must be his toxic waste dump," said Alex.

Sam noticed an empty place on the shelf, blood droplets around it. He swiped at some dust that remained on the shelf and watched it fall onto the floor.

"One box is missing," he said.

"Great," replied Alex sarcastically.

"Well, maybe they won't open it," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and Sam sighed, rubbing his hands over the stubble on his face.

Dean was driving down a back alley a few short hours later. He stopped and looked at the license plate on a parked vehicle.

"Connecticut. Last three digits 830," said Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Yep, that's it."

"Dumbasses. Should have blacked out their plates before parking in front of the security cameras," said Alex, blowing a bubble with her gum.

"Alex," warned Sam.

Alex smiled, knowing it drove Sam nuts.

"Sorry, bro," she said, climbing out of the Impala.

"Alright, kiddos. Let's get going," said Dean.

Sam finished picking the lock on the apartment's front door and Dean entered first, his gun raised. The three siblings stood in an entryway, their guns in hand and listening to the two men occupying the apartment speak. When they heard them getting ready to leave, they all stormed into the room.

"Freeze! Freeze!" they all yelled.

The men quickly threw their hands up.

"Don't move!" yelled Dean.

"Please tell me you didn't-"

"Oh, they opened it," said Alex, nodding her head toward the cursed box that was lying opened on the coffee table.

"You opened it?" yelled Dean, holding one of the two men against the wall.

"What was in the box?"

The man said nothing, but his eyes glanced over to the rabbit's foot that was resting on the corner of the coffee table.

"What is that thing?" asked Dean.

Suddenly, the man knocked the gun out of Dean's hand, causing it to go off. A bullet shot all over the room and Alex's eyes widened. Sam and Dean ran after the two men, but ran into each other instead, falling to the floor. Dean crashed onto the coffee table, causing it to splinter and break in half. Sam stood up quickly, but was tackled to the ground by one of the men, while Dean was knocked in the chin with the butt of his own gun by the other man. Alex watched the chaos unfold, but spotted the rabbit's foot next to Sam. She ran over, jumped over the couch, and pulled her sleeve over her hand before grabbing the rabbit's foot. She threw it over to Sam, who saw her throw it, and caught it, and suddenly, he was lucky. Sam kicked the man off of him and stood up.

"Dean! I got it!" he yelled.

"No, you don't," said the other man, pointing one gun at Sam's chest. Sam grimaced, waiting to be shot, but the bullet never came. The gun was out of bullets and Sam opened his eyes.

"Damn it!" yelled the man, throwing the gun to the ground. He walked backwards one step, fell over the broken and splintered coffee table debris, and was knocked out cold once his head collided with the hardwood floor. The other man looked at them, fear evident in his beady little eyes and all over his face. He held the other gun in his hands and aimed it at Alex, who stopped walking as she saw what he was doing.

"Alex!" yelled Dean.

The man was startled at Dean's yell and the book shelves above his head suddenly fell, knocking him out cold, as well. The pistol went flying through the air and landed perfectly in Sam's open palm.

"Well, that was a lucky break," said Dean.

He noticed the rabbit's foot in Sam's other hand.

"Is that a rabbit's foot?"

"Um, I think it is," said Sam, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

"C'mon, boys. Let's get out of here," said Alex, leading the way out of the apartment building.

Dean was sitting in the driver's seat of the Impala, holding quite a few scratcher tickets in his hand.

"Dean, c'mon," said Sam, sighing and rolling his eyes.

"Those were quite a lot of lucky breaks back in that apartment there, Sammy. Please, scratch one?" asked Alex.

Sam sighed, but reluctantly grabbed one out of Dean's palm as Alex handed him a quarter to scratch the tickets with.

"Guys, it's gotta be cursed somehow. Otherwise, Dad wouldn't have locked it up," said Sam, scratching the ticket and then handing it back to Dean. Dean looked over the ticket for a quick second before positively beaming.

"$1200. You just won $1200."

Alex smiled as well.

"I don't know, Sammy. It doesn't seem very cursed to me," she said.

Dean nodded eagerly beside Sam and handed Sam another scratcher's ticket. Sam looked at both of them, but took the ticket anyway, scratching away.

Dean counted out all of the scratcher's tickets, laying them all out on the Impala's hood and smiling as he began counting them. Sam was on his cell phone, talking to Bobby.

"Look, Bobby, we had no clue," said Sam.

"You touched it?! Damn it, Sam," yelled Bobby.

"Well, Dad never told us about this thing. I mean, you knew about his storage place at Black Rock?"

"Yeah, I knew. I even built those damn curse boxes for him. But listen here, Sam. You've got a serious problem. It's real hoodoo, Old World stuff."

"It's one hell of a luck charm," replied Sam, leaning down and picking up a solid gold Rolex watch he had just spotted on the sidewalk in front of him.

"It's not a luck charm, it's a curse! It was made to kill people, Sam. Look, you touch it, you own it. You own it, wonderful. You have a run of good luck to beat the devil himself. But, you lose it, that luck turns. It turns so bad that you're dead inside a week," explained Bobby.

Alex was standing beside Dean now, having returned from using the restroom. She was helping Dean add up all of the tickets.

"Alright. So I won't lose it, Bobby," said Sam.

"Everybody loses it!"

"Well, then how do we break the curse?"

"I honestly don't know if we can. Let me look through my library and make some calls. Just sit tight."

Bobby hung up, so Sam closed his phone and turned to face his siblings, his look grim.

"Dude, we're up fucking fifteen grand," smiled Dean.

Sam hardly smiled back, so Alex walked over to him.

"Sammy. What's wrong?"

Sam sighed.

"Look, I'll tell you guys on the way to get something to eat. I'm starving."

Alex nodded and they all climbed back into the Impala.

Dean opened the door of the small town diner, holding it open for Sam and Alex.

"Look, I'm sure Bobby will find us a way out of this mess. But for now, let's just enjoy our meal, okay?" said Dean.

Sam nodded and all three of them walked up to the hostess stand. Sam gently smiled at the older gentleman who was currently standing behind the hostess stand.

"Hello. We'd like a table for three, please."

The man's smile broadened.

"Congratulations!"

He rang an obnoxious alarm and all of the other employees crowded around the little tiny hostess stand.

"You're our one millionth customer!"

He handed Sam a large piece of cardboard made out to look like a huge check that read, "One Millionth Customer!" The employees all clapped loudly, their smiles all matching and huge. The hostess pulled a lever so that confetti rained down upon all of them, and Sam hardly smiled as his picture was taken, along with his siblings.

The Winchesters sat in a different diner, Sam on his computer, Dean chowing down on his food, and Alex sitting beside Sam on the inside of the booth, reading over his shoulder and nibbling on her cold fries.

"Bobby was right. Pure hoodoo," said Sam.

He slammed his computer closed, albeit gently, and handed it to Alex, who stuffed it into his satchel.

"Can I freshen you up?" asked their waitress, pointing to Sam's coffee cup with a smile playing on her pretty face.

"Oh. Um, sure," said Sam.

She began pouring the coffee into his cup, looking at Sam and smiling at him as she did so. Sam gently smiled back at her until she accidentally caused the cup to overflow all over the table.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said.

She grabbed a towel from inside her apron, cleaning up her mess and leaning a little too close to Sam. Alex looked over at her, her suspicions rising slowly, but surely.

"I'm so sorry about all of that," apologized the waitress, finally walking away with one last smile towards Sam.

"Dude," said Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Sam shook his head, grabbing his newly full coffee cup to take a drink from it. It suddenly slipped from his grasp and Sam ended up spilling his coffee all over himself. He stood up rather quickly to clean himself off and turned around swiftly, knocking a waiter's tray out of his hands completely. The waiter looked at all of his food and then glared up at Sam.

"I'm sorry," apologized Sam.

He turned back to his family then, reaching inside his jacket pocket to confirm what they all already knew. His hands came up empty, no rabbit's foot in his grasp. Sam's eyes widened in fear and disbelief. Alex and Dean quickly sprang up from their seats in the booth.

"Son of a bitch," said Dean.

They all ran out of the diner after their waitress, but Sam fell after only five steps. Alex looked down at him, her eyebrows raised.

"Wow. You suck," she said.

She went back over to him and helped him stand up again. His knees and palms were skinned and bloody.

"So what? Now your luck turns bad?" asked Dean.

Sam glanced down at his bloody and skinned knees and shrugged.

"I guess," said Sam.

Dean nodded and then led them forward towards the Impala.

"I wonder how bad," he whispered to himself.

Later that night, the three siblings returned to the apartment where the two men who had stolen the rabbit's foot were staying. Only one man was still alive though, the other having been killed in a freak accident earlier that night since he had recently lost the rabbit's foot to them. The man who was still alive looked up as the three of them walked slowly into his apartment.

"Oh, Lord. What do you want?" he asked.

"Well, we heard about your friend. That's pretty bad luck," said Dean, walking further into the apartment.

"Piss off," said the man.

"Look, fucker. We know someone hired you to steal the rabbit's foot. A woman," said Alex.

The man leered at her, but Alex just glared right back at him.

"And she just stole it back from us," admitted Dean.

The man smiled at Dean's admission and began laughing hysterically.

"Look, man, this is serious-" began Sam as he stepped farther into the room, but he suddenly tripped over an electrical cord and knocked a small stereo system onto the floor. As he tried to catch it, he fell over a lamp and onto the floor, glass shattering as he fell. Alex rolled her eyes and Dean sighed frustratingly.

"Sam. You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm all good," moaned out Sam, beginning to pull himself up from the floor using an end table as leverage. Alex grabbed his arm, helping him finally stand up quickly.

"Now. Please tell us the woman's name. Because otherwise, innocent people are gonna die because of that damn rabbit's foot, including my brother," pleaded Dean.

The man looked at them, sighing.

"Bella. Her name was Bella Lugosi," he answered.

They left the apartment building, Dean's cell phone ringing as they stepped outside of the building. As Dean flipped his cell phone open, Sam accidentally stepped in a small piece of gum on the sidewalk.

"Dean, good news. I found a large cleansing ritual that should do the trick," said Bobby, who was obviously on the other end of the call.

"Bobby, uh, that's great. Um, except Sam kind of lost the foot," replied Dean, turning around to see Alex laughing at Sam as he tried to get the gum off of the bottom of his left shoe.

"He what?!" bellowed Bobby, suddenly angry.

"Listen, listen, Bobby. This super hot chick stole it from him. She was in her twenties, sharp. Obviously good enough at the con to play all of us. Um, the name we got was Lugosi. Probably some alibi," said Dean.

He turned to look at Sam and Alex again. Sam was wiping his shoe on the sewer grate in an attempt to get the gum off of it. Alex was standing beside Sam, no longer laughing, but just rolling her eyes at his feeble attempts to swipe the gum off his shoe. Dean turned his attention back to the phone call.

"Lugosi? Aww, shit, it's probably Bella," said Bobby.

Alex laughed as Sam's show fell down the sewer grate, making a splash as it fell into the sewer water down below.

"Bella Lugosi, that's cute," said Dean, sarcastically.

"Her real name's Bella Talbot. I've crossed paths with her once or twice. She's no hunter, but she certainly knows her way around the territory. But, if it is Bella, I think I can find some people who know where to find her. Just, look out for your brother," said Bobby.

He ended the phone call and Dean flipped his own cell phone shut, turning to look at his siblings. Sam was standing by the sewer grate, looking absolutely and completely miserable, while Alex stood behind Sam, looking somewhat shocked and laughing.

"I lost my shoe," said Sam, pouting like a five year old kid who had just lost his favorite childhood toy.

Dean sighed and headed for the parked Impala, Sam and Alex trailing behind him.

Dean unlocked the motel room's door, throwing the room keys on the bedside table.

"Alright, Sammy. You're staying here so you don't get yourself killed. And Alex, you'll be staying with him," explained Dean.

Alex's mouth dropped open and Sam just sighed, hanging his head sadly.

"I'm not a fucking babysitter," huffed Alex.

Dean nodded.

"I know, but we can't risk Sam hurting himself."

"If he's locked in a room by himself, he'll be fine. Besides, it's probably safer if I help you out, don't you think?" asked Alex.

Dean sighed, but nodded his head, obliging for his little sister.

"Alright, that's fine. Lex, you're coming with me then. Sam, sit down. Don't move, don't blink, and don't even scratch your nose."

Sam sat down in the chair that Dean had pulled out for him from the table and watched both of his siblings walk out the motel room door. Sam moved his face around to scratch the itch on his nose, but when he heard the Impala start up, he slowly reached a hand up and scratched his nose, breaking Dean's rules. Sam looked around the dingy motel room and sighed.

Dean and Alex walked around the side of Bella's house, which was located in Queens, New York, about two hours away from the motel where Sam was located. They quickly snuck into Bella's house, turning off her alarm system before it sounded the alarm and waiting for Bella to show up. Only moments later, Bella walked over and saw the sticky note that they had placed on the alarm system, which read, "Turn Around!" Bella quickly spun around, aiming her gun at the two siblings, who also had their guns raised directly at Bella.

"You left without your tip," said Dean.

Bella just smirked at them.

Sam was still sitting in the chair at the motel, literally twiddling his thumbs. He sighed and just glanced around the room, wondering how long he had been sitting there for. Suddenly, the air conditioning sputtered and completely stopped. Sam threw his hands up in frustration.

"Aww, come on. I didn't even… Ugh," cried out Sam.

He slowly got up from his chair when white smoke began flowing out of the air conditioning and it suddenly caught on fire. Sam's eyes widened and he grabbed the nearest blanket off of the nearest bed in the room, holding it up to the air conditioning unit and putting out the fire. Once it was out, Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He frowned once he smelled something burning though and looked down at his right sleeve, where the flames had somehow leapt over and onto his jacket sleeve. He grabbed the motel room curtains and tried to put out the flames on his jacket sleeve. Once Sam had actually put the flames out though, the curtains suddenly fell down, the curtain rod banging Sam on the forehead and knocking him out cold. Sam fell to the motel room floor, knocked out, and two men looked into the room from the outside, seeing Sam unconscious on the floor.

Alex and Dean held their guns at Bella, walking backwards slowly as Bella walked towards them, her gun mostly aimed at Dean.

"You're gonna give it back," said Dean.

Bella laughed, her smile spreading across her flawless face.

"Sweetie. No, I'm not," she replied, her British accent prominent as she spoke.

"Well, we'll see about that. Bella, is it?" asked Alex.

Bella's eyes flickered over to Alex, giving her a glance.

"That's right. And you're Alex and Dean."

"Just so you know, that thing's cursed," said Dean, nodding to the rabbit's foot.

"Well, you'd be surprised how much people are willing to pay for some of those things. I procure unique items for a secret clientele," said Bella.

"Yeah, you're just a plain old thief, bitch," said Alex.

Bella glared at her.

"Yeah, but a great one."

Sam awoke to find himself being taped down to a chair in his motel room.

"Ohp, he's awake!" called out the man who was taping Sam down to the chair.

The man who was sitting on one of the beds stood up then and both of the men stood in front of Sam.

"Who are you?" asked Sam.

"Well, your old friend Gordon sent me," answered the older looking gentleman.

Sam rolled his eyes at the mention of Gordon.

"He wanted me to put a bullet right through your brain."

"Great. Yep, that sounds just like him," commented Sam.

"But, I've realized something. I'm on a mission from God."

The man smiled, but then he smacked Sam straight across the face, knocking Sam's head back.

"Look, Bella. Our brother touched the foot, so now he's having all kinds of bad luck," explained Dean, his gun now at his side.

"I know how it works," said Bella, her gun also at her side.

"So you know he's gonna die if we don't destroy it," said Dean.

Bella nodded, no sympathy on her face at all. Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. She cocked her gun and pointed it directly in Bella's face. Bella looked down the barrel of the gun at Alex, no ounce of fear on her face evident at all.

"Bitch, give us the fucking rabbit's foot," threatened Alex, her tone laced with venom.

Bella smirked at Alex, looking over to Dean next. Bella's smile faded as Dean held up the rabbit's foot.

"Looks like you're not the only one with sticky fingers. But if it's any consolation, I think you're a horrible person," said Dean.

He smirked and stuck the rabbit's foot in his jacket pocket before he and Alex began running for the front door, making it outside before Bella could even fire off her pistol.

Cold water was splashed on Sam's face to wake him up. Sam came about and the two men looked down at him, his face all beaten up and a little bit bloody as well.

"You were part of that plan to open Hell's gates, weren't you?" asked the same man from before.

"Look, we did everything we could to stop it from opening," said Sam.

"You're such a liar. And now you know what their next move is too, don't you?"

"No, I don't, okay? You are completely wrong about all of this," explained Sam.

The two men were silent for a few moments, looking at Sam thoughtfully before they asked their next question.

"Where are they gonna hit us next?"

Sam sighed, obviously not having an answer, so the man slapped him across the face again. Sam moaned and grimaced in pain, but still said nothing.

"You know, Gordon told me about you, Sam. About your powers. You're some kind of, weirdo psychic freak?"

"No, not anymore. No powers, no visions. Absolutely nothing," said Sam.

The man hit him once again and Sam's head flung to the side yet again, the water from the earlier splash of cold water on his face, dripping from his hair now.

"Now, no more lies, please."

The man pulled out his own gun and aimed it straight at Sam's face.

"Whoa, hold on just a minute," said Sam, pleading.

The other man standing behind the man holding the gun also began to protest, but the gun wielding man blew his comments off.

"This is destiny, Credo," said the gun holder.

He cocked his gun once again and Sam closed his eyes, but suddenly, two more guns were cocked behind the two strange men. The men turned around to look and saw Alex and Dean looking at them, their guns locked and loaded, ready to shoot if the need arose.

"Whoa. No destiny here tonight, boys. Just a rabbit's foot," said Dean.

"Put the guns down, children," said one man.

Dean and Alex obliged, but Dean grabbed a pen from the end table where they had just placed their guns and flung it into the air, where it landed straight into the barrel of the man's gun.

"Whoa! Did you guys see that shot?!" exclaimed Dean, looking at his siblings excitedly.

The man without a gun ran towards them, but Dean and Alex lunged out of his way, so the man ran straight into the wall, knocking himself out cold. The man with the gun pulled the pen out of his gun's barrel, but Dean threw the remote control at him, hitting him directly in the forehead and knocking him out cold, as well.

"I'm obviously amazing. I'm fucking Batman," said Dean.

Alex just rolled her eyes from behind him and stepped over the unconscious strangers, helping Sam out of his bonds.

Much later that night in the local cemetery, Sam added the finishing touches to the small fire they had created to burn the cursed rabbit's foot.

"Alright. Now all we need is the cayenne pepper, the bones…" Sam trailed off as he stood up from his crouch and saw Dean scratching some scratcher's tickets.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Dean. Seriously?"

"Hold on, like, one second. Daddy's trying to bring home the bacon!"

Dean continued scratching, but Alex reached over and grabbed the tickets out of Dean's hands, throwing them into the flames. Sam hid a small smile, while Dean just glared at his little sister. He reluctantly grabbed the rabbit's foot from inside his jacket pocket and held it up in front of him.

"Put the foot down, honey," said Bella, appearing up behind Dean.

He turned to look at her while Alex and Sam were already looking over at her.

"Look, you're not gonna shoot anyone. You see, I can read people pretty well. I mean, sure you're a thief, but-"

Dean was cut off by Bella shooting off her gun directly into Alex's right shoulder.

"Fuck!" cried out Alex, holding her shoulder as it burned with intense pain.

Sam stood beside her, his eyes wide.

"You- Son of a bitch!" yelled Dean, his eyes wide as he glanced at Bella.

"One more move and I pull the trigger. You've got the luck, Dean, I can't hit you. But as for your siblings, they're fair game. Especially little Alex, whom you always try to keep so safe. I bet she's never been shot even once in her life," said Bella.

"Fuck you, you crazy bitch," sneered Alex, gritting her teeth as the pain worsened and the blood from her wound dripped through her fingers and down her palms.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" asked Dean. "You can't just go around shooting people like that!"

"Relax, I can't aim. It's just a shoulder flesh wound," said Bella.

"There's a bullet inside her shoulder!" yelled Sam.

Bella shrugged and turned her attention back to Dean. "Sorry. Now, please. Put the rabbit's foot on the ground and slowly step away from it."

"Okay, alright," said Dean.

He began to lower the rabbit's foot to the grass, but yelled out, "Think fast!" and threw it over to Bella, who caught it in her free, bare hand.

"Damn," whispered Bella.

She sighed and threw the cursed rabbit's foot into the still burning flames of the fire.

"Bye, folks," said Bella, waving her small fingers and walking away from them.

"You gonna be alright?" asked Dean, looking at Alex, who was now holding a bandanna to her shoulder to slow down the intense bleeding.

"Eh. One of you will have to bandage me up later," said Alex.

Sam smiled widely.

"I've got you, little sister. I'll take care of you for once in our lives."

"Son of a bitch! Bella sold the scratcher tickets I had hidden, that little slut!" yelled Dean.

Alex and Sam looked at each other, rolled their eyes simultaneously, and continued on towards the Impala, Dean grumbling and cursing the whole entire walk there.

Alex held her breath as Dean prepared to pull the bullet out of her shoulder.

"Ready, Lex?" he asked.

Alex nodded, grit her teeth hard, and Sam held her hand in his as Dean began pulling the bullet out. Alex squeezed Sam's hand as hard as she could until the bullet was completely gone and Dean placed it in a small dish before putting some gauze over the wound. He stood up from his chair and grabbed Alex's face, looking into her eyes, which were full of unshed tears.

"I'm sorry, baby," he said, kissing her forehead gently.

"C'mon, you need some sleep. Sam, Bobby, and I will start looking for some new jobs," said Dean.

Alex nodded and curled up on the bed in Bobby's guest room, closing her eyes and falling asleep quickly.

Dean sat with Bobby at Bobby's kitchen table, helping Bobby sterilize and make a few weapons for some hunts. Sam walked into the room, nodding at both of them.

"I found some activity in Ohio. Well, maybe," said Sam, holding up a few papers he had just recently printed off.

"What is it?" asked Dean, his eyes never leaving his handiwork.

"Um, a man commits suicide in a church, another man goes postal in a Hobby Lobby before the police can arrest him," explained Sam, his eyes skimming over the paper before looking back over at Bobby and Dean.

"Elizabethfield. It's some factory town in the middle of nowhere," continued Sam, knowing Dean would ask where the job was as his next question anyway.

"How's Alex?" asked Bobby, working on fixing the Colt up.

"She's doing alright. We're just worried that it'll become infected," said Sam.

"Nah, she'll be perfectly fine. Now c'mon. We're wastin' daylight," said Dean, standing up from his chair.

He grabbed his jacket off of the back of his chair.

"Go grab Alex, boys. And if you kids run into anything, call me. Please," said Bobby, looking at the two boys.

"We will, Bobby. Don't you worry," reassured Sam.

He began the climb up the stairs to wake up Alex.

Once they were all in Ohio, Dean rented a motel room and carried Alex into the room, placing her on one of the beds.

"Dean, she looks horrible. Her skin's all clammy, she's super pale. I think her gunshot wound is getting infected," worried Sam.

He looked down at Alex's sleeping form as Dean glanced at her face.

"I know, man. Um, let's leave her a note that we're investigating and we'll be back soon. She'll be okay by herself for a little while, right?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam.

Sam shrugged.

"I don't know, Dean. I think one of us should probably stay here with her."

Dean shook his head.

"No, she'd want us to start on the job. C'mon, Sammy. Let's go."

Sam sighed, but grabbed a piece of paper and wrote out a note explaining where they were going and how long they would be gone.

Dean and Sam walked behind the Catholic priest as he spoke about the young man who had committed suicide earlier that week.

"Well, the insurance companies are done. It was a suicide."

The priest nodded his head towards the balcony above them, his face very somber and sad.

"That's where Andy did it. It was the very first time I'd seen him in weeks. He used to come and be here on time every single Sunday."

"Well, when did he stop coming?" asked Sam.

"Oh, probably about two months ago. Right around the time everything else started to change as well," reflected the pastor, looking back up at the balcony once again.

"Change how?" asked Sam, Dean jotting down notes in his little spiral notebook, standing beside Sam.

"Well, let's just this used to be a town you could say you were very proud of. People cared about one another. Andy actually used to sing in the choir and then one day, he just… wasn't Andy anymore. He was…"

The priest trailed off, not finding the words, so Sam filled one word in for him instead.

"Possessed?"

The priest looked at Sam, nodding slowly.

"You could say that. He gambled away all of his money, cheated on his wife. He even destroyed his own business. So yes, it's like a switch had flipped."

"Father, did you also happen to know the man who killed those folks in that hobby shop?" asked Sam.

"Oh, sure," nodded the priest. "Tony Perkins. Good man."

"Would you say his personality sort of changed one day too?" asked Sam.

The priest stared off in the distance for a while, but then looked at Sam, answering his previous question.

"Well, I guess I've never really thought of it that way. But yes, probably about the same time as Andy, about two months ago."

Dean nodded, closing his spiral notebook and putting it into his jacket pocket.

"Well, thank you, Father. We really appreciate all of your time," said Dean.

Alex woke up in a cold sweat, taking in her surroundings. She saw the small note on her bedside table, telling her where Sam and Dean had gone. She slowly stood up, but had to steady herself against the bedside table as she suddenly felt a wave of nausea and dizziness. Once it had finally passed, she made her way into the bathroom, which was a little too small for her liking. She felt very cold and shivered even more than she already was as her little, bare feet stepped onto the bathroom's tile floor. She winced at a sudden twinge of pain from her shoulder, but pushed it to the back of her mind as she slowly peeled off the gauze bandage from her shoulder. Her gunshot wound was really red and looked like it was swollen and inflamed. Alex reached up to touch it, but it was hot to the touch. Dried blood was caked around it and the skin tissue around it looked almost yellow.

"Fuck," she whispered, realizing that her wound was infected.

She suddenly leaned over the toilet seat, throwing up the contents of her stomach as the pain from her shoulder became too much to bear.

Dean unlocked the motel room's door and frowned when he didn't see Alex on her bed.

"Alex?" he called out, his body suddenly tense and on the alert for any sort of danger.

"In here," called out Alex.

Dean and Sam rushed into the bathroom, where they found Alex lying on the floor, her cheek pressed against the cold tile floor.

"Aww, Lex," said Dean, going to her and helping her sit up.

"I threw up three times in the last hour and a half. I don't feel well at all and my wound's infected," said Alex, pointing to her shoulder.

Dean looked at her shoulder, cursing silently when he saw how infected it really was.

"Okay, it's gonna be alright. We're gonna get this all cleaned up and taken care of. Can you stand up at all?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded and slowly stood up, but she fell against the sink when she felt dizzy.

"Alright, alright," said Sam, rushing over to help her.

He picked her up very gently, holding her in his arms and close to his chest.

"Okay. I'm gonna run to the store really fast and grab some stuff to get this all cleaned up. Sammy, stay here with Alex," ordered Dean.

Sam nodded and laid Alex down on the bed before removing his tie and kicking off his shoes. He then laid down right next to her and held her close to his chest as she shivered, due to her horrible fever.

"Shh," soothed Sam, stroking her hair lovingly.

Almost an hour later, Dean returned to the motel room, holding three shopping bags full of medicine and other things to help Alex heal. He set the bags down on the table and walked over to his siblings.

"Alright, here's the game plan. Sammy, I ran into an old hunter friend of mine while I was out, Richie. He's gotten some intel on this man named Trotta. I guess Trotta basically owns this town and he'll be at his bar tonight. So you're gonna go there while I stay here and take here of my sick little sister," explained Dean.

Sam nodded and stood up from the bed. Alex stirred and opened her eyes as Sam got up from the bed and she sat up. Sam stretched his arms above his head, but leaned over to Alex, kissing her on the forehead. He walked into the bathroom, getting ready to leave for the night. Dean grabbed the three bags full of stuff off of the table and walked over to where Alex was sitting. She winced at the pain in her shoulder as she adjusted her position.

"Alright, little sis. Let's get this all cleaned up."

Dean dug through one of the three bags and pulled out a large bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some more gauze bandages.

"Alright. This is gonna sting really bad, okay?"

Alex silently nodded and grabbed Dean's free hand as he placed the gauze drenched in hydrogen peroxide on Alex's infected wound. She sucked in a huge breath of air through her teeth, gritting them as it stung profusely. Once the pain had subsided, Alex allowed Dean to patch it back up and then she laid back down on the bed on her back.

"Alright, I'm headed out. Be back later. Feel better, sis," said Sam.

Dean threw him the Impala keys and they both listened from inside the motel room as Sam started up the Impala and drove off. Alex closed her eyes then, falling back asleep once again as Dean removed his shoes, jacket, and shirt, leaving him in just a wifebeater. He laid down next to Alex, kissing the side of her head as she laid next to him.

"I'm so sorry, Lex," he whispered, falling asleep next to her.

Sam stood around at the bar, people watching as he scoped everyone and everything out inconspicuously. He was drinking from his beer bottle when he watched one man pull out a gun in the middle of the bar. Sam slammed his beer down on the bar quickly ran through the crowd that was fleeing the scene as fast as possible. He tackled the man before he could shoot himself and quickly used one hand to pull out a small bottle of holy water. He flung a couple of drops on the man he had tackled, but nothing happened, proving he obviously wasn't a demon or possessed by one either. The man lying on the floor beneath Sam's body looked up at Sam, who was still holding him down.

"He slept with my wife," said the man, referring to the other man lying on the floor, whom he had just shot and killed only moments before.

"The bastard slept with my wife!" he screamed.

Sam looked at the bartender, who was staring straight at Sam, shock on her face.

"Call 911!" he yelled.

She nodded, grabbing the phone off of the hook.

Dean woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing. He slowly sat up and flipped it open.

"Hello?" he answered, his voice still gruff with sleep.

"Dean. Richie's gone," said Sam.

Dean stood up then, suddenly more alert and awake.

"I'm thinking he probably just bailed," said Sam.

"No, Richie's a fucking dumbass. Um, I'll try and track him down. You just follow Trotta," said Dean.

"But Dean, Alex really needs one of us to be with her…"

"Look, Sam. We're here to do a job. Alex can handle herself."

He hung up his phone and began scrolling through his phone contacts, calling Richie. After multiple tries with no answer, he gave up, throwing on his coat and heading for the bar.

Dean walked into the bar, heading straight for the bar and the beautiful bartender standing behind it.

"What can I get you?" she asked him, smiling as he smirked up at her.

"Oh, anything really," replied Dean.

"Hmm. Anything? Well, what about coming back to my place right now?" she asked.

Dean's eyebrows lifted, shocked at how blatantly straightforward she was being.

"Well. Alright then."

She smiled, walking out from back behind the bar to meet Dean in front of it.

Dean walked behind the woman into a dark, musty basement with high ceilings, cement walls, and candles all around the place. She turned to him once they had reached the last step and gave him a small kiss on the lips, smiling as she pulled away.

"Make yourself comfortable," she whispered into his ear.

She stepped away from him and headed over to a corner of the room, throwing her jacket across the room where it landed perfectly on a piece of furniture. Dean walked over and stood in the middle of this huge room and looked at her back.

"Oh. I forgot to tell you, but Richie was a friend of mine. When I realized I could track the GPS in his cell phone, I swung by earlier and uh, gave him a proper burial. It's definitely better than rotting in some skank's basement," finished Dean.

The girl turned around, livid, and ran towards him, but was suddenly yanked backwards as if she had run into an invisible wall. She sat flat on her ass, while Dean lifted up a corner of the large rug she was currently sitting in the middle of, revealing a Devil's Trap drawn on the cement floor under the rug.

"Whoops. Isn't that a buzz kill?"

Dean stood up from his crouch, pulling out his book of exorcisms and incantations, beginning to read one from it, the old Latin flowing off of his tongue easily. She closed her eyes, forcing a tornado like wind to blow through the entire room. Dean's book suddenly flew out of his hands and she caused the only exit from the room to be blocked, leaving them both trapped down there.

"What are you laughing at? You're still trapped, bitch," said Dean.

"Well, yeah, but now, so are you. Bitch," she replied back to him, a gleam behind her eyes.

Sam scanned the bar room, his eyes looking for Dean. A prostitute sitting at the bar looked him over, licking her lips appreciatively. Sam ignored her, beginning to get worried, so he grabbed the male bartender's attention, waving his arm up slightly, flagging him down.

"Yes. What can I get you?" asked the bartender.

"Hi. Um, I'm looking for a guy. He was supposed to be here about an hour ago, probably acting very flirty. Have you happened to have seen him?" asked Sam.

"Well, maybe. That depends."

"Depends on what, exactly?" asked Sam, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

The bartender raised his eyebrows just slightly and Sam sighed, rolling his own eyes.

"Seriously? Jesus, the people in this damn town."

Sam fished his wallet from his back jeans pocket and placed two $20 bills in the man's open palm.

"He left with Kasey about 20 minutes ago. To her place for some Bible study."

"Can I have an address please?"

The bartender looked at Sam and Sam placed another $20 in his palm.

"The corner of Fifth and Clinton. Have fun."

He nodded at Sam before wiping his hands on his small towel and turning to place some drink orders. Sam headed outside of the bar, calling Alex on his way out.

Alex rolled over, wincing as her shoulder slightly burned from the movement. She heard her phone ringing shrilly on her bedside table, so she grabbed it and flipped it open to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Alex, Dean's in some serious trouble. I'm so sorry he left you alone when you needed to be taken care of, but how's your shoulder?" asked Sam.

"It's completely horrible, Sammy," said Alex, her eyes filling up with tears as she realized that her oldest brother had abandoned her just when she needed him the most. She ran her free hand through her long, blonde hair, trying to hold the tears back so she wouldn't seem pathetic.

"I know, baby, I know. But he needs our help, honey," said Sam.

"Where are you?"

"The corner of Fifth and Clinton. Thanks, sis."

"No problem. I'll be there in a few," replied Alex.

She hung up her phone and stood up, wincing again as more pain shot through her right shoulder. She gingerly pulled on a sweatshirt over her black tank top and found a bottle of Ibuprofen in one of the plastic grocery bags Dean had left behind on the table for her. She popped six of them in her mouth, dry swallowed them all, and slipped on her Converse tennis shoes. Finally, she walked outside, hijacked the nearest unoccupied car, and drove off to the address Sam had told her.

When Alex was halfway to the address Sam had given her, Sam called her.

"What's up, Sam?"

"I went to the address, Kasey's apartment. She's not there, but I found some sulfur on the windowsills. But I talked to the priest and he's taking me to some other place where they might be," spit out Sam.

"Um, okay then. Where is that, Sammy?" asked Alex, beginning to sound frustrated.

"I don't know. Track my cellphone, okay, sis?"

Alex sighed, but nodded.

"Got it. I'll meet you wherever."

Alex hung up quickly and began plugging in information into her cell phone to track Sam's own cell phone, just like Sam had taught her to do ages ago.

Sam climbed out of the priest's passenger side of his car, slamming the car door closed behind him as he climbed out. They were parked out front of an old looking wooden cottage with ivy and green leaves surrounding the place. As they walked up, Sam began yelling for his older brother.

"Dean!"

Dean sat across the room from Kasey, looking at her, when they both heard Sam's yelling. Dean smiled, a triumphant smirk permanently placed on his lips.

"Looks like you win," said Kasey, her face showing no signs of emotion.

Dean quickly stood up as banging sounded, loudly, from right above them. Once Dean's back was turned to head up the stairs, Kasey stood up as well.

Sam slammed his fist against the door once last time before sighing and turning away. He looked at the priest.

"You take that way," said Sam, pointing to the left and then heading towards the right.

He walked around the back of this extraordinarily large cottage, hearing Dean's yells.

"Sammy, down here! The basement caved in!"

Sam hurried towards the sound of Dean's voice, leaning over a small grate outside and seeing Dean's face right down below it.

"Hey, hold on, okay? We're coming," said Sam.

"Who's we? Alex?"

"No, I'm here with the father. Alex is on her way to help though," explained Sam.

Dean looked back at Kasey for a few seconds, but her face gave nothing away. He looked back up at Sam.

"Sam, be careful. Please," said Dean.

Sam's eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he stood up from his slight crouch. He pulled out his bottle of holy water and slowly walked around the corner, running into the father. The father's eyes quickly flickered from his regular blue to solid black and just when he raised his arm to fling Sam across the yard, a statue behind them was shot. The two men turned slightly to look and saw both Bobby and Alex standing beside them, Bobby holding the newly finished and refurbished Colt in his grip. The father smirked and flung both of them aside. He then flung Sam onto the top of their cars before kicking the cottage door open and entering the house.

Sam sat up as quickly as he could manage and jumped off the hoods of the cars, wincing as he landed. He rushed over to check on Alex and Bobby.

"Bobby, Alex. Are you guys alright?"

Bobby nodded, but handed Sam the gun, the Colt.

"Just go," said Bobby.

Sam nodded, but then looked over at Alex.

"Sammy, I'm fine, alright?"

Sam looked her over and saw that her gunshot wound was healing, but that her left shoulder was now dislocated.

"Alex, I'm not leaving you like this," said Sam.

"Sam, I've got her. Help Dean," chimed in Ruby, who stood beside all of their cars.

Sam looked over at her and Ruby nodded, so Sam rushed into the house.

Dean stood in the middle of the basement room, watching as the priest kicked and crashed through the rubble that had caused the basement to cave in in the first place. The priest stepped directly into the large room, kicking a few small rocks out of his way as he walked inside. Dean charged towards him, but with just a wave of his fingers, Dean flew against the wall. The priest then broke the seal that still trapped Kasey and she smiled, reaching for him and pulling him in close for a very passionate kiss. Dean managed to stand up as they were both still making out and he looked between the both of them.

"You two? Really?" he asked, motioning between the both of them using his index finger.

"For centuries. We've been to hell and back. Literally," said the priest.

Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Dean by the throat, lifting him off the ground as he began strangling him.

"Don't kill him, let's just go," pleaded Kasey.

She looked to Dean and then back to the priest.

"Please," she pleaded.

As Dean continued to struggle for breath, Sam suddenly appeared, shooting the priest in the shoulder with the Colt. He fell to the ground, dead. Sam then aimed the gun at Kasey, a murderous glare in his eyes.

"Sam, wait!" yelled Dean, but it was far too late as Sam had already shot off the gun, killing Kasey as well.

Dean looked over at his little brother, who still looked murderous and cold.

Sam and Dean climbed out of the cottage and the rubble that had caused the basement to cave in. They ran over to Alex and Bobby.

"Alex! Holy shit, what are you doing out here?" asked Dean.

"Saving your damn ass. Certainly not abandoning you in your moment of need," answered Alex, her face cold as she looked up at her oldest brother.

Dean stepped back from her and Sam rushed in to help her.

"Alex, we have to pop your shoulder back into place. Are you ready?" asked Sam.

Alex nodded and braced herself for the onslaught of pain headed for her. Sam grabbed her shoulder and quickly popped it back into place. Alex let out a scream of pain through her gritted teeth and groaned after it was over. She suddenly leaned over and threw up the contents of her stomach onto the grass beside her. Her eyes closed from exhaustion. Sam quickly tried to pick her up, but Dean beat him to it.

"I've got her, Sammy. Please, let me do it."

Sam silently nodded and began walking towards the Impala with Bobby as Dean picked Alex's limp form up from the grass and hauled her into his arms gently. He looked down at her sleeping, angelic face and leaned down, kissing her temple.

"I'm sorry I left you," he whispered into her hair as he carried her into the Impala's backseat.

Alex awoke the next morning with sunlight streaming through the motel room curtains. She groaned at the pain in her shoulder once again, but noticed that it was more of a dull ache than the burn from the infection she was more used to. She looked over at the sleeping beside her, fully expecting it to be Sam, but instead it was Dean sleeping beside her. She sat up and Dean rolled over, awake as well.

"I'm surprised you're even here with me right now. When I need to be taken care of, you tend to run and hide," sneered Alex, slowly standing up and getting her things gathered so she could go take a shower.

Dean grabbed her wrist quickly, pulling her back to face him.

"Alex, listen to me. I'm so sorry I didn't stay here with you last night. I know you needed me, but I fucked it up. A lot. But please, don't stay mad at me. I only have so much time left with you and Sammy," said Dean, his eyes welling up with tears at the end of his sentence.

Alex's eyes were also filled with tears as she silently nodded and sat on Dean's lap, hugging him.

"I'm sorry, Alex, I'm so sorry," said Dean.

Early in the morning, Dean was driving the Impala into a sleepy little town, arguing with Sam as Alex sat in the backseat, trying to ignore their fighting.

"I don't understand, Dean. Why not?" yelled Sam.

"Because I said so," answered Dean.

"But we've got the Colt now."

"Sam-"

"We can summon the crossroads demon, pull the gun on her, and force her to let you out of the deal!"

"We don't even know if that will work! All you're pitching me right now is a bunch of ifs and maybes and that's not good enough because if you we screw with this deal, you die!" yelled Dean.

"And if we don't screw with this, you die!"

"Sam, enough! I'm not having this conversation!"

"Why? Because you said so?"

"Yes, exactly. Because I said so."

"Well, you know what? You're not Dad," yelled Sam.

The car was suddenly very silent as Dean looked directly at Sam and Alex looked between both of her brothers, her eyes very wide.

"Yeah, but I am the oldest. And I'm doing what's best, so you're gonna let this go, do you understand me?" asked Dean, looking Sam straight in the face.

Sam composed himself, reigning in his anger and frustration and looking away from Dean's gaze and out the window to the dreary world outside. The car was silent for a few more moments until Alex finally spoke up from the backseat.

"Um, so. This psychotic killer rips victims apart with, um, brute-like ferocity. But the lunar cycle's right, so if it's actually a werewolf, we don't have very long. This Friday will be the last time it changes for a whole month."

"Two days. No sweat. No sweat at all," said Dean.

He pushed his foot down on the gas pedal, speeding up.

Dean, Alex, and Sam entered the victim's hospital room and he looked up as they all approached him.

"Hi, Dane?" asked Alex.

The man in the hospital bed nodded and the three siblings approached him.

"Dane, we're detectives. Plant, Page, and Peyson," said Dean.

Dane nodded.

"Yeah, I've been expecting you all morning. You're the sketch artists, right?"

Sam looked confused, but Alex went with the flow of things.

"Yes, of course. Absolutely. These two," Alex motioned to Dean and Sam, "are the best in the business."

The boys shot Alex dirty glares, but she continued on the conversation like it was nothing.

"But before we get to that, we'd like to know how you got away last night," finished Alex.

"Um, I honestly have no idea. I was hiding and he… found me. He was coming straight for me and then he just… stopped. And stared at me with this blank look. After that, he just took off running," finished Dane.

"Okay. Um," Sam pulled out his small spiral notebook and a pen from his jacket pocket, "we're gonna need every physical detail you can remember."

Sam pulled the cap of the pen off with his teeth and waited, listening as Dane spoke.

"Um, alright. He was about six feet tall, dark hair. Maybe blue colored eyes, but I'm not sure. I mean, it was really dark."

Dean and Alex nodded.

"Sure, sure," said Dean.

"Did they seem, um, animalish?" asked Alex.

"Excuse me?" asked Dane, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

"What about his teeth? Did you notice anything strange about them?" asked Sam.

"Um, no. They were just teeth," responded Dane.

"Teeth. Alright," said Sam, drawing in his little notebook once again.

"Alright, look here, folks. He was just a normal, run of the mill guy, with normal eyes and teeth and fingernails!" yelled Dane.

He began to get choked up, so the siblings just looked at him.

"Look, those were my brothers, alright? And this man… he killed my brothers. So how would you feel?"

Dane looked over at Sam, who looked down at his notebook for a second before looking back up at Dane's face.

"I can't imagine anything worse."

Dean looked extremely guilty at Sam's admission, so Alex continued talking to Dane.

"Look, I know this isn't easy for you at all, but if you could remember anymore physical details, which would help us catch this man a whole lot faster."

"Well, there was one more little thing. He had a tattoo on his arm of a cartoon character. It was, um, that guy who's always chasing the roadrunner."

"Wiley Coyote!" said Dean, pointing and snapping his fingers at Dane.

"Yep, that's him," said Dane.

Sam nodded and finished drawing his sketch, putting away his notebook.

"Thanks for all of your help, Dane. We'll do our very best to nab this guy for you," said Dean.

Dane nodded at all of them as they left his hospital room and walked out of the hospital completely and into the fresh morning air.

"So it's obviously not a werewolf," said Sam, as they walked away from the hospital towards the parked Impala.

"Yeah, so what the hell is it?" asked Dean.

"It's, uh…"

"Could be a…" began both Alex and Sam at the same time and then they both stopped, neither one having any sort of explanation.

"Yeah, me neither," said Dean.

The next morning, Sam, Dean, and Alex were back at the hospital, but this time, they were there to talk to a young woman. They waited outside the door as the doctor finished talking to her first. The doctor walked over to them and nodded once he was finished talking to the victim.

"Detectives."

"Doctor Garrison," said Dean, acknowledging the doctor.

"What the hell is going on around here?" he asked, his hands now placed on his hips. "My whole town's going insane."

"We'll let you know as soon as we know something," promised Sam.

The doctor nodded and gently pushed past them, leaving the room completely. The siblings walked over to the woman's bedside.

"Mrs. Watson? Hi," said Dean, holding up his badge as they all approached her bedside. "We just have a couple of questions to ask you, ma'am."

"Do we really have to go over this whole thing again?" she asked, her eyes bubbling over with a whole new set of fresh tears.

"Mrs. Watson, can you tell us how you got away?" asked Alex, her face showing the utmost sympathy for the poor woman.

She nodded and looked down at her hands before looking back up at all of them again.

"I didn't eat nearly as much as Kent did. So I wasn't as out of it. When the old woman was… carving up Kent, I shoved her and then she fell and cracked her head open on the stove."

She began crying once more.

"She's dead, right? I, I killed her?"

"Do you have any idea why she would do this to you?" asked Alex, ignoring her questions.

"No. One minute, she's just a sweet old lady and the next minute, she was like a monster."

"Can you remember anything else?" asked Sam, gently.

Mrs. Watson thought for a quick second before answering them.

"Um, yeah, actually. Did you happen to find a little girl there? By any chance?"

"A little girl?" asked Alex, her tone laced with obvious confusion.

"I thought I saw her outside the window. But then she just disappeared, vanished, into thin air. It must have been the drugs or something," said Mrs. Watson.

"Um, this disappearing girl. What did she happen to look like?" asked Dean.

"Um, she had this dark, dark hair and really pale skin. She was probably around eight. It was such a beautiful child, it was odd to see her in the middle of something so horrible."

"We understand. Thank you for being so brave, Mrs. Watson. We really appreciate all of your help," said Alex.

She gave her a gentle smile before following her siblings out of the hospital room.

Dean pulled the Impala up to the old woman's house and climbed out behind Alex and Sam. They all walked in together and began inspecting their separate corners of the small house.

"Well, there's no sulfur over here," said Dean.

"Well, the EMF is going nuts," said Sam, who was standing over by one of the many windows, running the EMF meter over the lace curtains.

"What the hell do you make of that?" asked Dean.

Sam shrugged his shoulders, but Alex piped up.

"Actually, I have a theory. Well, sort of."

"Hit it, sis," said Dean, walking over to his duffel bags that rested on the little kitchen table.

"Well, I've been thinking about fairy tales."

Sam started laughing, but Alex punched him in the arm, hard.

"Oh, that's nice. Do you think about fairy tales often?" asked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"No, Dean, I'm talking about the murders. A guy and a girl hiking through the woods and an old lady tries to eat them? That's obviously Hansel and Gretel. And then we've got the three brothers, arguing over how to build houses. And then they were attacked by the big bad wolf."

"Three little pigs," answered Sam.

Alex nodded excitedly.

"But wait. I thought all those things ended with happily ever after?" asked Dean.

"Oh, no, no. Not the originals, at least. See, the Grimm brothers stuff was kind of like the folklore of its day. Sex, violence, cannibalism. And it got sanitized over the years, turning into Disney films and bedtime stories," explained Alex, shrugging on her leather jacket.

"So do you think these murders are… what? A re-enactment?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, that's a little crazy there, sis," agreed Sam.

"As crazy as what? Every single day of our entire lives?"

Sam and Dean stopped what they were doing, but then they nodded their agreement.

"Touché," said Dean.

He grabbed a duffel bag from off of the little kitchen table they were resting on and threw it over his shoulder.

"So how's the creepy ghost girl involved?" he asked.

"Um, well. She must have been here for a reason. I'm willing to bet that she was at the construction site too," offered Alex.

"Well, we're off to do some research now, aren't we?" asked Sam.

Alex smiled slyly, nodding her head as she walked over to the front door of the small cabin and walked outside towards the Impala. Dean groaned, rolling his eyes as he followed his siblings out the door.

Alex walked out of the local library branch and into the blinding sun as she approached Sam and Dean, who were waiting outside of the library's front entrance.

"So?" asked Sam, following Alex as she walked ahead of them.

"I checked every record. Found the usual amount of violent childhood deaths for a town this size, but zero were little pale skinned, black haired little girls," answered Alex.

Dean and Sam nodded as they all continued walking onto a small path through a little trail of trees and bushes.

"So please tell me you guys have got something really good because I have just wasted the last six hours of my life," said Alex.

"Well, kind of, I guess. Have you ever heard of Lillian Bailey? She's, uh, a British medium from the 1930's? Well, she had this thing for trances. She would go into these unconscious states, and get this. Her thoughts and actions were completely controlled by spirits," explained Sam.

"Like a ghost puppet master," chimed in Dean.

"Well, alright then. So do we think that's what this girl is doing? Sending wolf boy and grandma into trances and having them kill people?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, maybe. Probably kind of like spirit hypnosis," said Sam.

"Fairy tale trances. Huh. That's pretty weird, even for us," said Dean.

He stopped walking once he saw Alex and Sam looking at the rather large house that rested a few yards away from them.

"Look," said Alex, pointing towards the front porch of the house.

Dean looked over and saw a pumpkin resting on the porch's front railing.

"Yeah, so? It's pretty close to Halloween."

"No, man. It's like Cinderella. You know, the pumpkin that turns into a carriage before midnight, the mice that help her get ready," explained Sam.

Dean looked at him, his eyebrows raised.

"Dude. Could you be anymore gay?"

Sam shrugged, but Alex just rolled her eyes.

"Dean, Sammy had to sit through all of those Disney movies with me because we are twins and whatever Daddy's little princess wanted, Daddy's little princess got," smirked Alex, winking at Dean as she headed toward the house, which was across the street from them.

Dean unlocked the front door of the house using his knife and the door squeaked as Alex slowly pushed it open as she walked inside.

"Hey, Sammy. Who knows, maybe you'll find your fairy godmother," laughed Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes once again and smacked Dean's arm. He pouted his lips, rubbing his arm where she had hit him.

"Suck it up," she whispered.

She headed into one corner of the house with Dean right behind her and Sam stepped into the next room when suddenly, they all heard a noise from farther in the house. All three of them turned around, looked at one another, and then reached inside their jackets, pulling out their guns and locking them into place. Dean shut the front door and followed his siblings farther into the house. They listened closely, following the clinking noises they heard. They were led into the kitchen on the other side of the house, where a young woman was handcuffed to her oven.

"You have to help me, she's a lunatic," cried the woman.

Sam knelt down on the dirty floor beside her to help her, grabbing her wallet from beside her and looking for identification.

"Who is?" asked Alex.

"My stepmom. She just flipped out, screaming at me, beating me up. She chained me up in here and then just left. I think she left, at least."

"Where is she now?" asked Sam.

"I have no clue," sobbed the woman, bursting into tears.

Dean looked over into the hallway for a split second and his eyes widened as he saw the little black haired, pale faced little girl Mrs. Watson had described to them earlier.

"Alex. Sam," whispered Dean.

They all looked over into the hallway and saw the little girl peeking around the corner now. Once she saw them looking over at her, she disappeared back around the corner. Dean and Alex slowly got up, walking towards the little girl's last appearance spot and walked through the living room until they saw her once again, standing in the middle of the next room over, looking straight at the both of them, her face an emotionless mask. Then, she disappeared once again, so Dean and Alex followed her into the sun room. They walked farther into the sun room until they were standing in the middle of the room, only a few feet away from the little girl. She disappeared one last time, and they quickly spun around to see the small girl standing behind them now.

"And so. Who are you?" asked Alex.

The girl just stared at them for a few more seconds before flickering in and out, then just full on disappearing, leaving an apple in her place. Dean bent over and picked up the apple, holding it in his hands.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked Alex.

Dean and Alex waited across the street as Sam helped the woman from inside the house get help. A few minutes later, he jogged over to them from across the street.

"The paramedics just picked up Cinderella," said Sam as he approached them.

Dean threw Sam the apple he and Alex had collected from the little girl.

"So what's this nice, shiny red apple mean, fairy tale boy?"

Sam threw Dean a sarcastic smirk before answering his question.

"I'm guessing that it's probably Snow White."

"Snow White? Aww, I saw that movie," said Alex.

She began walking towards the car's passenger side door when she suddenly stopped.

"Alex. What is it?" asked Dean.

"Snow White, of course! The evil stepmom gives Snow White a poisoned apple, which puts her into a deep sleep. Guys, that little girl we keep seeing must be in a coma, not dead!"

"To the hospital we go then," said Dean, climbing into the driver's side of the Impala.

"Nice job, Alex," said Sam.

He gave her a fist bump as they both climbed into the Impala as well.

"No, I'm really sorry. We don't have any comatose little girls here," said the nurse, who was standing behind the nurse's station desk that the siblings were asking for help from.

"It's mostly old guys. And, well, Callie. But she's been around since before I started here," commented the nurse.

"Callie?" asked Dean.

"Yep, Callie. It's so sad really and poor Dr. Garrison, he just… won't give up on her."

"Is that another patient of his or something?" asked Alex, curiously.

"Oh, no. That's his daughter," answered the nurse.

Alex, Sam, and Dean exchanged curious glances before thanking the nurse and heading towards Callie's room.

Alex, Sam, and Dean watched and listened from the doorway of Callie's room as Dr. Garrison sat beside Callie's bed, reading her fairy tales from a book of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. Callie was asleep, deep into a coma, as she lay there in her hospital bed. Her long, black hair was flowing beside her and her skin was as pale as snow. Dr. Garrison looked up, noticing the three siblings standing there in her doorway. He removed his reading glasses, closed the fairy tale book, and patted his daughter gently on the hand before standing up and walking over to the three of them.

"Can I help you, Detectives?"

"Oh. Well, we just heard that Callie is your daughter and we wanted to say how very sorry we are to hear that," explained Sam.

"Oh. Well, thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Doctor Garrison left the three of them and began walking down the hallway and they followed him, only a few steps behind him.

"We're, um, actually headed this way, as well. If you don't mind us walking with you," said Alex, shooting a charming smile his way.

Dr. Garrison smiled gently back at her and nodded his head as they walked along beside him.

"So, um, how long has Callie been like that?" asked Alex, her tone soft and gentle.

"She's, uh, been here since she was eight years old. She swallowed some, um, bleach. Never figured out how she got her little hands on that bottle of bleach. Anyway, my wife found her and got her to the ER. And I was on call at that point," explained Dr. Garrison.

"Uh huh. And your wife. Is that Callie's stepmother?" asked Dean.

Dr. Garrison suddenly stopped walking and looked over at Dean, biting his lip before answering.

"Actually, yes. How did you know that?"

"Lucky guess," said Dean, smiling sheepishly.

"Hmm, yes. Well, Julie was the only mother Callie ever even knew. My wife passed away last year. It's just my daughter and me now. She's all I've got left in this world."

Dr. Garrison looked at them for a second before clearing his throat to break the moment.

"Um, if you'll excuse me…"

Dr. Garrison walked away from them down the hallway and turning the corner.

"We've gotta find a way to stop Callie," said Alex, once Dr. Garrison was out of sight and earshot.

Alex and Sam walked through the hospital while Dean ran around town to save the little girl from the next story Dr. Garrison had read Callie earlier, Little Red Riding Hood. They were in search of Dr. Garrison once again so that he could help them save Callie and everyone else in the small and sleepy little town that was currently being terrorized. The twins rounded a corner and saw him, so they rushed down the hallway towards him.

"Dr. Garrison, we need your help," called out Sam as they both approached him.

"Sure. What can I do for the two of you?" asked Dr. Garrison.

"Well, um, it's actually about Callie. Alright, Doctor. This isn't gonna be easy to hear, but what happened to Callie was not an accident," explained Alex.

"I'm really sorry, but it's true. There are things you don't know, Doctor. About your wife," finished Sam, following Dr. Garrison down the hallway they had just come from as he walked away from them.

Alex and Sam followed close behind him, not letting him get away.

"My wife?"

"Doctor, your wife poisoned Callie," said Sam.

"Why would you say something so completely horrible to me?" asked Dr. Garrison, turning to look at the twins.

"Because. Doctor, we need your help, please," begged Alex.

"Stay away from me and my daughter," said Dr. Garrison, slamming Callie's room door closed in their faces.

Sam opened the door a few seconds later, Alex following him into the room. Dr. Garrison stood up from his chair, coming towards them.

"I'm calling security."

Sam placed his arm out in front of Dr. Garrison, halting his progress towards the door and blocking his way.

"Look, we don't have time to do this gently. People are going to get hurt because of Callie. Callie is going to hurt them," said Sam, his voice menacing and deep.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" asked Dr. Garrison.

"Look, you're gonna think we're crazy, but please, understand me. Your daughter, Callie, is still around here. But she's only a spirit," explained Alex, slowly.

Dr. Garrison glanced over at his comatose daughter lying in her hospital bed. He walked over to her bedside and looked down at her for a few moments before sitting down in a chair closest to her bedside, but also closest to the hospital room's door and looking up at Sam and Alex, who were now standing on the other side of the room and looking over at him and his child.

"So you've seen her too, then?" asked Dr. Garrison.

Sam and Alex stared over at him in complete disbelief.

"What? You've seen her?" asked Alex.

She watched Dr. Garrison stand up and walk over to Callie's bedside, staring down at her.

"I sensed her. Callie, her presence, scent. I even saw her standing at the foot of my bed, but I never… believed in it. I honestly thought I was dreaming, I-"

"It wasn't a dream," cut in Sam. "She looks like she did when she was eight. White dress, red ribbon in her hair. She's been trying to talk to you."

"You're not cops, are you?"

"No," answered Alex.

"Who are you?"

"We're someone who knows a little bit about this type of thing," answered Sam.

"Well, what you said about my wife, poisoning Callie…" began Dr. Garrison, but then he stopped, his eyes welling with tears.

"Sir, Callie told us herself. Not in so many words, but in her own way, she told us," explained Sam.

"My wife loved Callie, so how is that possible? You know what, no, no. I don't, nor won't, believe you," said Dr. Garrison.

"Look, sir. Callie is killing people. She's angry and she's desperate because nobody will listen to her. So you, sir, have to listen to her, you must. Please, listen to your daughter," begged Alex, looking at Dr. Garrison and pleading with him by using her eyes.

Dr. Garrison sat on the edge of Callie's bed beside her feet and began to softly speak to her. Alex and Sam stood close to the foot of the bed in case something randomly went wrong.

"Callie? Callie, it's me, Dad. Daddy. Is it true? Did Mommy do that to you?"

Dr. Garrison paused, his eyes welling up with some more tears before he continued on with his speech to his child.

"I know… I know I wasn't listening before, but I am now, darling. Daddy's right here. Please, honey, is there any way you can tell me?"

Dr. Garrison grabbed Callie's hand and Alex nudged Sam when the little girl appeared from behind Dr. Garrison.

"Doctor," whispered Sam, nudging his chin towards the little girl.

Dr. Garrison turned around to face the younger version of Callie. He reached his arm out towards her.

"Is it true?" he asked her, his voice a small whisper as he stared at his little girl.

The little girl nodded her head silently. Dr. Garrison's tears spilled over onto his cheeks as he looked at his little girl.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, baby. But listen to me, you've gotta stop what you're doing, alright? You're hurting people. I know everything now, okay? I know the truth and now, it's time for you to let go. And it's time for me to let you go," said Dr. Garrison.

He stood up and kissed his little girl on the forehead, listening as her heart monitors stopped beeping completely. Alex grabbed Sam's hand, squeezing it tightly as she watched Callie finally pass away. Sam squeezed her hand back and pulled Alex into his chest, holding her close as he watched Dr. Garrison cry over his little girl now being gone.

Later that night, as Alex and Dean lay sleeping peacefully, Sam was awake and dressed. He grabbed his small backpack and leaned over Alex's sleeping form, gently kissing her forehead as she slept soundly. He quietly slipped out of the motel room, glancing at Dean quickly before he slipped away into the night.

Sam threw one of his many fake I.D.'s into the crossroads box, threw it back into the hole he had previously dug moments before, and shoved all of the dirt back over the top of the hole as he waited for the crossroads demon to appear.

"Well, well. Little Sammy Winchester. I'm touched. I mean, your brother's been to see me twice, but you. I've never had the pleasure. So what can I do for you, Sam?"

Sam pulled the Colt out of the waistband of his jeans and pointed it straight at her chest. She looked down at the gun briefly, then looked back up at Sam, smirking.

"Hmm. That's not the original Colt. Where did you get that?"

Sam continued staring her down and the demon's face turned to one of understanding.

"Ruby. Had to be. God, she is just such a pain in my ass, but she'll get what's coming to her. You can count on that."

"That's enough. Now, I came here to make you an offer," said Sam.

"You're gonna make me an offer? That's adorable."

"You can let Dean out of his deal right now. He lives, I live, and you live. Everyone goes home happy. Or…"

Sam loaded and cocked the Colt, aiming it at her chest once again.

"You stop breathing. Permanently."

The crossroads demon smiled, walking, around the circle and trading places with Sam.

"So much tough talk. And I have to tell you, it's not very convincing. I mean, come on, Sam. Do you really even wanna break the deal?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know. Aren't you tired of cleaning up Dean's messes? Aren't you and Alex tired of being bossed around like snot-nosed little children? You're both stronger than Dean. You're better than him. Admit it. You're here, going through the motions, but both you and little Alex will be so relieved when Dean's finally gone."

"Shut your mouth," yelled Sam.

"You can finally be free."

"Alright, enough of your crap. Let Dean out of his deal. Now."

She shook her head.

"Sorry, sweetheart. But your brother's an adult. He made that deal of his own free will, fair and square. It's ironclad."

"Every deal can be broken," said Sam.

"Nope. Not this one."

"Fine. Then I'll kill you. You're gone and so is the deal."

The demon laughed, throwing her head back as she did so.

"Huh, Well, guess again, lover. Sam, I'm just a saleswoman. I got a boss just like everybody else and he holds the contract. Not me. He really wants Dean's soul, bad, and believe me, he's not going to let this soul go."

Sam sighed, but shot her straight through the forehead anyway, feeling absolutely no remorse.

Dean was driving the Impala to their next job as Alex sat in the back, and Sam was in the passenger seat. Dean snuck a quick glance at Sam before speaking.

"So. There's a bullet missing from the Colt. Either one of you want to tell me how that happened?"

Alex looked over at Sam.

"You went after it, didn't you, Sam? The damn crossroads demon after I told you not to," yelled Dean.

Sam just shrugged.

"You shot her, Sam?" asked Alex.

Sam nodded slowly.

"She was being a smartass!"

"So does that mean I'm out of my deal or what?" asked Dean, hesitantly.

"Don't you think I would've mentioned that little fact, Dean? No. Someone else holds the damn contract," answered Sam.

"Who?" asked Alex.

"She didn't say."

"Well, we should find out who. Our best lead, of course, would have been the crossroads demon, but-" began Alex, but Dean cut her off abruptly.

"It was a fucking stupid risk and you shouldn't have done it, alright?"

Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes, turning to look out of his window once again.

"I would've done it," whispered Alex, under her breath.

She leaned her head against the cold glass of her backseat window and Dean looked at her through his rearview mirror, having heard her little comment. He sighed.

"Well, I don't understand. I already went through all of this with the other detectives," said Mrs. Case, the aunt of the victim whose death they were investigating.

"Right. Well, uh, we're from the sheriff's department, not the police department. You know, two completely different departments," explained Dean.

Mrs. Case gave him a very strange look and Dean's smile faded. He cleared his throat as Alex and Sam continued the questions.

"So, Mrs. Case," began Sam, but the older woman stopped him.

"Please. _Miss _Case."

She looked Sam over, smiling and licking her lips as she did so, causing Alex to laugh. Mrs. Case then glared at Alex, so Alex dropped her smile and opened up her small spiral notebook to jot down some quick notes about the victim's case.

"Okay, um, _Miss _Case, you were the one who found your niece, right?" asked Sam.

Miss Case nodded and launched into her story.

"I came home and she was in the shower."

"Drowned?" asked Alex.

"Well, so the coroner says. Now you tell me. How can someone drown in the shower?"

"How would you describe Sheila's behavior in the days before her death? I mean, did she seem frightened? Maybe she said something out of the ordinary," volunteered Sam.

Miss Case thought for a moment and then realization dawned upon her face.

"Wait a second. You're working for Alexa, aren't you?"

Sam and Alex looked at Dean for help answering her question, so Dean nodded and smiled, laughing.

"Well, yep, you caught us. Alexa is our great friend," replied Dean.

"Well, why didn't you just say so? Alexa has been just such a comfort."

Miss Case sat down in her pink armchair, placing the picture of Sheila that she had been holding to her chest and set it back down onto her end table.

"But I'm sorry, I believed the case was solved."

"Uh, well, no. Not quite yet," answered Sam, sheepishly.

"I see. Well, yes, Sheila did mention something quite strange right before she passed. She said she saw a boat. One minute it was there, but then it was gone the very next moment. Like it had just disappeared right before her very own eyes. You think it could be a ghost ship?" asked Miss Case.

"Alexa thinks it could be. A ghost ship, that is."

"Well, um. It could be," said Sam.

Miss Case smiled up at him.

"What a crazy old broad," said Dean, as they walked alongside the harbor.

"Why? Because she believes in ghosts?" asked Sam.

"Aww, look at Sammy sticking up for his little girlfriend. You cougar hound," teased Alex, nudging Sam's shoulder.

"Bite me," said Sam.

He grabbed Alex's arm and pulled her under his shoulder and into his armpit, mussing the top of her head to mess up her once perfectly curly mop of hair.

"Ugh, Sam. I'm gonna kill you!" yelled Alex.

She stopped walking once Sam had let her out from under his arm, but the boys continued walking on, laughing at her. Alex smiled as they looked ahead, getting a running start, and launching herself onto Sam's back. He caught her and she locked her arms tightly around his neck, choking him. Dean looked at them, laughing, as Sam struggled to catch a breath with Alex's arms crushing his windpipe. Eventually, after a few minutes, Alex loosened her hold on Sam's neck and kissed his cheek.

"I love you, Sammy."

"I love you too, Alex."

She gently slid off of Sam's back and took her usual place of walking in the middle, between her two siblings.

"So who's this Alexa kid? We got a new player in town or something?" asked Dean.

"Maybe, maybe not. But it doesn't matter, we're still gonna do our job," said Sam.

"Speaking of our job, this so called 'ghost ship' pops up every 37 years in this small town, just like clockwork. Every 37 years, a rash of weirdo, dry-land drownings also pops up," piped in Alex.

"So whatever's happening here is just getting started, basically," said Dean.

Sam nodded begrudgingly.

"The lore is a whole bunch of death omens. The Griffin, the Flying Dutchman," explained Alex.

"So what exactly happens here? You see this ship and then a few short hours later, you just die? So what's the next step then?" asked Dean.

"Well, we've gotta ID the boat," said Sam.

The three of them hustled up some concrete steps to the curb, where the Impala was parked, but the Impala was no longer there.

"Isn't this where we parked?" asked Dean, stepping into the middle of the currently empty street while Alex and Sam stayed standing on the curb.

"We thought so," the twins said in unison.

"Where the hell is my car? Somebody stole my car!" yelled Dean, walking back onto the curb.

He bent over at his waist, taking long, deep breaths as he began hyperventilating.

"Whoa, Dean. Please calm down. Take it easy," said Alex, helping him stand back up straight.

"A 1967 black Chevy Impala? Was that yours?" asked a woman as she approached.

Alex rolled her eyes when she saw who the woman was.

"Bella," said Sam.

She smiled and then looked over at Dean.

"I'm really sorry, but I had that particular car towed. I mean, it was in a tow-away zone."

"No, it wasn't! But what the hell are you even doing here?" asked Dean.

Bella just shrugged.

"Oh, a little yachting."

Alex scoffed and looked at Bella.

"You're Alexa. You've been working with that old lady."

Bella smiled.

"Gert's an old friend. There's a lot of lovely old women like Gert up and down the Eastern Seaboard. I sell them charms. The comfort I provide for them is very real," said Bella, beginning to walk away from them.

"Scamming poor old women. How do you even sleep at night?" asked Sam.

Bella turned back around to face all of them.

"On silk sheets, rolling naked in money. Really, Sam, it's not that difficult," answered Bella.

"You are such a horrible person," said Alex.

"Really, Alex, I expect the attitude from Dean, but not you."

"You shot me, you fucking bitch!"

Bella just rolled her eyes.

"I barely even grazed you."

"Oh, what the hell ever. You do know that what's going on around here is real, right?"

"Oh, I'm very aware. Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved. Now the old hag's stopped payment until she gets some real answers. So just stay the hell out of my way before you cause any more trouble," said Bella.

She gave a slight wave of her fingers before turning and walking away from all of them once again.

"Come on. Let's go get the Impala," said Alex.

Dean, Alex, and Sam saw Bella interviewing the man whose brother had been killed last night. They quickly walked over to them, flashing their badges right into Bella's face.

"Ma'am, this man's been through quite enough. You should probably go," said Dean.

Bella glared at all of them, her glare and eyes full of hate towards the three siblings before she stalked off down the street. They turned to face the man now, once she was halfway down the street.

"Sorry you had to deal with that, sir. They're like roaches," said Dean.

The man nodded at them.

"So we heard you say your brother had seen a ship. Did he happen to tell you what it looked like?" asked Alex, gently.

"It was, um, like the old Yankee clippers. You know, like a smuggling vessel. A rakish top sail, angel-head figure on the bow."

"Well, that's sure a lot of detail for a ship your brother saw," said Sam.

"Well, my brother and I were night driving. I saw the ship too."

Sam nodded and took a glance over his shoulder. Bella was pointing her finger towards them while she was talking to two police officers.

"Alright, well, we'll be in touch," said Alex, taking off with her brothers.

"God damn it, I hate that damn bitch," said Alex.

Bella smiled as she watched the three of them walk away.

Later that night, the three siblings were parked outside of the dead man's house, watching his brother pack up all of his things into some cardboard boxes.

"Anything good?" asked Alex, leaning forward from the backseat to look over Sam's shoulder.

"Nope, not really. Both brothers graduated from college, neither one of them had a criminal record, minus a few minor speeding tickets. They did inherit their father's real estate fortune six years ago, though," said Sam.

"How much?" asked Dean, looking from the house's windows and over to his siblings.

"A hundred and twelve million," answered Sam, smiling.

Dean's eyes widened as he let loose a high pitched whistle through his teeth.

"Nice life."

"Yep. So why would they have seen this ship? Why did Sheila see it too? I mean, what would they all have in common?" asked Sam, flipping through the files once again.

"There's always something," said Alex.

"Hey, you!"

They all turned to look as the man came strolling down his front lawn, looking directly at all three of them. The three siblings climbed out of their vehicle.

"What are you doing? Are you watching me?" he yelled.

"Sir, please calm down," pleaded Sam.

"There's no way you guys are cops. Not dressed like that and not in that car."

"Look, we are cops, alright? We're undercover and we're here because we think you're in a lot of danger," explained Alex.

"From who?" asked the man.

"If you would just settle down, we can talk about it," said Sam.

"No. Just stay the hell away from me!"

The man ran over to his little car and hopped into the driver's side, peeling the car away from the house as he stepped on the gas pedal. But before he could even leave the driveway, his car turned off by itself and wouldn't start back up, no matter how hard he tried. Alex ran back to the Impala's trunk with Dean right behind her, grabbing their salt filled shotguns and running back over to where Sam stood, tossing him one, as well. Sam quickly climbed over the security gate first and ran over towards the stalled car. He saw the man, Peter, hunched over the steering wheel, dead. Sam also saw a huge, burly looking man sitting in the passenger seat, his hair and body dripping wet. Dean and Alex finally reached the vehicle then and were on the passenger's side, seeing the burly man as well.

"Sam!" yelled Dean, aiming his gun.

Sam flung his body away from the car as Dean shot through the passenger's side window and the mysterious man suddenly disappeared. As soon as he was gone, Sam rushed to open the driver's side door, yanking it open and checking Peter's pulse. Sam looked over at his siblings, shaking his head sadly. Dean slammed his fist down against the car's door in anger and Alex looked away from the car sadly.

The next morning, Sam was reading up on ship wrecks, Dean was cleaning one of his many guns, and Alex was sitting down next to Sam at the table, examining her split ends. A sudden knock sounded on the house's front door, so Dean stood up and walked over to the door. He sighed when he looked through the peephole, but he opened the front door anyway, allowing Bella to walk into the house.

"Dear Lord. Are you people actually squatting? Charming."

She walked over to the table where Sam and Alex were sitting, each one of them glaring up at her.

"So how did things go last night with Peter?"

None of them said anything, and Bella smirked.

"That well, huh? Look, I think the four of us should have a heart to heart talk. I mean, I do come bearing gifts," said Bella.

She unzipped the portfolio she was holding in her hands and handed them an old photo of the ghost ship.

"I've ID'd the ship. It's the Ospirito Santo, a merchant sailing vessel with a very colorful history. In 1859, a sailor was accused of treason. He was tried aboard the ship, found guilty, and was hanged. He was 37."

"Well, that explains the 37 year old cycle," said Sam.

"Well, aren't you just a little sharp tack?"

Bella smirked, digging through her papers for another picture, which she handed to Alex first, since she was closer to her reach.

"Isn't this the guy we saw last night?" asked Alex, handing the picture over to her siblings, who looked at it intently, as well.

"You guys saw him?" asked Bella.

"Yes, except he was missing a hand," said Dean.

"His right hand. He was cremated, but not before they cut off his hand and used it for The Hand of Glory," explained Sam.

"The right hand of a hanged man is a very powerful cult object," said Alex.

"Yeah, but this still doesn't explain why he's chosen the victims he's been choosing," said Sam, handing the old photos back to Bella.

"Oh, that's really easy. I'll tell you why," said Bella.

She put the photos back into her little organizer portfolio, zipping it back up, and then looked at the three siblings.

"Who cares? Find the hand, burn it, and then stop that damn, bloody thing."

"I still don't get it. Why are you telling us all of this," said Dean, leaning back in his chair and looking over at Bella.

"Because I know exactly where the hand is, but I need all of your help."

Alex, Sam, Dean, and Bella were at the Sea Pines Maritime Museum's annual fall gala, dressed to the absolute nines. Bella and Dean were posing as dates, while Sam was paired with Gert Case, and Alex was with a man named Cory that Bella happened to know in the small town. Bella and Dean were currently standing around at the bar, waiting for their golden opportunity to steal The Hand of Glory. They laughed as Sam slow danced with Gert, looking extremely uncomfortable. Alex laughed lightly with Cory on the dance floor as they spun around. Dean and Bella glanced around the room before sneaking up the stairs quickly.

"Room 235. It's in a glass case wired for alarm. Go, hurry. I'll stay here and be on the lookout," said Bella.

Dean nodded and began to leave the room they were standing in when Bella called his name.

"Dean?"

Dean turned back around to face her and Bella gave him the once over, her frown turning into a smile as she met his gaze.

"After this job, we should really have hot, angry sex."

Dean's eyebrows rose slightly at her comment before shaking his head, turning around, and leaving the room in search of the hand.

Alex watched Sam dancing with Gert and laughed as she grabbed Sam's ass. Alex laughed, but decided she better save him. She put her glass of champagne back down on the bar and walked over to them, tapping Sam's shoulder gently. He let go of Gert's hand, saw Alex's face behind him, and let out a large sigh of relief.

"Would you mind too terribly if I happened to cut in?" asked Alex, very sweetly as she batted her eyelashes at Mrs. Case.

Mrs. Case gave Alex the once over before slowly stepping back and motioning to Sam.

"No, not at all. Please, be my guest."

Alex smiled sweetly at the older woman before taking her place in Sam's hold. Gert glared at her back as she retreated over to the bar.

"Thanks, little sis," whispered Sam.

"No problem, Sammy. Although I do think I've probably added another enemy to my long list now."

Alex discreetly pointed over at Gert, who was glaring at the both of them as she sipped from her champagne flute. Sam lifted his head up and looked over to see her glaring at them. He just laughed and pulled Alex closer to him, kissing her cheek.

"Yeah, it probably doesn't help that I just kissed your cheek and have been whispering in your ear all while we've been dancing," said Sam.

Alex threw her head back, laughing, as Sam laughed along with her and then spun her around on the dance floor.

Dean walked back into the room where Bella was standing after a good thirty minutes. He opened the door and walked inside to see Bella slipping her dress strap back onto her shoulder. Dean gave her a weird look, but then let it go, not asking any questions.

"Any trouble?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing I couldn't handle."

She finally slipped her strap back onto her bare shoulder and looked over at him expectantly.

"The hand?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

Dean nodded and removed the hand from inside his jacket where he had hidden it. Bella smiled and walked over to him, holding out her hand, her palm up.

"May I?" she asked.

Dean looked at her.

"No."

Dean took out the tissue that rested in his jacket's front pocket and began wrapping the hand up.

"It might be more inconspicuous in my purse," suggested Bella.

"Nice try."

"Just trying to be helpful."

"Trust me, sweetheart. I don't need your kind of help," said Dean.

He finally finished wrapping up the hand and he placed it back inside his jacket.

Sam was back to dancing with Gert, while Alex looked on, avoiding advances from Cory. Gert was completely drunk, her empty wine glass clutched between her fingers as she danced with Sam.

"Man, this is one long song," said Sam.

"I hope it never ends," replied Gert, sighing deeply.

Sam sighed deeply as they continued swaying to the slow song.

"How's the investigation coming along?" asked Gert.

"Well, these things do take time," replied Sam.

"You know, everyone's talking about those Warren brothers' deaths. I think they had it coming, in a biblical sense."

Sam stopped dancing and Gert looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.

"Well, you must know about their father."

Sam shook his head no and Gert smiled, pulling Sam's ear down to her lips.

"C'mere, I'll whisper it to you. They say that the old man didn't die of natural causes. Rumor is, the boys did it. Nothing was ever proven, obviously, but, uh, people do still whisper."

Sam quickly pulled away from her now wandering lips against his ear and looked down at her once again.

"So, um, did Sheila have any connection to them?"

"Well, none that I know of."

"Did Sheila have any kind of tragedy in her life?"

"Why, yes. As a matter of fact, there was a car accident when she was a teenager. Her car flipped over and, uh, she was okay, but, uh, her cousin Bryan was killed."

Sam nodded and they swayed slowly to the music once again until Gert spoke once again a few moments later.

"Why? Is that important?"

Sam began to speak up, when Bella and Dean walked back into the room, Bella smiling over at them.

"Well. Having a nice time?" asked Bella.

Gert smiled and laid her head on Sam's chest. She walked over to Bella and grabbed her hand, kissing Bella's cheek before leaning in and trying to whisper, but failing.

"He wants me."

Dean looked over at Sam, smirking and raising his eyebrows at Gert's statement, when Alex suddenly joined their small circle, standing on the other side of Sam.

"Well, if it isn't the little woman who had her hands all over my date tonight," said Gert, her eyes narrowing as she took in Alex standing beside Sam.

Dean held back a chuckle as Alex looked appalled and Bella began leading Gert away.

"I'm gonna get Gert into a cold shower. See you at the cemetery."

Once Bella and Gert had left the room, Dean moved over to stand in front of his siblings and looked between the both of them.

"Is there something you should tell me?"

Sam rolled his eyes and Alex flipped Dean the bird as they followed the same path as Bella and Gert, heading away from the party and outside.

The three of them climbed into the Impala in their evening wear, Sam loosening his tie as he sat in the passenger seat.

"Please tell me you got it," said Alex, beginning to take the bobby pins out of her curly hair.

Dean nodded and reached for the hand in his jacket pocket. He pulled out the handkerchief he had wrapped it in and began unfolding it. Alex and Sam waited patiently as Dean unwrapped the handkerchief.

"Fuck me," whispered Dean.

He held up a ship in a bottle instead of The Hand of Glory and they all sighed, cursing under their breaths.

"I'm gonna kill her," whispered Alex.

Back at the house that night, Dean, Alex, and Sam had changed back into their regular clothes. Alex was slowly burning bits of paper by sticking small pieces of it over a candle while Sam and Dean stood by the burning fireplace.

"You know what, maybe slow torture is more appropriate," said Dean, still fuming over Bella.

"Dean. You need to relax," said Sam.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll relax. I can't fucking believe she pulled another one over on us!"

Sam looked up from the book he was holding and stared at Dean's back.

"You."

Alex threw her last pieces of paper into the flaming candle and looked between her two brothers. Dean turned around to look back at Sam.

"What?"

"I mean, she got one over on you, not all of us," said Sam.

Dean just stared at him and Alex waited for his attack on Sam. Sam just shrugged as Dean stared at him for a little while longer.

"Thank you, Sam! That's very helpful," yelled Dean, sarcastically.

Sam shrugged once again before turning back to his books and Alex slightly chuckled at her brothers. A knock sounded on the door a few moments later and they all turned to look.

"Hello? Could you please open up?" asked Bella.

They all exchanged shocked looks on their faces before heading towards the front door, their faces returning to normal and Sam discarding his book onto the table. Dean opened the double front doors and they all glared at Bella. She sighed.

"Please, just let me explain."

Dean stepped aside to let Bella in and Sam and Alex followed her over to the table as she took a seat. Dean shut the front doors and joined them as well, looking down at Bella.

"I sold it. I had a buyer lined up as soon as I realized it even existed."

"So you sold it to a buyer. Go back and get it," said Alex, her arms crossed across her chest as she leaned against the fireplace, glaring with pure venom and hatred at Bella.

"I can't. It's halfway across the Atlantic Ocean by now. Plus, I couldn't get it back in time anyway," explained Bella.

"In time for what?" questioned Dean.

Bella looked down at the floor, her face suddenly becoming nervous and scared. She looked shaken, almost like she'd seen a ghost.

"What's going on with you, Bella?" asked Sam.

Bella still didn't answer. Alex studied Bella's face for a few more seconds before uncrossing her arms and standing up straighter.

"Holy fucking shit. You've seen the ship," said Alex.

Bella looked at her and sadly nodded, almost looking defeated.

"Wow. Well, I knew you were a thieving, immoral, carnivorous bitch, but I did not think you could get any lower," said Dean, standing very close to her and leaning over her shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" asked Bella, turning around to look at Dean.

"Well, we figured out the spirit's motive," answered Sam.

He walked over to the table where he had discarded his books earlier. He pulled one picture out from between the pages of one of the books and held it out to Bella, setting it down on the table, which was right in front of her.

"This is the captain of our ship. The one who hung our ghost boy."

"So?" asked Bella.

"So they were brothers. They were Cain and Abel. Now our spirit is going after a very specific kind of target, people who have spilled their own family's blood," said Sam.

"See, first there was Sheila, who killed her own cousin in a car accident and then there were the Warren brothers, who murdered their father for the inheritance. And now you," explained Alex, stepping up to the table as well to join her family there.

"Oh my God," whispered Bella.

"So who was it, Bella? Who'd you kill? Was it Daddy? Your little sis, maybe?" asked Dean.

"That's none of your business," snapped Bella.

"No, you're right. Well, have a nice life. Whatever's left of it."

Dean slapped Bella on the back and stepped away from her as she remained sitting down in her chair. He walked past the table and grabbed his jacket that was strewn across the top of the table.

"Sam, Alex. Let's go."

Bella stood up then, her voice back to its normal, confident tone as she stood and stared at their retreating forms.

"You cannot just leave me here."

"Watch us," said Dean, continuing to pack his duffel bag and not even bothering to look at her face.

"Please? I need your help," whispered Bella.

"You want help from us? The people you've played for fools over and over again?" asked Dean.

"Look, I'm really sorry, but my actions towards all of you. That doesn't deserve a death sentence," explained Bella.

"That's not why you're gonna die. What did you do, Bella?" asked Sam, very calmly.

"Look, you wouldn't understand. No one did."

She looked at the three of them, their faces showing no emotion and waiting for her to explain herself.

"Never mind. I'll just do it myself, like I've always done."

Bella turned to go when Dean spoke up, watching her walk away from them towards the double front doors.

"You do realize you've just sold the only thing that would save your life?"

Bella turned back to face them, looking directly at Dean and speaking mostly to him.

"I'm fully aware of that."

Dean shrugged then and nodded, while Sam looked at Alex, who was biting her lip and looking over at Sam. He raised his eyebrows questioningly and Alex nodded imperceptibly. Sam took in a deep breath before speaking up.

"Well… Maybe not the only thing."

Sam created the concoctions that they would need as Dean leaned against a tombstone, a gun in one of his hands and Bella standing close beside him. Alex finished drawing on the slab of stone. Once she was finished, both she and Sam stepped backwards and away from the sacred table that they had just finished creating.

"Do you really think that this is going to work?" Bella asked from beside Dean.

"Almost definitely not," he replied.

Thunder crashed as lightning flashed across the sky, which was once calm, but now was raging. Rain began pouring down in buckets and drenching all of them. Sam zipped his jacket all the way up to his neck as Dean stood up straight, moving away from the tombstone he was once leaning against.

"Sammy. You and Alex better start reading," encouraged Dean.

Sam nodded and opened his journal, flipping to the correct page of the book and reading in Latin as Alex looked over his shoulder. Dean looked all around, waiting for the spirit to appear. As Sam kept reading, a candle was blown out. Sam looked over at it, distracting him from his reading for a split second, but then Alex nudged his elbow and he began reading once again. Sam's voice grew louder as the storm raged on. The thunder kept rolling and crashing, the lightning continued flashing, and the storm clouds rolled over the moon. Bella's hair was whipping all about her as she stepped out of Dean's reach for a second. Dean quickly stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back and closer to him.

"Stay close!" he yelled over the sounds of the storm.

Bella nodded, but when she glanced over Dean's shoulder, she saw the spirit arise right behind Dean.

"Behind you!" she quickly yelled out.

Dean swiftly turned, but the spirit grabbed him by the neck and flung him across the cemetery, his gun shooting off as he flew through the storm. He crashed into a headstone and landed beneath it. The spirit looked at Bella then as Sam stopped his reading to see where Dean had fallen and if he was alright. When Sam saw the spirit approaching Bella, he once again began to read from his book. Dean watched from his spot on the ground as the spirit put his hand to Bella's face. He touched her cheek as Alex raced over to help her, but Alex was way too late. The damage had already been done as Bella began spitting out water from her mouth, hunching over at her waist as the vengeful spirit watched. Bella fell to her knees as Alex finally made it over to her and wrapped her arm around Bella's back, trying to figure out how to help the girl. Sam glanced over at all of them, but still continued reading, even attempting to read at a much faster pace so as to save Bella's life. Dean had made his way back over to them and was on his knees with Alex and Bella, trying to help her as well. As Sam finally finished his reading, the storm weakened and the rain stopped. The clouds moved away from the moon and the thunder and lightning became very distant distractions. Dean, Alex, and Sam looked over at the vengeful spirit, who was now turned to face his brother, the captain of the ship, whom Sam had been summoning this whole time. The captain looked at his evil, vengeful brother with sadness on his face and in his eyes. Time seemed to stand still as the brothers looked at one another. Water droplets fell down Sam's face and onto his jacket, while more water dripped off of the ends of Alex's long and drenched hair.

"You hanged me!" accused the evil spirit, looking at his own brother, who was standing before him.

"I'm sorry," apologized the captain.

Sam looked over at Dean and Alex, who were also watching the interaction between the two siblings, but Bella was still convulsing, with water spewing from her mouth.

"Your own brother!" yelled the evil, vengeful spirit.

"I'm so sorry," apologized the captain.

With a roar, the vengeful spirit lunged at his brother, but fell right through him, dissolving into water droplets. The captain brother also began to dissolve into small water droplets as his brother slowly disappeared through him. Bella stopped convulsing and throwing up water, but rain still dripped down all of their faces. They all looked away as the brothers finally disappeared in a huge burst and flash of bright, white light. Sam looked over at his siblings and Bella then, who was finally sitting up instead of being hunched over. The rain fell from his forehead and down his longish hair as he looked at all of them.

The next morning, Sam, Dean, and Alex were packing up their duffel bags to leave for their next job. Dean was folding some shirts, while Sam and Alex were throwing a few items of clothing into each of their respective duffel bags, when Bella walked through the front doors.

"You guys should really learn to look all of your doors. Anyone could just barge in," said Bella, walking over towards them.

"Anyone just did," said Sam, throwing one of his many precious books onto the top of his duffel bag.

"So did you come to say goodbye or thank you?" asked Alex.

"I've come to settle affairs."

Bella pulled a large wad of cash out of her purse that was around one of her shoulders and held it in her palms.

"Giving the spirit what he really wanted, his own brother. Very clever, Sam. So, here."

She threw all three of them a chunk of cash and they flipped the bills between their fingers.

"It's $10,000, so that should cover it."

After looking down at the money in each of their hands for a few moments, the three Winchester siblings looked up at Bella expectantly.

"What? I don't like being in anyone's debt, alright?"

"So ponying up ten grand is easier for you than just one simple thank you?" asked Dean, disbelief evident in his tone of voice and his eyebrows raised.

Bella said nothing, but just stared at all of them.

"You're so damaged," said Dean, looking back down at the wad of bills in his hands.

Bella smirked at all of them then.

"Well, goodbye, folks."

She gave a slight wave of her hand before turning on her heel and walking out of the house and through the front doors to the outside world. Once she was gone, Dean collected all of the money and threw it in his duffel bag and they hit the road.

"Seriously, Dean? Atlantic City?" asked Sam.

Dean just looked over at Sam in the passenger seat and smirked over at him.

Sam just shook his head, but a smile was placed on his lips and Alex was smiling from the backseat as well.

After a few minutes of complete silence, Dean looked all serious and he looked at his little brother.

"I've done some thinking recently and I just want you to know that I understand why you did it. I understand why you went after that crossroads demon," said Dean.

Sam sighed a very deep and heavy sigh, but Dean still continued on.

"If the roles were reversed, I probably would've done the same thing, alright? I mean, I'm not blind. I see what you're going through with this whole deal. Both of you," said Dean, looking in the rearview mirror and making eye contact with Alex for a split second, so she would know he was talking to her, as well as Sam.

"But you're both gonna be okay, alright?"

Sam scoffed a little under his breath.

"You think so?" whispered Alex, quietly.

"Oh, yeah. You'll keep hunting, you'll live your lives. You're both stronger than me, you really are!" said Dean.

Sam cleared his throat and licked his lips, avoiding looking at Dean. Alex looked over at Sam, biting her lips and drawing her own blood as she bit down so hard.

"But I want you both to know that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making you feel like this and leaving you."

"You know what, Dean? Go fuck yourself," said Sam.

"What?" asked Dean.

"I don't want an apology from you. And by the way, I'm a big boy now, I can take care of myself."

"Oh, excuse me," said Dean, very sarcastically.

"So would you please quit worrying about me? I mean, that's the whole problem in the first place. I don't want you to worry about me, Dean. I want you to worry about you. I want you to give a shit that you're dying."

Alex winced as Sam used the word dying. She'd already seen her father and one brother die, and she definitely didn't want to lose another, but it seemed almost inevitable at this point. She knew Sam was brought back from the dead by Dean's deal, but now she was gonna lose her oldest brother and she wasn't sure she could handle that. Alex curled up into a ball in the backseat, her brothers not even noticing as they continued to argue up front. She shut her eyes and willed herself to fall asleep.

"So that's it? Nothing else to say from you?" asked Sam, as Dean stared at the road ahead, a permanent smirk placed on his face.

"I think maybe I'll play craps," responded Dean.

Sam scoffed at him once more and turned his attention back to the map that was laid out on his lap in front of him. Alex gently and quietly sighed from the backseat, her brothers not even noticing her silent tears as they fell from her bright blue eyes and down her face. Alex realized that in losing one brother because of his death in a matter of a few short months, she was probably going to lose the other because of his guilt for being alive, and she wasn't really sure how she could handle that.


	32. Chapter 32

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines.

**Chapter 32**

The Winchester siblings walked through an old warehouse, their flashlights out as they walked. They spotted a puddle of blood by a dumpster and they rushed over to find a man lying on the ground. His neck was ripped open, the blood on the ground belonging to him as he held his hands up to his wound to staunch the continuous bleeding. The siblings fell to their knees beside him.

"Hey, we're gonna get you some help, alright?" said Sam.

"Where is she? Where'd she go?" asked Dean.

The man used one hand and pointed, indicating that she had disappeared behind the dumpster. Dean stood up and walked behind the dumpster while Alex and Sam stayed with the man. Dean turned one corner and walked swiftly down one small hallway, keeping an eye out for the female vampire they were on the search for. The hallway led him outside, into an alley. Dean looked all around, but still saw no sign of the vampire. He sighed as a slight drizzle began to fall, but then an idea overcame him. He pulled back his shirt and jacket sleeves and held the blade of his knife up to his forearm. He took a deep breath in before he gently sliced his arm, groaning as blood began pouring from his wound. The blood dripped down his arm as he stood there and waited for the female vampire to make herself known. After a few seconds, she came around the corner, blood all over her chin and her vampire fangs protruding from the front of her mouth. She stared at him and Dean smirked at her.

"C'mon, c'mon," he whispered.

She stepped slightly closer and Dean threw his blade to the side.

"C'mon, free lunch!" he yelled.

She finally launched herself at him, attacking his neck, but before she could sink her fangs into him, Dean pulled out a syringe of dead man's blood and stuck it in her neck, injecting her with it. She fell off of him, her eyes fluttering closed and Dean winced as he swiped at his neck, a slight sting from where her fangs had nicked him. Sam and Alex walked outside and looked at Dean.

"Cutting it a little close there, don't you think?" asked Sam.

He motioned to Dean's neck and then Dean's arm, but Dean just shrugged.

"Nah. It worked, didn't it?"

Alex shook her head.

"C'mon, let's get her back to the motel."

Sam picked up the unconscious vampire and threw her over his shoulder, following his siblings back to the Impala and then they drove back to the motel.

Back at the motel, the siblings had pushed all of the furniture against the door and windows to block out the sunlight. The vampire was tied up in a chair in the middle of the room as the siblings stood in front of her, waiting for her to wake up. They stared her down as her head finally shot up, her eyes opening. She blinked as she adjusted to the light and she took a deep breath in through her nose. Dried blood was still all over her chin and she looked up at Dean first.

"You with us?" called out Dean.

The girl winced at Dean's voice and she tried to move around, her bonds too tight as she struggled.

"Oh, yeah. You're not going anywhere," said Dean, winking at her.

"Where's your nest?" asked Sam.

The girl stopped her struggling and looked over at Sam.

"What?"

"Your nest! Where you and your bloodsucking pals hang out!" yelled Dean.

"I have no clue what you're talking about," cried the girl.

She had stopped her struggling, but now she was crying as she looked between all of them.

"Please, I just don't feel good!"

She looked at Alex, who looked the most sympathetic towards her.

"Please, just let me go."

Sam smirked, and the girl looked over at him again.

"Yeah, you know we're not gonna do that."

"Look, I'm telling you the truth! I just, I took something and now I'm freaking out! I don't even know what's going on!" said the girl.

Sam walked over to the girl's chair, crouching down to be at her eye level.

"You took something?" he asked gently.

"Yes! And I can't come down. I just wanna come down," she said.

Her cries had stopped long ago. She just looked scared and confused now, leaving the siblings to be confused as well.

"What's your name?" asked Alex.

"Lucy. Please, just let me go," she pleaded once again.

"Alright, Lucy, how about this. If you tell us what happened, we'll let you go," suggested Sam.

Lucy looked at all of them, checking to make sure that they weren't lying.

"You will?"

Dean let a fake smile spread across his face, encouraging her to tell her story.

"Okay. Um, I don't really… Um, it's not that clear. Uh, I was at Spider…"

"Spider?" asked Dean.

Lucy looked over at him, nodding, as Sam stood up from his crouch and walked over to stand by Alex once again.

"It's the club on Jefferson Avenue. Anyway, there was this guy there and he was buying me drinks."

"And this guy. What's he look like?" asked Alex.

"Um, he was old, like 30. He had brown hair, a leather jacket. Deacon, or Dixon, or something like that. He said he was a dealer, and he had something for me. Something new. So, he put a few drops in my drink."

"Was the drug red and thick?" asked Dean.

Lucy nodded in the affirmative and Dean clucked his tongue.

"Huh. Genius move there."

Sam and Alex shook their heads in disbelief as Lucy looked over at Dean, very confused.

"That was vampire blood he dosed you with."

"What? You're crazy! He gave me Roofies or something!"

Lucy looked around at all three of them.

"The next thing I know, we're at his place and he says he's gonna get me something to eat and for me to just wait. But I get so hungry."

"So you busted out," stated Sam.

Lucy nodded.

"Yeah. But it won't wear off. Whatever he gave me."

Dean walked back over to stand in front of Lucy and began asking her questions.

"Lights too bright? Sunshine hurt your skin?"

"Yeah. And smells. And I can hear blood pumping," whispered Lucy.

"Well, I hate to tell you this, sweetheart. But your blood's never pumping again," said Dean.

"No, not mine. Yours. I can hear a heart beating from like, half a block away. I just really want it to stop," cried Lucy.

Sam and Alex looked at the poor girl with sympathy while Dean leaned down in front of the girl, his hands resting on the arms of her chair.

"Listen, it's never going to stop. You've already killed two people, almost three."

Lucy shook her head diligently, her eyes welling up with tears.

"No, it wasn't real, it was the drug. Please."

Sam and Alex nudged their heads toward the corner, so Dean followed them over there.

"This poor girl," whispered Alex.

"Yeah, well, we don't really have another choice," said Dean.

Sam scoffed and looked back at Lucy, a sad look on his face. Dean pulled out his knife and walked back over to Lucy, who began protesting as she saw Dean walk towards her, holding his knife.

"No, please, don't," she pleaded. But Dean didn't listen and Alex and Sam winced and looked away as they heard her cries stop once Dean had chopped off her head.

Alex looked up at Sam, who looked down at her sadly.

"I hate that, Sammy," whispered Alex.

"I know, sis. I know."

That night, Dean, Alex, and Sam walked into the packed club, Spider.

"Well, this is a big fat waste of time," said Dean, yelling so he could be heard over the obnoxiously loud music.

"Look, three blondes have gone missing, including Lucy. All last night, from here. I'm telling you, this is the hunting ground," said Sam, looking around.

"Hey," said Alex.

She pointed across the street where a man had his arm draped across a young blonde girl's shoulders. She was clinging onto him as they walked, turning a corner and disappearing from view. The three of them ran across the street, discreetly following the couple once they got closer. Right as the man went to pour a drop of the vampire blood onto the girl's tongue, Dean grabbed his arm and punched him straight in the face.

"Get out of here. Go!" yelled Alex, grabbing the young girl by the arm and leading her away from the back alley that they were all now standing in.

The girl obeyed the orders, running as fast as she could in her heels and away from the fight. The man shoved Dean against the brick wall and began running away from the scene, so Sam chased after him.

"Dean!" yelled Alex, running over to help her brother stand up from his slight crouch against the wall.

"I'm good! Let's go," said Dean.

Alex nodded and they followed after Sam, coming to a quick halt once they rounded another corner. There, straight in front of them, stood Gordon Walker and one of the men who had attacked Sam a few weeks earlier when Alex and Dean were going after the rabbit's foot and Bella. The siblings only remained still for a few seconds before ducking behind a car that was in the alley as Gordon and the man shot at them. They hid against the wall of an adjacent alley as the men reloaded their guns.

"Alright, you guys run. I'll draw 'em off," said Dean, breathing heavily.

"What?" yelled Sam.

"Dean, that's crazy!" yelled Alex.

Dean ignored them and ran out from the alley, Gordon and the man shooting at him as he climbed atop a car and ran from them. They kept shooting as Dean disappeared over a railing and into a parking garage. The one man ran over and followed Dean, while Gordon slowly walked forward, looking for Sam and Alex. He looked around the corner, but they were already gone.

Sam and Alex paced around the motel room, anxiously waiting for Dean to arrive back at the motel. Sam peeked out of the window, moving the curtains back so he could see out of it. He let the curtains fall back into place once there was no sign of Dean. Alex sat down in the middle of her bed and Sam sat on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Relax, Sammy. He'll be here soon, I just know it."

Alex rubbed his back soothingly and Sam's body visibly relaxed, his body and especially his shoulders and back becoming way less tense. A few minutes later, Dean walked through the door and both Alex and Sam stood up to greet him.

"Sorry, guys, I stopped for a slice," explained Dean, patting his stomach.

He removed his jacket and placed it on the coat hook in the room before he faced his siblings.

"So I guess Gordon's out of jail."

"Well, yeah, I guess so. How the hell did he even know where to find us?" asked Alex.

They all stood there in thought for a second before realization dawned on Dean's face.

"That bitch."

Dean pulled out his phone and dialed a number, pressing the phone to his ear as it rang.

"Hi, Bella. Question for you. When you called me yesterday, it wasn't to thank me for saving your sorry ass, was it?"

"Nope, Gordon Walker paid me to tell him where you were," she responded.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, he had a gun on me. I mean, what else was I supposed to do?" said Bella, a slight laugh coming through her tone of voice.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe pick up the phone and tell us that a raging psychopath was coming by! He tried to kill us, Bella!"

"Oh, I'm sorry then. I didn't realize it was such a big deal."

"Bella, I swear to all that is holy. If we make it out of this alive, the first thing I'm gonna do is find you and kill you," vowed Dean.

"You're not serious?" asked Bella.

"Listen to my voice and then tell me if I'm serious."

Dean hung up the phone then and slipped it back into one of the front pockets of his jeans. Sam and Alex looked at one another, realizing how serious Dean had been about his threat towards Bella.

Dean sat at the table sharpening his knife, as Sam and Alex sat on either side of him.

"So I guess we have to take care of Gordon first, huh?" asked Alex.

Dean nodded.

"He's not really leaving us with a lot of options," said Dean.

Sam nodded and Alex bit her lip, not liking the idea of killing a fellow hunter.

"Really, Sam? No protest?" asked Dean.

"No, I'm done. It's time to get this thing over with once and for all," answered Sam.

"Wow. I expected you to be like, no, he's human, so we can't kill him."

Sam shook his head and Dean nodded, surprised by Sam's reaction. Suddenly, Dean's cell phone rang and he answered it, already knowing it was Bella.

"What?" he yelled into the phone.

"Look, I don't like it when people hold grudges against me, alright? And I really would rather you don't kill me, so I went ahead and found Gordon's exact location for you. Warehouse, two stories, riverfront, with a neon sign outside."

"Thanks," said Dean, very sarcastically.

"Um, one more thing. The spirit I contacted had a message for you: Leave town, don't look back, and definitely don't go after Gordon. For whatever that's worth," explained Bella.

Dean sighed, but hung up his phone. He looked over at his siblings.

"We're going after Gordon right now, aren't we?" asked Alex.

Dean just nodded and stood up, grabbing his jacket and beginning to grab the weapons they would need for their journey.

Sam led the way down the wooden stairs of the warehouse, blood splattered all over the stairs. Alex stood in between her brothers, as usual, and they all had their guns out and ready. As they stepped down and off of the steps, they saw the headless bodies of two females, chained from the ceiling and the man from the club knelt before the bodies. Dean put his own gun away and grabbed a knife from off of the table that was resting against the wall while Sam and Alex kept their guns out and their eyes never left the man's still from.

"Go ahead. Do it," whispered the man.

The siblings exchanged glanced before the man finally spoke again.

"Go ahead. Kill me."

"What happened here?" asked Sam, his gun still trained on the ruthless vampire.

"Gordon Walker. I never should've brought a hunter here."

The man got up from his knees then and turned to face all of them. His face was streaked with tears as he calmly spoke to the three of them.

"I just wanted some kind of revenge. I've lost everyone I've ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone. Can you think of a worse hell?"

"Well. There's the actual hell," remarked Dean.

The man gave a slight smirk, but then his face returned to the eerie calm he had before.

"Dean," said Sam.

Dean looked over at Sam and Alex, who were standing by the headless corpses of the two blonde girls.

"The heads weren't cut off, they were ripped off. With someone's bare hands," said Alex, pure disgust on her face.

"Dixon. What did you do to Gordon?" asked Sam.

Dixon's bottom lip trembled as he began to cry silent tears once more. He looked down at the floor as realization hit the siblings: Gordon Walker was now a vampire.

The next day, Sam was stepping on all of their cell phones, destroying them so that Gordon could not trace the cell signal to find out where they were located. Alex was very upset about having her phone destroyed, but Sam had promised to buy her a brand new phone the first chance they got, so she let it go. Dean was looking out the motel room windows as Sam continued crunching the phones under his large boot. Dean let the curtain fall back into place and he walked over to them.

"Guys, stay here," said Dean.

"What? Where are you going now?" asked Alex.

Sam had stopped destroying the phones and watched as Dean gathered up some guns and other weapons.

"I'm going after Gordon."

"What? Well, not alone, you're not," said Sam.

"Sam, I don't need you to sign my permission slip. Besides, he's after you, not me. I want you both to stay out of harm's way. I'll just take care of it."

"Well, Dean, you're not going by yourself. You're gonna get yourself killed!" yelled Sam.

"Just another day at the office. A massively dangerous one, but still," smirked Dean.

"So you're the guy with nothing to lose now, huh? Oh, wait, let me guess. It's because, uh, you're already dead, right?" accused Sam.

"If the shoe fits."

"You know what, man? I'm sick and tired of your old, stupid shit!"

"What do you want me to do, Sam? Sit around and write sappy poems until I die?"

"Stop trying to act like you're not afraid," whispered Alex.

Sam and Dean both turned to look at her.

"I'm not," said Dean.

"You're lying. I can see right through you. You're scared, Dean. You're scared because your year is running out and you're still going to hell and you're freaked out," said Alex, looking up and into her oldest brother's eyes.

"Yeah? And how do you know that?"

"Because I know you, Dean. I've been following you around my whole entire life."

"Dean, we've been looking up to you since we were four years old. Studying you and trying to be just like you, so yeah, we know you. Better than anyone else in this entire world. And this whole cracking jokes, making everything a punch line, is exactly how you act when you're terrified," said Sam.

"We can't blame you. It's just…" Alex stopped and couldn't speak anymore as her eyes began filling up with tears.

"What?" whispered Dean.

"I just wish you would stop the show and be our brother again. 'Cause… just because," said Alex.

Dean looked at both of them, then looked down at the floor.

"Alright, we'll just hole up here tonight. Cover our tracks and wait for Gordon here."

As day turned to night, the siblings got ready for Gordon. They each had their knifes and long blades as weapons. Their mattresses and beds were being used as protection, one bedframe blocking the door. Sam left and returned with new phones and numbers for all of them. A few hours into their waiting, Alex was falling asleep, her head on Sam's leg as he played with her hair when Dean's cell phone rang.

"Dean! You've had that phone for two hours. Who could you possibly have given the number to?" asked Sam.

"No one!" said Dean.

He answered the phone hesitantly as Alex and Sam stood up to stand beside him.

"Dean," said the voice on the other end of the call, which was the voice of Gordon.

"How'd you get this number?" asked Dean.

"Scent's all over the cell phone store. Of course, I can't smell you now. Where are you?"

"I'll guess you'll just have to find us, won't you?"

"Well, I'd rather you come to me."

"What's wrong, Gordo? You're not afraid of us, are you?"

"I don't think so."

Dean heard the phone being tossed around and then a female voice came on the line.

"Please, help me. Please," she cried.

"Factory on Riverside, right past the turnpike. Be here in 20 minutes or the girl dies," said Gordon.

"Gordon!" yelled Dean, but he had already hung up.

Dean hung up his phone and cursed under his breath before standing up.

"C'mon. We gotta save this innocent girl."

Dean led the way into the long abandoned factory, on the hunt for Gordon. Alex was in between him and Sam, as usual, all of them keeping their eyes peeled. The farther they walked, the less they saw until they heard a slight whimpering from off in the distance. They looked over and saw the innocent girl, tied up to a pipe and a gag over her mouth. They rushed over and all three of them began working on her bonds to get her untied.

"Don't worry, we're gonna get you out of here," said Alex.

The girl continued crying as they got her untied and they helped her stand up. She was leaning against Dean as they walked forward, but she stumbled repeatedly. Dean picked her up in his arms and carried her, bridal style. They walked back the way they came, but as Dean stepped slightly ahead of them, a wall came down from the ceiling, trapping Sam and Alex in one room while Dean was in another with the almost unconscious girl. Dean set her on her feet against the wall and began banging on the wall that was now in the middle of the room.

"Sam! Alex!"

"Dean!"

They all kicked and punched, but it was useless. The wall wasn't budging.

"Damn it!" yelled Dean, punching the wall one last time.

"Be careful!" yelled Dean.

Sam sighed and pulled Alex into his side. He kissed the top of her head.

"Stay right next to me, okay?"

Alex nodded and she grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight. As they stepped forward, the lights suddenly went out. Sam and Alex both drew their blades and they continued holding hands as Sam reached out blindly, trying to find his way.

"Gordon! Come out and fight!" yelled Sam.

He let go of Alex's hand as he continued to find his way.

"I'm right here, Sam," said Gordon.

Sam turned to the sound of Gordon's voice behind him, but no one was there. Gordon's deep chuckle echoed throughout the room. Sam and Alex hid behind a large boiler as they waited for Gordon to speak again.

"Sammy, I don't like this. At all," whispered Alex.

"I know, babe. Just calm down, okay? We can do this."

"I lost my life to get here. But now, I'm gonna kill the most dangerous thing I've ever hunted. Actually, I'm gonna kill both of you because I know all about both of your little visions. You're not human."

"Yeah, look at you!" yelled Alex.

"I'm a monster."

"Don't talk about it like you don't have a choice, Gordon. You didn't kill that girl!" yelled Sam.

"No, I didn't. I did something much, much worse."

On the other side of the wall, Dean was banging on the metal chain that had caused the wall to drop, but it wasn't budging. Dean hacked at the metal, but nothing happened, so he threw the crowbar off into the distance. Suddenly, the girl came up behind him, her vampire fangs out as she tried to attack him. She pushed him down, but Dean quickly pulled the Colt out of the waistband of his jeans and shot the girl straight through the forehead. She fell down to the floor, dead, with a huge hole now visible in the middle of her forehead.

"I gotta hand it to you, Sam. You've fooled a lot of people. I know what it's like, the truth. We're the same now. It's just too bad that you won't do the right thing and kill yourself. I'm gonna, as soon as I'm done with you and Alex. My last good deeds," said Gordon.

Sam and Alex were now backed into another wall and Gordon bared his fangs before attacking Sam first, knocking him through the wall and into another room. This room had light, so Alex could see all that was happening. Gordon punched Sam, but Dean suddenly came bursting into the room, holding the Colt to the back of Gordon's head. Gordon flung around, knocking the Colt out of Dean's hands. Sam sat up as Gordon held Dean against the wall and bit his neck.

"No!" yelled Alex and Sam in unison.

They both rushed over to help their oldest brother and Sam elbowed Gordon in the back. Gordon hunched over slightly, but came right back up and kicked Sam in the stomach. He then punched Sam in the face and Sam fell backwards into a shelf full of tools abandoned by the factory. Sam quickly grabbed a small hatchet and cut a long, thick metal wire into a piece he could hold onto. Gordon grabbed the back of Sam's head and slammed it down into the concrete wall twice until Sam grabbed Gordon's wrist and turned them around. Sam wrapped the metal wire tightly around Gordon's neck, choking him. Sam continued pulling the wire across Gordon's neck, causing it to cut into his own palms. Blood began spurting from Gordon's neck the tighter Sam pulled until finally, Gordon's head fell from his body. Sam looked at his palms, which were bloody and scratched up from pulling the wire so tight. He looked over at his siblings, who were standing across from him. Dean grabbed his neck, his hands coming away with blood on them, and coughed as they walked over to Sam. Sam had a bloody nose and a cut above his eyebrow. Sam sighed as Dean continued holding his hand to his neck and Alex looked perfect, not a scratch on her as she stood beside her oldest brother. They all looked over at Gordon's headless corpse and Sam just raised an eyebrow, shrugging his shoulders. He limped over to them, meeting them halfway in the middle of the room before they all turned and began heading towards the exit.

"You just charged a super vamped out Gordon with no weapon. That's a little reckless, don't you think?" asked Dean.

The next day, Dean was under the hood of the Impala, tweaking a few things while Sam grabbed a couple of beers from the medium sized cooler beside the right rear tire. He handed one to Dean and another one to Alex before he sat down on the cooler.

"Did you figure out what's making that rattle?" asked Sam.

"Not yet. Hand me that wrench, will you?" asked Dean.

Alex obliged, handing the wrench to Dean before standing beside the car, leaning against it. Dean reached down, but stopped and stood back up. He looked at his siblings and called them over. They stood on either side of him and looked at him expectantly.

"It could be a number of things making this rattle. I'm thinking it's an out of tune carburetor."

"Okay?" said Alex, but it came out more as a question.

Dean nodded and leaned over the car once again.

"Alright, see this thing? This is a valve cover. Inside it are all the parts that are on the head. Hand me that socket wrench."

Sam reached for the wrench and handed it to Dean.

"Right, the valve cover covers the heads," said Sam.

"Good job," said Dean.

He pointed to another part under the hood.

"Now, this is your intake manifold, okay? On top of it…"

Dean looked at Alex and Sam.

"It's the, uh, carburetor," said Alex, a grin on her face.

"The carburetor," said Dean.

Sam smirked.

"Yeah."

Dean stood up and looked down at the hood.

"So what's with the auto shop?" asked Sam.

Dean smirked and handed the wrench over to Sam.

"Wait. You want me to…?"

"I do. You fix it."

"Um, you barely let him drive this thing. So if he's fixing it, can I please drive it?" asked Alex.

She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and Dean shook his head, smirking.

"Sure, Alex. Someday soon, you can drive my baby. But for now, it's time, Sammy. You should know how to fix her. And Alex, pay attention. You're both gonna need to know these things for the future."

Sam grabbed the wrench from Dean's hand and sighed as he looked down at the machinery under the hood of the car.

"And besides, it's my job, right? Show my little siblings the ropes?"

Dean watched as Sam bent over and leaned under the hood of the car to begin working on the Impala. He stood there for a few more minutes until he needed another beer. He walked over to the cooler, grabbed another beer, and then used the cooler as his seat, turning it to face Sam and Alex as they worked under the hood of the car.

"Put your shoulder into it," suggested Dean.

Sam stopped for a quick second, but then he began working again, using his shoulder more vigorously as he worked on the Impala, Alex standing over his shoulder, watching him as he worked.

A few days later, Sam, Dean, and Alex had moved onto their next job in Michigan. Dean was conversing with a woman on her front porch as her young daughter looked on from inside the house. Sam and Alex were inside the house as well, looking around at the crime scene.

"Um, my daughter and I were asleep in our beds. Michael was downstairs decorating the tree. I heard a thump on the roof and then I heard Mike scream. And now, I'm talking to the FBI."

"You didn't see any of it?"

The woman shook her head sadly.

"No. No, he was just gone."

"The doors were locked?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"Does anyone else have a key?"

"My parents, but they live in Florida."

Sam and Alex stepped out of the house then and onto the front porch.

"Thanks for letting us look around the house, Mrs. Robinson. I think we, uh, got just about everything we need. We're all set," said Sam.

Dean closed his notebook and gave a small smile to Mrs. Robinson.

"We'll be in touch."

The woman nodded and they stepped off of the porch, walking down the steps to their car.

"Find anything?" asked Dean.

"Oh, you know the usual. Stockings, mistletoe. This," said Sam.

He reached inside his pocket and placed it in Dean's open palm. Dean looked down at his hand and picked up the small, white object.

"A tooth? Where was this?"

"Um, in the chimney," answered Alex.

"No way a man fits up the chimney. It's too narrow," explained Dean.

"It's too narrow to fit up it in just one piece," said Sam.

"Alright. So if Dad went up the chimney…" began Dean.

"We need to find out what dragged him up there," finished Alex.

Dean walked into the motel room holding a brown paper bag full of items. He looked at Sam, who was sitting at the couch on his computer, and Alex, who was sitting beside Sam, looking through books.

"So was I right? Is it the serial killing chimney sweep?" asked Dean.

Alex and Sam looked over at him, nodding in the affirmative.

"Yep. It's, uh, it's actually Dick Van Dyke," said Alex.

Dean stopped what he was doing and looked at his sister.

"Who?" he asked.

"Oh, c'mon, Dean. Mary Poppins... You know what, never mind."

Alex waved him off and Dean shrugged his shoulders, turning back to what he was doing before she had interrupted him. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly before moving on.

"Turns out Robinson is the second guy in town who's been dragged out of his house this month."

"Oh, yeah? Did the other guy get dragged out of his own chimney too?" asked Alex.

Dean removed his jacket and set it on the back of a chair before turning around and answering her question.

"I don't know, actually. Witnesses just said they heard a thump on the roof. So what the hell do you think we're dealing with?" asked Dean.

"Actually, I think I have an idea. It's gonna sound a little crazy, but here it goes anyway. Um, an evil Santa," said Sam.

Dean and Alex looked at him, their faces amused and their eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty crazy, Sammy," remarked Alex, patting his arm.

"Well, I'm just saying, there's some version of the anti-Claus in almost every single culture."

Sam handed some pictures over to Alex and Dean walked over to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder at the pictures as she flipped through them for a few moments.

"So this is your theory, huh? Santa's shady brother?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised and a smirk playing on his lips.

"Well, I'm just saying. That's just what the lore says."

"Yeah? Well, Santa doesn't even have a brother. There's no Santa," said Dean.

"What?" asked Alex, her bottom lip sticking out as she began to pout. "There's no Santa?"

Sam and Dean looked at her, their faces a mask of confusion until Alex's face broke out into a huge smile as she laughed.

"You should have seen your faces!"

"Anyway, moving on. I know there's no Santa because you were the one who told me that in the first place, remember?" asked Sam.

Dean looked over at Sam, his face serious, but he said nothing. Sam just stared back at him and finally took a deep breath in, sighing.

"Yeah, you know what? Maybe I could be wrong."

Sam leaned forward and slammed his computer closed before leaning back against the couch.

"I've gotta be wrong."

"Maybe. Maybe not," said Dean.

He walked over to the small couch and addressed Alex and Sam.

"I did a little digging and it turns out both victims visited the same place before they got snatched."

"Where?" asked Alex and Sam in unison.

Sam, Alex, and Dean walked under a sign that read, "Santa's Village." The place was like a very small village dedicated to Santa Claus and Christmas.

"We should have a Christmas this year," said Dean, his hands in his pockets as they walked through the village.

Sam scoffed.

"Yeah, no thanks."

"No, seriously! We can have a Christmas tree and a little Boston Market like we had when we were kids," said Dean.

Sam shook his head and Dean stared at him.

"No. Just no," said Sam.

"Fine, you Grinch," said Alex.

Alex moved past both of her brothers and continued walking on farther into the village. After a few seconds, Dean and Sam caught back up to her.

"So what are we looking for exactly?" asked Dean.

"Um, the lore says the anti-Claus will walk with a limp and smell like sweets," said Sam.

"Okay, great. So we're looking for a pimped out Santa," said Dean, walking forward slowly through the village.

"Okay. But what's with the sweets?" asked Alex.

"Think about it. If you smell like candy, the kids will come closer, you know?"

Alex and Dean nodded.

"Well, that's creepy. How does this thing know who's been naughty and who's been nice?" asked Alex.

Sam shook his head.

"I honestly don't know."

They all stopped a few feet away from a small shack that was painted red and decorated to look like a small house. The outside was completely red with tinsel draped across it to look like snow. A man dressed as Santa Claus was sitting on the front porch and he pulled a small little boy onto his lap. The siblings watched from afar as the man talked to the little boy. After a few minutes, a woman, who was dressed up as an elf, walked over to them, a big smile on her face.

"Hi! Would your child like to sit on Santa's lap?" she asked.

"Uh, no. But my brother here would like his turn," said Dean, slapping Sam on the back.

The woman looked at them weirdly and Alex laughed.

"No, he was just kidding," said Sam.

The woman gave the three of them another weird glance before walking away.

"Thanks, a lot, Dean. Thanks for that," said Sam.

Dean and Alex chuckled, but Alex smacked Dean's arm when she saw the man dressed as Santa stand up from his chair.

"Check it out," she said.

Dean and Sam looked over and they all watched as the man walked with a limp. He walked directly past them and once he was out of earshot, Dean turned to his siblings.

"Are you guys seeing this?"

"A lot of people walk with limps, right?" asked Alex.

Sam and Dean stared at her, their eyebrows raised and Alex sighed, biting her lip.

That night, the siblings were staked out in the Impala, which was parked beside the man's trailer in the Christmas village. Alex was in the backseat, drinking from a thermos of coffee.

"Alex. Coffee me," said Sam.

Alex handed him the thermos of coffee and Sam poured his own small cup of coffee as he continued staring out the window towards the trailer.

"Hey, Sam?" asked Dean.

Sam looked over at him.

"Why do you hate Christmas?"

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed.

"We'll do Christmas right this year, Sammy! C'mon," urged Alex.

Sam shook his head and Dean and Alex sighed as they all continued watching the trailer. A few minutes later, the man looked out his side window, checked to make sure no one was around, and then he pulled the curtains closed.

"What's up with Saint Nick?" asked Dean.

They all climbed out of the car and ran towards the trailer, grabbing their guns and loading them as they ran towards the trailer. Dean ran up the stairs first and they waited a few seconds before opening the unlocked door. The man jumped up from his couch, a huge bong resting in his lap and a bottle of booze on his corner table.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" he yelled.

Dean and Sam looked at Alex, who shrugged. Dean cleared his throat as the porn movie on the TV became louder. Suddenly, Alex cleared her throat and began singing "Silent Night." Sam and Dean looked at her like she was crazy, but then they joined in to sing along with her. The man chuckled and sat back down on his couch, beginning to sing along with them. He was so drunk, he sang the wrong words, but it gave the siblings an opportunity to escape from the trailer.

The next morning, the siblings were at another house, talking to the woman whose husband had been taken the previous night.

"So that's how your son described the attack? Santa took his father up the chimney?" asked Dean.

The woman led them into the living room, nodding as she stood before them.

"That's what he says, yes."

"And where were you?" asked Alex.

"I was asleep and then all of a sudden, I was being dragged out of my bed, screaming bloody murder," said the woman.

"Did you see the attacker?" asked Sam.

The woman shook her head, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"It was really dark and he hit me and knocked me out."

Sam nodded.

"Um, Mrs. Smith, where did you happen to get that wreath above your fireplace?" he asked.

Dean and Alex both turned to look at the wreath and Mrs. Smith raised her eyebrows.

"Excuse me?"

After a few more minutes, the siblings said goodbye and were walking down the sidewalk to get back to their car.

"Wreaths, huh?" asked Dean.

"We've seen that wreath before, Dean," said Alex.

Dean stopped and turned to look at her.

"Where?"

"The Robinsons. Yesterday," said Sam and Alex in unison.

Dean nodded and raised his eyebrows.

"I know, guys. I was just testing you."

He walked over to his side of the car and climbed inside. Alex and Sam just looked at each other and smirked, climbing inside the car as well.

Alex was lying on her bed, hanging upside down with her head hanging off of the side of the bed. Dean was sitting at the table, and Sam was pacing, on the phone with Bobby.

"Alright, thanks, Bobby."

Sam hung up and put his phone in his pocket.

"Well, we're not dealing with the anti-Christ."

He sat down next to Alex on the bed, who finally sat up and sat cross-legged on the bed beside Sam.

"What'd Bobby say?" she asked.

"That we're morons. He also said that it was probably meadow sweet in those wreaths."

"Wow. Amazing. What the hell is meadow sweet?" asked Dean.

Alex scoffed.

"It's pretty rare and it's probably the most powerful plant in Pagan lore. They would use meadow sweet for human sacrifices. Gods were drawn to it, so they would come by and snack on whoever was nearest to them," explained Alex.

"Why would they be using that for Christmas wreaths though?" asked Dean.

He walked over to the sink and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"It's not as unusual as it seems, Dean. Most Christmas traditions are based from Pagan lore, actually," said Sam.

Dean took a sip from his coffee cup.

"Christmas is Jesus' birthday."

Alex and Sam looked at him, shaking their heads.

"No, actually. Jesus's birthday was probably in the fall," said Sam.

Dean shook his head.

"My whole life has been a lie."

Alex laughed and Sam let a smirk come onto his face.

"Okay. So we're dealing with a Pagan god. How are we gonna kill it?" asked Dean.

"That's what Bobby's working on right now. We need to figure out where those wreaths are being sold," said Sam.

"You think they're being sold on purpose?" asked Alex.

Sam sighed.

"Let's go find out."

The three siblings walked into a Christmas store located in the strip mall in town. The place was entirely full of Christmas decorations, and they kept their eyes peeled for the wreaths. The bell over the door chimed as they all walked in and the man standing behind the glass counter in the middle of the store looked over at them.

"Can I help you, folks?" he asked.

"Well, I certainly hope so! We were playing games over at the Robinsons the other night and I saw this gorgeous Christmas wreath and I just really have to have one," began Alex.

She looked over at Sam and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"Right, honey?"

She smiled over at him and Sam nodded, bringing a smile to his face. He nodded to the man, who was smiling at them.

"She really can't stop talking about it," he confirmed.

"And my brother here is trying to get us a really nice Christmas present," said Alex, nodding toward Dean.

"Well, that's awfully sweet. But I sell a lot of wreaths, sweetheart," said the man.

"Right, we realize this. But this wreath was really special. It had, um, green leaves with, uh, white buds on it. What's the name of that plant, sweetie?" asked Alex, looking up at Sam lovingly.

"We think it was called meadow sweet," answered Sam.

"Oh, yes, I know the one you're talking about. But we're all out."

Alex's bottom lip stuck out in a pout and Sam sighed, rubbing her back gently as the man looked at her sympathetically.

"Wow, that meadow sweet stuff seems really rare and expensive. Why make so many wreaths out of it?" asked Dean.

"Beats me. I didn't make them."

"Who did make them? Do you think they would be willing to make some more?" asked Alex, her eyes now full of hope.

"Her name's Madge Carrigan, a local woman. She said the wreaths were so special, she gave them to me for free."

"Could you maybe, possibly give me her contact information? I would really like a wreath," said Alex.

She gave the man one of her charming smiles.

Dean unlocked the door to the motel room and Alex walked inside first.

"How much do you think a meadow sweet wreath would cost?" asked Dean.

"A couple hundred bucks, at least," said Alex.

"And this woman is giving them away for free? What do you think about that?" asked Dean.

"Well, I'd say that's pretty suspicious," answered Sam.

He removed his jacket and threw it on the small couch. Alex threw her own jacket on top of his and laid down on the bed she shared with Sam. Sam sat down next to her and Dean sat on his own bed.

The next day, the siblings parked right in front of the Carrigan residence. The house was decorated for Christmas, with lights and blow up figures all over the front porch of the small house. They stopped at the end of the sidewalk to take in the house.

"Can't you just feel the evil Pagan vibe?" joked Dean, glancing at the light up snowman that stood in the front yard.

He walked up to the house first and Sam and Alex followed, shaking their heads. Once they were all gathered on the front porch and around the front door, Dean grabbed the knocker and knocked on the door three times. A few seconds later, an older woman opened the door, her salt and pepper hair pulled back into a tight bun. She had an apron on over her clothes and she smiled at them as she opened the door.

"Yes?"

"Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan that makes the meadow sweet wreaths," said Alex, a bright smile on her pretty face.

"Why, yes I am!"

"Oh, that's wonderful to hear! Well, we were just admiring your wreaths in Mr. Skylar's place the other day," said Alex.

"You were? Well, isn't that meadow sweet just the finest thing you ever did smell?" asked Madge.

Dean and Sam nodded as Alex continued speaking to the woman.

"It is, it really is. But the problem is that all your wreaths had sold out before we got the chance to purchase one."

"Oh! Well, fudge!" yelled Madge.

"You wouldn't happen to have another one that we could possibly buy, would you?" asked Dean.

Madge shook her head, sadly.

"Oh, no. I'm afraid those particular wreaths were the only ones I had for this season."

Alex looked extremely disappointed.

"Well, that's just too bad. Tell me, why did you decide to make those wreaths out of meadow sweet?" asked Dean.

"Why, the smell of course!"

A man appeared beside Madge then, a pipe in his mouth as he stepped up beside her. He smiled at the siblings before removing the pipe and speaking to his wife.

"What's going on, honey?"

"Oh, just a nice little family asking about my wreaths, dear," answered Madge.

"Oh, those wreaths are might fine. Care for some peanut brittle?" asked the man.

He produced a box from somewhere behind him and held it out for all of them to take a piece.

"We're okay. But thank you," said Alex, her smile never leaving her face.

Back at their motel room, Dean sat on his bed, sharpening pieces of wood into stakes while Sam sat on the couch, researching on his computer. Alex sat beside Dean, watching his progress and helping him a little bit. Suddenly, Sam clapped his hands together in excitement.

"I knew it! Something was way off with those two."

"What'd you find?" asked Alex, getting off the bed and walking over to join Sam on the couch as she read the information over his shoulder.

"The Carrigans lived in Seattle last year where two abductions took place right around Christmas. They moved here around January. All that Christmas crap that we saw in their house, that wasn't holly. It was vurvain and mint," said Sam.

"Serious Pagan stuff," said Alex.

"Evergreen stakes will kill this thing, right?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, Bobby's sure they will," answered Dean.

That same night, the siblings were once again back at the Carrigans house. They quietly walked up the three front porch steps and Sam grabbed three stakes from the bag resting on Dean's shoulders. He handed one to Alex, kept one for himself, and held onto the other one for Dean, as Dean unlocked the front door of the house. The door creaked open slowly and they all stepped inside, Sam finally handing Dean his evergreen stake. They split up once they were all inside and the front door was closed once again. Dean stepped off to the right into the living room, while Alex and Sam walked down the small hallway located by the stairs. They all ended up in the kitchen, where fresh baked goods were resting on every available surface. Sam saw a cellar door in the corner, so he walked over to it.

"Hey, guys," he called out.

Dean and Alex walked over to him and Dean picked another lock. They all took out their flashlights as they walked down the stairs into the creepy cellar and basement. Dean led the way down there. Once they stepped off the stairs, they all looked disgusted. Human flesh and blood was all over the place, in every single corner of the large and cavernous room. Human bones were also scattered amongst the floor. Fresh blood was on the railings of the stairs. A power saw rested in the middle of the room, human flesh hanging off of it. Sam gagged from the disgusting smell. Alex noticed a pair of boots in one corner of the room, blood all over the fur that was once white. Dean dropped his bag to the ground by his side as he saw a Santa suit in another corner. Sam saw a burlap sack hanging from a metal hook, so he inched towards it, slowly getting closer. As it came within his grasp, Sam reached out to touch it and suddenly, it began moving and squirming, a person inside of it. But before Sam could react, Madge grabbed his neck and lifted him from the ground, strangling him.

"Sam!" yelled Dean.

Dean grabbed his stake that was resting beside him and ran towards Sam to help him, but Madge's husband stopped his progress, grabbing his arm. He held Dean's arm behind his back and slammed Dean's head against the concrete wall, effectively knocking him out. Dean fell to the floor, unconscious. The husband turned around and smiled, walking over to where Madge had Sam up against the wall, her hand still around his throat.

"Gosh, I wish you boys wouldn't have come down here. Is your sister here too?" asked Madge.

Sam looked at them, their faces suddenly not normal as they looked like the ancient Pagan gods that they really were. He shook his head, saying a quick prayer and hoping to God that Alex was safe as Madge banged his head against the concrete wall as well, knocking him unconscious immediately.

Alex watched from underneath the stairs as Sam and Dean were dragged upstairs. She bit her lip, trying to figure out a plan. She had hidden behind the stairs when the attack had begun, knowing she would now have to save her brothers. She sighed, but once the coast was clear and the cellar door had been closed by Mr. Carrigan, Alex came out from her hiding place and grabbed the bag of stakes and weapons Dean had compiled and that had been left behind during the attack. She then sat on the bottom steps, ignoring the stench of rotting human flesh as best she could and coming up with a plan to save her family.

When Sam came about, he was tied up to a chair, his back to Dean's back. They were sitting in the kitchen of the Carrigans home, but the Carrigans were nowhere to be seen.

"Dean?" he called out, softly.

"Yeah?" responded Dean.

Sam sighed a breath of relief as Dean responded.

"Thank God you're alright. So I guess we're dealing with Mr. and Mrs. God."

"Yeah," said Dean.

"Where's Alex?" asked Sam.

"I have absolutely no idea," answered Dean.

It was at that moment that the Carrigans came rounding the corner, Dean seeing them first since they came in on his side of the room. They were all decked out in their Christmas sweaters and they both smiled broadly as they walked into the charming little kitchen.

"You're hunters, is what you are," said Mr. Carrigan, looking at both of them.

"Yep, and you're some Pagan gods. So why don't we just call it even now and go our separate ways?" asked Dean, smiling.

"What, so you can bring back more hunters and kill us? Nope, I don't think so, mister," laughed Mr. Carrigan.

"Why, we used to take over a hundred tributes a year. And that's a fact," said Mrs. Carrigan.

She placed unfolded napkins neatly in both of their laps and Sam and Dean glared at her as she did so.

"Now, we're just sticklers for rituals, so you'll just have to bear with us!"

Mrs. Carrigan placed a necklace of meadow sweet around each of their necks and the boys flinched as they did so. Mr. Carrigan grabbed a sharp knife from off of the counter and a small wooden bowl as well. He walked over to Sam and smiled before he cut into Sam's forearm, causing some of Sam's blood to drip into the wooden bowl he had provided.

"Leave my brother alone! You son of a bitch!" yelled Dean.

"Hear how they talk to us, the gods?" asked Mr. Carrigan.

Mrs. Carrigan nodded and took the bowl from her husband's hands. Sam took a few deep breaths to get rid of the stinging sensation from the cut as the Carrigans began adding random items to the bowl of blood. Mrs. Carrigan grabbed another knife and made a cut on Dean's forearm as well.

"Oh, you bitch!"

Dean looked her straight in the eyes and she just smiled.

"Someone owes a nickel to the swear jar! You know, I usually try and say fudge when I'm tempted to swear," she offered.

Dean glared at her.

"I'll try and remember that next time!" he yelled, very sarcastically.

Mr. Carrigan came around to Sam once again with a pair of nasty looking pliers in his hand.

"What do you think you're doing with those?" asked Sam, trying to pull away from him, but obviously not succeeding.

"You try and touch me again, I'll fudging kill you!" yelled Dean, as Mrs. Carrigan held the knife to his other arm.

She cut his other forearm, watching the blood drip into the pure white bowl as Mr. Carrigan grabbed Sam's right hand. Sam cried out in tremendous pain as Mr. Carrigan pulled the fingernail off of his index finger by using the pliers. Sam continued moaning and groaning in immense pain and hanging his head as the Carrigans added the mixtures together.

"What are we missing, darling?" asked Madge, looking into the mixed bowls.

"Oh, silly me! I forgot about the tooth!" yelled Mr. Carrigan.

The Carrigans laughed as they grabbed another set of pliers and Mr. Carrigan pulled Dean's mouth open, shoving the pliers inside as best he could to pull out the tooth. Just as he was about to pull the tooth from Dean's mouth, the doorbell rang. The Carrigans sighed, but set the pliers down on the closest counter and headed quickly for the front door.

Alex leaned against the cellar door, ready to put her plan in action. She listened and winced as she heard her brothers crying out in pain, but she knew she had to wait for just the right moment or else they would all be screwed. She held an evergreen stake in her right hand as the pack Dean had brought was slung across her shoulders. Just as she was about to make her presence known, the doorbell rang.

"What the hell?" she whispered.

She put her ear up to the cellar door and listened as she heard the Carrigans leave the room. Then, once she knew the coast was clear, she unlocked the cellar door and pushed it open slowly, ready for any unexpected surprises. Once the door swung open, she looked up at her oldest brother, who was managing to smile down at her.

"Alex," he said, breathing a huge sigh of relief at her appearance.

She stood up quickly and helped Dean get untied. Once he was all untied, she moved over to Sam. She helped him get untied, trying to avoid looking at his missing fingernail.

"Alright, c'mon. Let's kill these motherfuckers," whispered Alex.

Her brothers nodded in agreement as she handed each of them their own stake.

The Carrigans walked back into the kitchen a few minutes later to see the chairs empty. As they stood in the kitchen, the doors on either side of them slammed closed. The Winchesters pushed dressers in front of both doors before heading into the living room, where the Christmas tree was placed.

"Huh. More evergreen," commented Alex, pointing to the tree.

The boys turned to look as well, but then the noises from the kitchen stopped. They all turned back around to see where the Carrigans were, when suddenly, Mr. Carrigan came charging at them, attacking Dean. He knocked Dean across the room and began beating on him as Madge came running out from the kitchen. She stopped in front of Sam and Alex.

"Ah, so your sister has decided to join us now. What fun," she said, smiling.

Sam raised his arm to strike at her, but Madge anticipated this and flung Sam into an ugly yellow armchair across the room. She turned to face Alex then, a smile on her crazed face. Alex began backing up, but didn't have to go too far. Sam quickly stood up and came up behind Madge. He stabbed her through the chest with his evergreen stake. Her husband saw this happen and stopped beating up Dean for a few seconds.

"Madge!" he yelled.

Dean used this distraction to grab his own evergreen stake from beside him, where it had fallen when he was flung across the room. He knocked Mr. Carrigan off of him and onto his back. Once Dean was crouched above him, he stabbed Mr. Carrigan repeatedly, Mr. Carrigan crying out as Dean stabbed him. The three siblings looked down at the dead bodies in the middle of the floor.

"Merry Christmas!" yelled Alex, smiling widely as she looked at both of her brothers.

Dean and Sam looked at her, both of them chuckling as she smiled. Sam flung his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.

"Thanks for saving our asses once again, little sis," he said, thanking her.

"Oh, you know. It's just a part of my job description," said Alex, flipping her hair over her shoulders and smiling even wider than before.

Dean laughed, but began following his siblings as they headed for the front door.

"C'mon. Let's get the hell out of here."

Dean was filling the Impala up with gas while Sam and Alex sat in the motel room. They were decorating the motel room with Christmas decorations as a surprise for Dean. Christmas music was playing throughout the whole entire room as Alex and Sam continued hanging decorations.

"Hey, Sammy? Remember when we got Dean that necklace for Christmas?"

Sam smirked, thinking back on the memory.

"Yeah. The one we were originally gonna give to Dad instead, but he never showed up for Christmas that year."

Alex nodded and hung up another length of garland right as Dean walked through the door. Alex glanced over at him and smiled when she saw that he was still wearing that necklace she and Sam had given him so long ago when they were all just kids. Sam also smiled, having seen the necklace as well.

"What's all this?" asked Dean, stepping over the threshold and walking towards them.

"What do you think it is? It's Christmas!" exclaimed Sam, holding up his little tiny cup of eggnog.

Dean looked at his siblings, who looked so excited, almost like two little kids on Christmas day, and he smirked.

"What made you change your mind, Sammy?" he asked.

Sam looked at Dean, but just sighed.

"Here. Try the eggnog," said Alex.

She picked up another small glass off of the coffee table in front of them and handed it to her oldest brother. Dean took the cup from her hands and took a big gulp from his glass, wincing as he tasted the whiskey mixed in with the actual eggnog. Alex and Sam laughed as he threw the rest of it back.

"Now let's sit down. I've got presents!" yelled Alex.

She dragged Sam over to sit beside her on the small, yellow couch and Dean took a seat in the chair beside it. They all exchanged gifts and then opened them. Alex had bought each of them porn magazines. Dean bought Sam some shaving cream and Sam gave Alex a little necklace with her first initial on it as a charm, while Dean gave her a bracelet to match it. Sam handed Dean his presents, which included a candy bar and oil for the Impala.

"Ah. Fuel for me and then fuel for my baby," remarked Dean, holding up his presents that Sam had given him.

"Merry Christmas!" yelled Alex.

She planted a kiss on Sam's cheek and then gave Dean a kiss on his cheek as well before sitting back down next to Sam. Sam stood up slightly and turned on the TV to the football game. The three of them sat there in steady silence, just watching the game as a family while the snow fell outside.

A few days later, the siblings were on their next job, talking to the man whose wife had been killed. The man was completely lifeless, his face an emotionless mask as he sat in an armchair in his living room, talking to them.

"She was so scared. And I couldn't help, couldn't do anything to stop it. But no one can explain it. Not the police, not the medical examiner," he said.

"Well, that's why they put the call in to us, Mr. Dutton," explained Dean, the one who was actually conversing with the man.

Sam and Alex were using their flashlights and were inspecting the bathroom where the woman, Janet, had died.

"But the CDC. Isn't that Disease Control? What do you think, it's some kind of virus?" asked Mr. Dutton.

"We're not ruling out anything yet," said Dean.

The voices of Dean and Mr. Dutton were drowned out completely as Alex shut the bathroom door to better inspect the small area with Sam. Sam looked underneath the sink while Alex began checking the bathtub, looking for any sort of supernatural evidence. As Sam shined his flashlight under the sink, he saw a small bag stuck in between the pipes. He reached in and grabbed the small bag between his fingers.

"Alex, look," he said.

He stood up from his crouch and Alex walked over to him, inspecting the small bag that he now held between his fingers.

"Looks like we've got what we need. Come on, let's leave."

Alex opened the bathroom door and she and Sam waited in the doorframe as Dean finished his conversation with Mr. Dutton. Dean quickly glanced over at them and Sam gave him an imperceptible nod, indicating that they had found what they had been searching for. Dean nodded back at them, thanked Mr. Dutton, and then they were on their way.

"Did that dude seem a little evasive to you?" asked Dean, as they left the Dutton residence.

"Well, we wouldn't know. Especially since I was under a sink," said Sam.

He reached into the pocket of his black dress pants and pulled out the brown bag that he had found underneath the sink and handed it over to Dean.

"A hex bag," explained Alex, as Dean looked over it.

"Aww, gross," said Dean, his face turning to one of disgust as he gently pried open the bag.

A slight rain began to fall as they stood on the sidewalk in front of the Dutton's house, looking through the items inside the hex bag.

"There are bird bones, rabbit's teeth. This cloth is probably cut from something Janet Dutton owned," said Sam.

Dean sighed as he swiftly looked through the disgusting items. He glanced back at the house behind them before closing the bag once again and handing it back over to Sam.

"So are we thinking witches?" asked Dean.

"Um, yeah. But this is some serious old world, black magic, Dean. I mean like, warts and all," said Alex, climbing into the backseat of the Impala.

"Damn, I fucking hate witches," said Dean.

Alex and Sam looked at him, chuckling lightly and smiling.

"No, seriously! They're always spewing their bodily fluids everywhere. It's creepy and downright unsanitary," he explained.

Alex shrugged.

"Yeah, well. Someone definitely had it out for poor Janet Dutton."

"Yeah, whoever that someone is who snuck into that house and planted that hex bag," said Sam.

"The problem is, it could be anyone. Coworker, neighbor. Witches are just like everyone else, humans. That's our biggest problem," explained Alex.

"Great. How are we gonna find them?"

"Well, this wasn't a random act, Dean. Someone in Janet Dutton's life had a motive, which, if we find the motive…" began Sam.

"We find the murderer," finished Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded and Dean started the Impala, pulling it away from the curb and into the heavy rainfall.

That night, the siblings were rushing to find Paul Dutton, knowing that he would be the next one to be hexed. They drove around until they spotted his car at a local burger joint. Dean pulled the car up right behind Paul's and they all jumped out once Dean threw it in park. Paul Dutton was on the ground by his car, holding his throat and choking as he wheezed on the ground.

"Check the car!" yelled Dean.

Sam nodded and ran over to the car. He reached inside and began reaching under the seat and around the car, looking for the hex bag.

"Sam!" yelled Alex, trying to help Mr. Dutton as he continued choking and wheezing, trying to breathe.

Sam reached under the steering wheel and felt around the pedals, finally finding the hex bag under the steering wheel and by the pedals.

"Got it!"

Sam stood up straight as he grabbed the hex bag and pulled a lighter out of his jacket pocket, trying quickly to light the hex bag on fire as Dean and Alex helped Paul stand up, leaning against his car. The hex bag caught on fire almost at once, so Sam quickly dropped it down onto the ground. A few seconds later, Paul began breathing normally again, holding his chest and gasping for breaths. After a few minutes, Paul looked at all of them.

"You okay?" asked Dean, still holding one of Paul's shoulders to make sure he was really alright.

"What the hell is happening to me?"

"Well, someone murdered your wife and now they're trying to murder you. That's what's happening here," said Alex.

"Look, that's impossible-"

"If we hadn't have been following you, you would be as dead as a doornail right now. Look, who wants you dead?" asked Dean.

Paul just stared at him.

"C'mon, please think," urged Sam.

"Um, there's a woman. An affair, a mistake. She was unbalanced and she was blackmailing me, but I put an end to it a whole week ago," admitted Paul.

"And what was this woman's name?" asked Sam.

"What would she have to do with any of this?" yelled Paul.

"Paul, what was her name?" asked Alex.

Paul looked at her, the fear and frustration very evident on his face.

"Amanda. Amanda Price."

About an hour later, the siblings were at Amanda's place, their weapons at the ready. Dean unlocked the front door of her house and he stepped inside first, his gun at the ready. Sam shut the front door behind him since he was the last one in and he followed his brother and twin sister across the foyer and through the first floor of the house. Dean pushed open a door that looked like it might lead into some sort of study. As he pushed the door open, he slowly stepped inside and saw candles gently flickering, some of their flames already burnt out. Alex and Sam stepped inside only seconds behind him and they all sighed and held their guns at their sides when they saw Amanda lying across her glass coffee table, dead. Dean flicked on the lights and they all stared at the girl's dead body, their faces all showing the same emotion: confusion.

"Well, that's a curveball," whispered Dean.

"Um, yeah, I would say so," remarked Alex.

Alex was the first one of the three of them to actually tuck her gun back into the back waistband of her jeans. Sam followed her lead, but Dean kept his hanging loosely from his fingertips, just in case of an emergency. They all slowly creeped over to stand next to the corpse, looking down at her. Her wrists had been slit very deeply, puddles of blood saturating the table and the carpet where it had fallen. Dean turned over one of her wrists using the front end of his gun, then let it fall back into place once he was finished looking at it.

"Three per wrist. Vertical cuts," he said.

"She wasn't fooling around either. Looks like she was working some pretty heavyweight evil around here," said Alex.

She was crouched down in front of the glass coffee table, where Amanda's spell book had fallen. Along with the spell book, there was a knife, a plate full of disgusting and rotting old food, and a plank of wood to perform the spells on top of. Alex winced and covered her nose at the smell of the spoiled food. Dean and Sam looked over the table to see what she was looking at and frowned as the stench made its way through their nostrils as well.

"You know what I don't understand though. If she was so bent on revenge, why do all of this?" asked Sam.

Alex stood up from her crouch and made her way back around the glass table, coming to stand in front of Sam.

"Well, she killed Janet Dutton, thought she'd finished off Paul. Then she decided to kill herself and make it a spurned lover's hat trick," joked Dean, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I guess. Maybe," said Sam.

Alex sighed and looked back down at Amanda's body lying across the surface of the table. She tilted her head to the side in confusion when she spotted a gleam of brown from underneath the table in one corner. She walked past Sam and over to the bottom right corner of the table. She crouched down once again and reached underneath the table. When she grabbed the hex bag from out of the corner, she stood up and held it between her fingertips, showing it to her brothers.

"Well, here's this."

She threw it across the room to Dean, who gently caught it.

"Another hex bag? Seriously? Come on," cried Dean.

He pulled this particular bag open within a few seconds and glanced at the contents of it before sighing and throwing it on the table next to Amanda's lifeless body.

"Well, looks like a hit. I guess we've got some witch on witch violence here," said Dean.

"I guess," said Sam.

Dean nodded and pulled out his phone, dialing 911.

"Hello, I'd like to report a dead body. 915 North Mayfair Court. My name? Yeah, sure, my name is…"

Dean hung up on the operator and threw his phone back into his pocket as he walked around the table to join his siblings. They all stared in silence for a few minutes until Dean spoke up once again.

"So why are witches just killing one another?"

"I don't know, but I think maybe we've got a whole coven on our hands," answered Sam.

"Great. A whole damn coven of fucking witches," muttered Alex.

She threw her hands up and walked out of the room, Dean and Sam following close behind her.

"You know, this is why I never hung out with girls in the first place. Too much drama," said Alex.

Dean and Sam smirked and laughed gently at her as she continued mumbling on and on about stupid girls, unnecessary drama, and covens of witches.

The next day, the siblings were talking to the neighbors to figure out what had happened to Amanda. They walked up the driveway of one woman's house, where she was gardening.

"You must have a green thumb," commented Sam.

The woman turned her head to look at them.

"Excuse me?"

"Getting these herbs to grow out of season like this," said Sam, pointing to all of the plants growing in her garden.

The woman looked back at her garden.

"That's quite impressive."

"Let us introduce ourselves. I'm Detective Turner and so is he. We're siblings," said Alex, motioning to Sam.

"And I'm Detective Brothman," said Dean.

They all smiled at the woman and she slowly stood up, facing them.

"We're just following up on Amanda Price's death. We're going around the neighborhood, talking to her neighbors and stuff like that," explained Sam.

"Didn't she… I mean, she killed herself, right?" asked the woman.

"Possibly, possibly. Now, we heard you were friends with the deceased. Is that correct?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Do you have any idea about her practices?" asked Dean.

"I'm sorry… What kind of practices?"

"Well, see, her house was littered with satanic paraphernalia," said Sam.

"But she was an Episcopalian," said the woman, her face very confused.

"Elizabeth," said a voice from behind the siblings.

They all turned to look as two women walked up the driveway, one with a black bob and another with shoulder length blonde hair. They brushed past the siblings to walk over to Elizabeth.

"Is everything alright?" asked the blonde woman.

"I'm fine. Renee, these are detectives," said Elizabeth, as the woman stood by her sides.

"They say Amanda was murder-"

"I'm sorry, Detectives. You can tell Elizabeth is very upset," said the blonde woman, gently stroking Elizabeth's arm and smiling over at them.

"Of course, Miss…" began Dean.

"Mrs. Renee van Allen. Would you like me to spell it for you?"

She smirked over at him and Alex scoffed, rolling her eyes and clenching her fists by her sides.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks," said Dean.

"This Amanda business has been hard for Liz. For all of us," said Renee.

"Yeah. I mean, you think you know a person," said the black haired woman, sighing.

The siblings looked at the three women for a few minutes, awkwardly smiling at them.

"I guess we all have our little secrets, huh?" said Dean.

Renee smirked at them.

"Well, thanks for your time. We'll be in touch," said Sam.

"Have a nice day," said Dean.

The siblings turned to leave.

"Bye," said the black haired woman, not smiling or waving.

The three women stared at the siblings retreating backs.

Dean was driving the Impala that night, talking to his siblings.

"Well, I'm already sold on that Elizabeth chick. Did you see that little victory garden of hers?"

"Yeah, she's definitely had a good run lately," said Sam.

He had a manila folder opened on his lap as he sifted through multiple newspaper clippings.

"Won almost too many raffles. The kind of thing a little black magic always helps with."

"Well, I don't really think she's alone either. Looks like Mrs. Renee van Allen has won almost every single craft contest she's been entered in in the past three months," said Sam.

"Well, then I'm thinking that was the coven we met back there, just minus one member," said Alex.

"So do you think they killed her to keep up appearances?" asked Sam.

Dean and Alex both shrugged.

"But they are still working black magic, guys, so they still need to be stopped," said Sam.

Dean looked over at his little brother, his eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Stopped like stopped?"

Sam shrugged, but nodded as well.

"They're humans, Sam," said Alex, very quietly.

"Yeah, well, they're also murderers."

From the backseat, Alex stared at her brother, wondering where the old, sympathetic, and ethical Sam had gone. Dean looked at his brother, blinked a few times, and then turned his attention back onto the road.

"Burn, witch, burn," said Dean, and Alex rolled her eyes, throwing herself onto the backseat.

A few minutes later, though, the Impala suddenly began to slow down and it also began making very weird noises. The lights flashed on and off as the car continuously slowed down and Dean let go of the steering wheel as the car just went straight forward by itself.

"What the hell?" he whispered.

Alex sat up in the backseat, suddenly alert, as Sam closed the folder he had been flipping through casually. The car suddenly came to a direct stop right in front of Ruby, who stood there, in the middle of the road, with her arms crossed and just staring at all of them through the windshield. Sam was the first to hop out of the car, Alex and Dean quickly following his lead.

"Ruby," said Sam.

"Sam, listen to me. There's no time," said Ruby, breathless.

"No time? What in the hell are you talking about?" asked Alex, her arms also crossed across her chest and glaring at Ruby as she stood right next to Sam.

"You have to leave town and get out," explained Ruby.

"So this is Ruby, huh?" asked Dean, looking Ruby over.

He quickly pulled out the Colt from his pocket and aimed it straight at Ruby's forehead.

"Never had the pleasure."

"Dean," protested Sam.

"Point that thing somewhere else," said Ruby, very calmly.

Dean just laughed. Ruby turned her attention away from him and went back to Sam's face, beginning to plead with him now.

"Sam, please. Go. Just get in that damn car and don't ever look back."

"Why?" asked Sam. "I really don't understand."

"Hey, hot stuff. We can take care of a few witches, thanks," said Dean.

Ruby faced him once again, her arms still crossed over her chest and her face fuming with anger.

"I'm not talking about witches, you jackass. Witches are whores. I'm talking about who they serve."

Dean still held the Colt aimed at Ruby's forehead, but he looked somewhat confused. He glanced over at his siblings, who both had looks of realization on their faces.

"Demons," muttered Alex and Sam.

"They get their power from demons," finished Alex.

"Yeah. And there's one here, right now," explained Ruby.

"Oh, what? You mean besides you?" asked Dean, the hatefulness back in his voice as he continued glaring back at Ruby.

"Look, Sam, it knows you're in town. And it's gonna come after you all and it's way more than any of you can handle," said Ruby, her face masking her concern.

"Aww, c'mon, what is this? Please do not tell me you're actually listening to this crap," yelled Dean.

"Will you please put a leash on your brother, Sam? At least, if you wanna keep him," spat Ruby.

Dean glared at Ruby then with so much hatred, that Alex looked over at them and could feel a chill in her bones. Sam looked back at Alex quickly and Alex rolled her eyes, but sighed. She walked over to Dean and stood beside him.

"Dean, please. Just chill out for like, a second," she pleaded.

"No! She's messing with Sam's head! God knows why, that's just who the hell they fucking are!"

"I'm telling you the truth."

"And I'm telling you to shut up, bitch," yelled Dean.

Alex stepped back as Ruby stalked towards Dean, her steps purposeful.

"I'm sorry, why are you even a part of this conversation?"

"Maybe because he's my brother, you black eyed bitch."

"Oh, right, right. And you care about your siblings so damn much. Is that why you're checking out in a few months and leaving them all alone?" screamed Ruby.

Sam was breathing heavily as he panicked, watching Ruby and Dean argue. Alex still stood behind Dean, but had slowly and unconsciously migrated closer to Sam. She winced when she heard Ruby's last comment.

"Shut the hell up," said Dean.

"At least let me try and save them since you won't be here to do it anymore," said Ruby.

"I said, shut up!"

Dean's finger reached for the trigger just as Sam ran over and grabbed Dean's arm, flinging it upwards and towards the black sky.

"Dean, no!" he yelled.

The gun was shot off, but it went up into the air and not into Ruby's forehead. Dean struggled with Sam, trying to make Sam let go of his arm as they somewhat glared at one another. Alex was getting ready to step in and make herself known when the boys suddenly let go of each other. They both looked around and Alex finally noticed that Ruby had vanished. They looked all around, but she was literally nowhere to be found. Dean looked at Sam one last time before walking back to the Impala and climbing in the driver's side. Alex looked over at Sam sadly. He sighed, but looked back over at her.

"Sammy, c'mon," she whispered, and Sam followed her back into the Impala.

Dean unlocked the motel room door and angrily shoved the keys back into his jacket pocket as he entered the room.

"I don't know what the hell you were thinking," said Dean.

Sam shut the door behind him and stared at Dean, disbelief evident in his voice and on his face.

"What? What the hell was I thinking?"

"She's a fucking demon, Sam, period, alright? They want us dead, and we sure as hell want them dead," yelled Dean.

"Oh, well that's funny. Because I remember that demon chick in Ohio, Kasey? You sure as hell didn't want her dead," yelled Sam.

Dean walked farther into the room and began removing his jacket as Sam yelled at his back.

"Yeah, well she wasn't stringing me along like a damn fish on a hook."

Dean threw his denim jacket on his bed and finally turned to face Sam again. Neither one of them seemed to notice Alex still standing by the front door, biting her lip and looking between them as they fought and yelled at each other.

"No one's stringing me along. Look, I know it's very dangerous. She is dangerous. But like it or not, she's useful," said Sam, finally beginning to calm down and speak to Dean calmly.

"No. We kill her before she fucking kills us," yelled Dean.

"Kill her with what? The gun she fucking fixed for us?"

Dean just shrugged at his brother.

"Whatever works."

"Dean, honestly, if she wants us dead, all she had to do is stop saving our lives."

Alex sighed, knowing their argument wouldn't be over anytime soon, so she removed her jacket and threw it over the back of a chair. She rolled up her long shirt sleeves to her elbows as she walked over to the bathroom. She stepped onto the tile floor and twisted the knobs, turning on both the cold and hot water. She stuck her hands under the lukewarm water and gently splashed her face. After a few times, she grabbed a hand towel from on the counter beside her hand and dabbed at her face with it, drying up the excess water that remained on her face. Alex sighed as Dean and Sam still continued arguing, albeit a little less ferociously than before. She suddenly winced and held a hand to her stomach as a sharp pain shot through her belly. It quickly passed and she relaxed. But a few minutes later, the pain returned and it was even sharper than before. She walked back out into the room, her hand once again resting on her belly, as her brothers stopped arguing and were staring at her. They noticed her hand resting on her belly and they both frowned.

"Alex. What's wrong?" asked Dean.

Alex sat down beside Sam on their bed.

"I don't know. It just really fucking hurts," ground out Alex, through her gritted teeth.

Suddenly, the pain became even worse and she hunched forward, crying out in agony and her blue eyes welling up with tears.

"Something's really wrong," she cried. "It feels almost like a bunch of knives are inside of me."

She groaned again and held her head in her free hand as the pain continued worsening.

"It's gotta be the coven, Sammy."

Sam knelt down in front of his sister and placed his hands on her knees as she tried to take deep breaths. She felt like she couldn't breathe and her tears were falling down her face as the pain just continued worsening.

"Sam, hurry. Check under the sink," called out Dean.

Sam nodded and rushed into the bathroom, throwing open the sink doors and throwing everything out of the way and onto the bathroom floor. Dean took Sam's original place and knelt down in front of Alex as Sam began his search. Alex screamed in pain and fell back onto the bed. Sam removed his jacket as he searched the place, throwing it into a corner of the room. Alex sat up once again and began coughing up blood. She tried to stand up, but just fell right back down. Dean caught her, though, and he fell down to the floor, holding Alex in his arms as she continued coughing up more and more blood. Sam threw the pillows out of the extra closet, but found nothing. He threw the covers and sheets off of both beds and grabbed his pocket knife. He cut straight through both mattresses, ripping them apart with his bare hands, and he still found absolutely nothing.

"Dean, I can't find it!" he yelled.

Dean looked up at him with Alex still in his arms. She was still hacking up blood, her face covered with it as she coughed. Sam suddenly got an evil glare in his eyes. He grabbed the Colt from off of his nightstand and threw on his jacket, heading for the door.

"Sam!" called Dean, but it was too late.

Sam burst into the living room of Renee's house, the Colt aimed at the three evil women who stared back at him from their places on the floor. The women shrieked as he aimed the gun at them and they quickly stood up, scrambling around the coffee table to stand on the other side of it to keep some distance between them and Sam.

"Let her go," he demanded.

"Let who go?" asked Renee.

"What are you doing? You're insane. Get out!"

"Look, if you know about me, then you know about this gun. You're killing my little sister. Now, let her go. Get away from the altar. Now!" yelled Sam.

The women jumped as he yelled at them, but they walked around to the join him on the other side of the coffee table, while still keeping their distance.

Alex continued throwing up blood onto the ground as Dean held her, not really sure what to do. She coughed and wheezed, her blood a small puddle on the floor now, when suddenly, the door was kicked in by Ruby. She walked straight over to the two of them, pulled Alex's mouth wide open, and squirted some dark black liquid straight into the back of Alex's throat as Dean watched, wide-eyed. Alex sputtered and coughed, but no more blood came up. Dean stared at Ruby.

The three women stood in front of the fireplace, their hands up, as Sam stood before them.

"We weren't hurting anyone," pleaded Elizabeth.

"Please, we don't even know your sister," said Renee.

"Stop the spell or die. You've got five seconds," vowed Sam.

Sam began counting down as the women pleaded with him once more.

"Please, please, don't kill us. We were only trying to give Renee a lower mortgage rate," said Elizabeth.

Sam looked confused as he stared at all three of them.

"Okay. Maybe it's not you…"

He moved the gun across Elizabeth's and Renee's faces before coming to a stop on the black haired woman's face.

"Maybe it's you," he said.

The woman looked at both of the other women, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed and cried, but no tears fell down her face.

"You've all had runs of good fortune. Except for you, Tammy. Now, tell me. Why is that? Is it because you didn't want anything for yourself? Or are you already getting what you wanted? These women's souls?" asked Sam.

Elizabeth and Renee gasped at Sam's comment and looked over at their friend. Sam glared at her, his eyes full of sincere hatred, and finally, she relented, her eyes turning as black as night. Her friends gasped.

"Let my sister go," said Sam.

"What's wrong? Couldn't find my hex bag? Sorry, sweetheart, but your sister's lungs should be about on the floor by now," said Tammy.

Sam glared, but shot off the Colt quickly. Almost as if it was all happening in slow motion, the bullet shot towards Tammy, but she held up her hand, pam out front towards the bullet, and stopped the bullet completely. It fell to the floor directly in front of her, the other women gasped, and Sam's face held a small ounce of panic.

"You're in a lot of trouble, Sam," smiled Tammy.

She flung Sam across the room and directly into the adjacent wall, where he was now stuck and couldn't move at all. Sam watched as Renee and Elizabeth began talking and yelling at Tammy, Renee doing the yelling. Tammy rolled her eyes and broke Renee's neck, Elizabeth crying out as Renee's head swung all the way around her neck before her lifeless body fell to the floor.

"Who are you?" asked Elizabeth.

"Funny story, actually. Remember all those dark, demonic forces you prayed to, when you swore your servitude? Just who did you think you were praying to?" asked Tammy, rolling her black eyes.

"Yeah, it was me. You sold yourself to me, you pig."

Elizabeth shook her head as tears fell down her face, her eyes wide and huge as she stared at the demonic Tammy. Tammy looked away from her, and looked over at Sam instead.

"Wow, little Sammy Winchester, here in our town. You know, I've heard a lot about you, Sam."

"Yeah, right. Oh wait, I'm supposed to be some leader to a demon army," said Sam, very sarcastically.

"No, I don't care about that. You see, there's a new leader in the uprising and he doesn't like you very much."

Tammy held her hand up to Sam, her palm facing towards him. She made him groan in pain as he slid him higher up on the living room wall.

"Nothing personal," she said, smiling.

"So. Buh-bye."

Tammy focused on her task at hand and began using her demonic powers and looking over at Sam on the wall. The wall surrounding him began to crack with the force of her power as Sam struggled and groaned. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of pain headed towards him, but then, the front door slammed open, hitting the wall. Dean rushed into the room, aiming his shotgun at Tammy. She expected this and flung Dean a small distance across the room and over the couch. The white cough tipped over as Dean fell over the top of it. He quickly got back up, but Tammy expected this move as well. She flung up her palm and now Dean was also stuck to a wall of the living room. Tammy smirked over at both of them.

"Two for one. Lovely. Now, where's that cute little sister of yours?"

"Wait," called out a woman's voice from behind her.

Tammy turned to look towards the front door, and watched as Ruby walked into the house, followed by Alex. Ruby had her hands up, both of her palms facing Tammy as she stepped all the way into the living room.

"Please. I just came to talk," pleaded Ruby.

Alex stood behind her, her shotgun ready as she glared at the woman who had caused her so much pain. Her hatred for Tammy was very clear and abundant as well. But Tammy was ignoring Alex, solely and only focused on Ruby.

"You made it out of the gate. Impressive. It was a hell of a fight, wasn't it?"

"The doors out of hell only open for so long," replied Ruby, her hands now back at her sides.

"What do you want, Ruby?"

"I've been lost without you. Take me back. That's why I led the Winchesters here," said Ruby, glancing over at the two boys against the wall.

Dean mouthed, "I told you so!" over to Sam, while Alex took steps back from Ruby. Ruby quickly reached out and grabbed Alex's wrist, snatching her before she could really walk away. She pulled Alex forward and placed her to stand beside her.

"They're all for you, as a gift. Let me serve you again. I've wanted it and you for so long," finished Ruby.

Dean raised an eyebrow as Ruby stepped much closer to Tammy.

"You were always one of my best," said Tammy, smiling at Ruby.

Ruby smiled back, but suddenly reached out and tried to stab Tammy with her knife. Tammy grabbed her wrist as it came down to harm her.

"But then again, you were also always a lying whore."

The knife was thrown across the room and fell to the ground, forgotten, as Ruby began fighting Tammy. She brought her knee up to elbow Tammy directly in the stomach. She got three good punches in to Tammy's face and neck before Tammy grabbed her arm as it came towards her a fourth time. Tammy then head-butted Ruby directly in the nose and Ruby's head flung backwards. Dean winced. Tammy threw one punch to Ruby's right cheek and another punch to her left. She kneed her in the stomach as well and then flung Ruby onto the TV stand, where she landed on top of the TV. The TV flickered and shorted out as Ruby landed on top of it. Tammy smirked, but then Ruby lashed out, kicking Tammy in her stomach. Tammy stumbled backwards for a few steps, but as Ruby was running towards her, Tammy clotheslined her and Ruby fell flat on her ass. Tammy leaned over her and pulled up her up by the lapels of her jacket and threw her into the bookshelf across the room. Tammy walked over to Ruby to beat up on her some more. Elizabeth took this distraction and ran over to the altar on the coffee table. Alex stood beside her, looking over her as Elizabeth knelt down by the altar. She dumped all the pins out of the golden bowl. Alex listened as Tammy told Sam and Dean that Ruby was once a witch when she was a human and she had sold her own soul to Tammy as well. Tammy began performing an incantation to rid Ruby's body of the demon housed inside it, but she began coughing as she did so. Alex looked over and saw Elizabeth performing an incantation of her own. Alex smirked as Tammy stopped chanting and Dean and Sam fell roughly to the floor. Tammy coughed one final time, and blood came up into her palm, along with pins. Tammy closed her fist and killed Elizabeth by crushing her lungs. Elizabeth slumped over onto the coffee table, dead. Tammy got ready to turn around on her heels, but Alex suddenly came up behind her, grabbed her around the shoulders with one arm, while stabbing her with Ruby's knife in the other hand. She moaned and cried out as Alex stabbed her repeatedly, her hatred and anger her boiling point. Once she was satisfied, Alex let Tammy's lifeless body fall to the floor. She dropped the knife on the ground as well and just stared at the blood on her hands, realizing that she had just killed a person, not some creature from a children's nightmare. She looked over at her brothers, her bottom lip quivering as tears formed in her eyes, and Dean quickly ran over to her, catching her as she fell to the floor in tears. He sat down with her on the floor as she cried, her legs around his hips and his legs straight out in front of him. He stroked her back and combed his fingers gently through her hair.

"Shh, it's okay. You're alright, we're all alright," whispered Dean into her ear.

He kissed her temple and her forehead as he just held her on his lap.

"You guys go. I'll clean up this mess," said Ruby.

Sam stood up from his seat on the ground and walked over to join his siblings. Dean cradled Alex in his arms as they walked out the front door of the terrorized house, never looking back at Ruby as she began cleaning up their messes.

Later that night, Sam and Alex were in the morel room while Dean was out getting some food. Dean was headed for the room when the lights and the signs around the motel began flickering. He looked around, and spotted Ruby standing a few feet away from him in the parking lot, her arms crossed over her chest. Dean sighed, but turned to face her.

"So the devil may care after all. Is that what I'm supposed to believe?"

Ruby walked towards him.

"I don't believe in the devil."

"So let me get this straight. You were human once, you died, you went to hell, and you became a…"

Dean trailed off, motioning to her form with his hand.

"Yeah," whispered Ruby.

She turned and began walking away from him.

"How long ago?" asked Dean.

"Back when the plague was big," answered Ruby, pausing in her steps.

"So all of 'em, every damn demon, was once a human?"

Ruby turned back around to face Dean, who had stepped closer to her.

"Everyone I've ever met."

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Well, they sure don't act like it."

"Most of 'em have forgotten what it means. Or even that they were. That's what happens when you go to hell, Dean. That's what hell is. Forgetting what you are."

She turned to leave once again, but then turned back around one last time to speak to him.

"The answer is yes, by the way. Yes, the same exact thing will happen to you. It may take centuries, but sooner or later, hell will burn away your humanity. You can count on it."

"There's no way of saving me from the pit, is there?" whispered Dean.

"No."

Dean nodded and walked towards her, standing only a foot away from her now.

"Then why'd you tell Sam that you could?"

"So he would talk to me. You Winchesters can be pretty bigoted. But look at you, trying to be all stoic."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

Ruby sighed.

"I need your help."

"With what?"

"With Sam. You're ruthless, Dean, and Sam's almost there, but not quite. You need to help me get him ready for life without you. To fight this war, on his own."

"Well, he'll never be alone. He's got Alex."

"Yeah, and Alex will be fine. Sam won't be," said Ruby.

"Ruby. Why do you want us to win?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm not like them. I don't know why, I wish I was. But I'm not… because I remember what it's like, being human."

Dean looked down for a split second, and when he looked back up, Ruby was gone. He looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. Thunder rumbled as Dean stood in the middle of the almost empty parking lot.

A few days later, Sam sat in a bar in the middle of the afternoon, looking into his glass that was half full of whiskey. He stared down into the golden yellow liquid and didn't notice as Alex and Dean walked into the car and came up beside him. Dean gently grabbed his shoulder and Sam looked over at him sadly.

"There you are. What are you doing?" asked Dean.

Sam shrugged.

"I'm just having a drink," he mumbled.

"Um, it's two in the afternoon and you're drinking whiskey?" asked Alex, who was standing somewhat behind Dean and looking over at her twin brother curiously.

"I drink whiskey all the time."

"No, you don't. Sammy, what's going on with you?" asked Dean.

Sam looked back at his glass.

"I tried, Dean. I tried to save you."

Dean sighed, rolled his eyes, and sat down next to Sammy. Alex sat down on the other side of Sam and grabbed his glass, finishing the whiskey. Sam just looked over at her, never protesting as she swallowed the alcohol and then winced as it burned all the way down her throat.

"But really, no one can save you," said Sam.

"That's what I've been telling you," quipped Dean.

"No, no one can save you because you don't want to be saved. I mean, how can you care so little about yourself? What's wrong with you?"

Alex sighed as Dean stared at Sam. She was about to stand up when her cell phone rang. She frowned, but pulled it from her pocket and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

The person on the other end of the call spoke for a few seconds.

"Yes, this is Mrs. Snyerson… What?"

Alex's eyes were wide as the person continued speaking and her brothers looked at her. Panic was written all over her face.

"Where?" she asked.

The person responded to her question and Alex nodded.

"Yes, thank you, thank you. We'll be there as soon as we can."

She hung up and looked at her siblings.

"It's Bobby," she whispered.

Alex was huddled into Sam's side as they stood next to Bobby's hospital bed, looking over him. Bobby's eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady as they all stared at him. His face was as white as a sheet, but he looked peaceful and calm.

"So what's the diagnosis?" asked Sam, looking up from Bobby's face to stare at the doctor, who stood on the other side of Bobby's bed.

"We've tested everything we can think to test. He seems perfectly healthy."

"Except that he's comatose," said Dean, a hint of anger lacing his words.

The doctor ignored him and looked over at Alex gently.

"Mrs. Snyerson, you're his emergency contact. Is there anything we should know about? Any illnesses?"

Alex shook her head.

"No. I mean, he never gets sick. He doesn't ever even get a cold."

"Doctor, is there anything you can do?" asked Sam, his arm still around Alex's shoulder.

The doctor took a deep breath in before speaking to them.

"Look, I'm sorry, but we don't know what's causing it. So therefore, we don't know how to treat it, either. He just went to sleep and didn't wake up."

Sam pushed open the door to Bobby's motel room, Dean and Alex following directly behind him.

"So what was Bobby doing in Pittsburgh?" asked Sam.

"Well, unless he's taking an extremely lame vacation, he must have been working a job," said Dean.

"I feel like there should be some sort of sigh though," said Alex.

Dean and Sam began opening drawers on the dressers in the room. Alex rolled her eyes and went straight for the closet, throwing open the doors and pushing all of Bobby's clothes to the sides.

"How about this?" she asked.

The boys stood up from their crouches and walked over to stand on either side of Alex in front of the closet. The back wall of the closet was covered in newspaper clippings, markings, and drawings that Bobby had compiled for his job in Pittsburgh. Dean smirked as he glanced at all of the work.

"Good old Bobby. Always covering up his tracks."

"Can you make heads or tails of any of this?" asked Sam.

Dean shook his head, but Alex reached in and grabbed a piece of paper from off of the closet wall. She stuck the thumbtack back into the wall and then looked down at the paper in her hands. The picture on the flyer was some sort of green and purple place, almost like a flower.

"Silene capensis," said Alex.

"Here. Obit," remarked Sam, removing an obituary from the closet wall as well.

"Dr. Walter Greg. 64, university neurologist," read Sam.

"How'd he bite the dust?" asked Dean.

"Um, actually, they don't know. They say he just went to sleep and never woke up."

"That sound familiar to you?" asked Alex.

"Alright, um. Let's say Bobby was looking into the doc's death, you know, hunting after something," began Sam.

"And then it started hunting him," finished Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded. Dean grabbed the obituary from Sam's hands and Alex handed him the silene capensis flyer she was holding.

"Alright, you two stay here and see if you can make heads or tails of the rest of this," said Dean.

"And what are you gonna do?" asked Alex, folding her arms across her chest and staring her oldest brother down.

"I'm gonna take a look at doctor myself," said Dean.

He smiled at his siblings before zipping up his jacket and taking off out the door. Alex and Sam sighed, but they pulled two chairs up as close to the closet as possible and began sifting through the materials located in there.

A few hours later, Alex was lying on one of the beds in the motel room while Sam continued looking through all of the materials they had found in the back of the closet. Alex sat up and looked over at her brother.

"Sammy, can I ask you something?"

Sam looked at her, stopping what he was doing.

"Yeah, shoot."

"Okay. Will you promise you'll always be here?"

Alex bit her bottom lip as Sam looked at her, his confusion evident in his raised eyebrows.

"I mean, when Dean's… gone, I don't want to be alone. We're gonna stick together, right?"

She looked at him and Sam sighed. He stood up from his chair and walked over to sit next to her on the bed. He pulled her into his chest for a hug and she wrapped her arms around him.

"I promise, Alex. You'll always have me."

Alex nodded into his chest and they were still hugging when Sam's phone rang a few minutes later. He pulled away from Alex and grabbed his phone, holding it to his ear.

"Hello? Yeah, we'll be there in a few."

Sam hung up, standing up and shoving his phone back into his pocket quickly.

"Dean's at the hospital with Bobby. Let's go."

Dean was sitting in a chair beside Bobby's bedside as Sam and Alex walked into the room. They stood a few feet away from his chair when he felt their presence and turned his head to look at them.

"How is he?" asked Alex.

She and Sam walked around to the other side of the bed, while Dean rubbed his hand over his face.

"No change," he answered.

Dean stood up as Sam and Alex stood at the foot of Bobby's bed, using Bobby's bedside table as a place to spread out all of their collected information.

"Well, considering what you told us about the doc's experiments when you called, Bobby's wall is starting to make a hell of a lot more sense," said Sam.

He flipped open the folder he had been holding and placed it on top of the table. Alex reached in and held up a paper that had a picture of the plant silene capensis on it.

"This plant, silene capensis, also known as African dream root, has been used by medicine men for centuries," explained Alex.

She passed the picture over to Dean, who looked at it intently.

"Now, if you believe the legends, it's used for dream walking. I mean, entering another person's dreams, poking around in their heads," said Sam.

"I take it we believe the legends?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded.

"When don't we?" asked Sam.

Dean and Alex both shrugged, so Sam continued on his rant.

"But dream walking is just the tip of the iceberg. This dream root is some serious mojo. You take enough of it, with enough practice, you can become a regular Freddy Krueger."

"You can control anything. You can turn bad dreams, good, or vice versa," explained Alex.

"Even killing people in their sleep," remarked Dean.

Alex grimaced, but nodded along with Sam.

"For example," whispered Sam.

The three of them all sighed and looked at Bobby' sleeping form.

"So let's say this doc was testing this stuff on his patients…" began Sam.

"Somebody gets pissed at him, tries to give him a little dream visit…"

"He goes night-night," finished Dean.

"Yeah, but what about Bobby? I mean, if the killer came after him, how come he's still alive?" asked Sam, glancing over at Bobby's face.

"I don't know," whispered Alex.

She looked over at Bobby's face along with Dean and the three of them just stood there, trying to figure out how they were gonna save their father figure.

Dean, Alex, and Sam were now walking through the hospital, talking as they did so.

"So how do we find our homicidal sandman?" asked Dean.

"Could be anyone," said Sam.

"Maybe one of his test subjects or something?" asked Alex, taking her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"It's possible, but his research is pretty sketchy. I mean, I don't know how many subjects he had or who all of them were, even," said Dean.

They rounded a corner and Sam sighed.

"What?" asked Alex and Dean.

"In any other case, we'd be calling Bobby and asking him for help right now," answered Sam.

Sam and Alex continued walking down the hospital hallway, but Dean had suddenly stopped. He grabbed Alex's arm and she and Sam stopped walking, turning around to face their brother.

"You know what? You're exactly right," said Dean, snapping his fingers at Sam.

"What?" asked Sam.

"Let's go talk to him," said Dean, as if it were the simplest answer in the entire world.

Alex and Sam looked at him like he was crazy.

"Um, sure. Although I'm sure we might find the conversation a bit one-sided," laughed Sam.

"Not if we're trippin' on some dream root," said Dean.

"What?" exclaimed Alex.

"You heard me."

"You want to go dream walking inside of Bobby's head?" clarified Sam.

Dean nodded enthusiastically.

"Dean, we have no idea what's crawling around in there," said Alex.

"Well, how bad could it be?" asked Dean.

"Bad," said Alex.

"Guys, it's Bobby."

Alex and Sam both sighed.

"Yeah, you're right," said Sam.

"Okay, but we have a sight problem here. Unless you know someone who can score some African dream root…" began Alex.

"Crap. Bella," said Dean.

"Bella? Crap," said Sam.

He scoffed.

"Are you actually suggesting we ask Bella for a favor?" whined Alex, her nose all wrinkled up in disgust.

"I'm feeling dirty just thinking about it, but yes," said Dean.

He rolled his eyes, but moved past his siblings and continued walking down the corridor. Alex sighed, but she and Sam followed Dean.

A few hours later, Sam was asleep, his head resting on his arms he sat at the desk in the corner of the room. Alex sighed as he continued to make weird moaning noises, so she nudged him with her elbow. Sam shot straight up, wiping the drool from his mouth using his shirt sleeve.

"Dude, you were making some serious happy noises over there," said Dean, smirking.

Sam shook his head.

"Did you call Bella? Is she gonna help us?" asked Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Surprisingly, no. So now Alex and I are trying to decipher the doctor's notes. Which is incredibly difficult considering he has worse handwriting than you," said Dean.

Sam continued sitting in his chair, so Dean cleared his throat.

"You wanna come help us with this stuff?" he asked.

"Um, yeah. Just give me a few seconds," said Sam.

Sam looked down at his lap, sighing, then he began stretching his arms above his head. Alex stifled a laugh and Sam glared at her. Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door, so Dean stood up and walked over to open it. He looked through the peephole and sighed as he pulled the door open.

"Bella, as I live and breathe," he remarked.

Bella stepped inside and smirked at him.

"You called me, remember?"

"I remember you turning me down," said Dean, shutting the door and walking over to her.

"Well, I'm just full of surprises then."

Bella unzipped her purse, reached into it, and produced a jar of the African dream root. She handed it over to Dean.

"I brought you your African dream root. Nasty stuff and not easy to come by," she explained.

Dean grabbed it from her open palm and Bella zipped her purse back up. She set her purse on top of the TV next to her and began opening her coat.

"Why the sudden change of heart?" asked Alex, sitting cross legged on one of the beds.

"What? I can't do you all a favor every now and then?"

"No. You can't. Now, c'mon," prodded Dean.

Bella sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You said this was for Bobby Singer, right? Well, I'm doing this for him, not you," answered Bella.

"Bobby? Why?" asked Dean.

"He saved my life once. In Flagstaff," said Bella.

Dean looked at his siblings, who both shrugged. Dean walked over to the safe in the closet, opened it, stuck the dream root inside, and then closed it again.

"Um, it's 2:00 AM. Where am I supposed to go now?" asked Bella.

Dean shrugged.

"Get yourself a room!"

Bella glared at him before grabbing her coat and purse and storming out of the room, slamming the door closed as she left.

About an hour later, Sam came out from the kitchen area, holding three cups of tea in his hands and one glass in the crook of his arm. He handed one to Dean, who sat on the edge of his bed and handed another one to Alex. Sam sat down beside her on the other bed and they all looked down into their glasses, wincing at the disgusting smell of the African dream root tea. Dean lifted his glass to his lips, but Sam stopped him.

"Wait, wait. We can't forget this."

Sam pulled a very small envelope from the pocket of his shirt and opened it, reaching inside it. He handed some of the contents to Alex and some of the contents to Dean.

"What the hell is that?" asked Dean, looking down into his palm.

"Bobby's hair," answered Alex.

Dean looked over at the two of them.

"We have to drink Bobby's hair?"

"That's how you control whose dream you're in. You drink some of their, uh… some of their body," answered Sam.

He stuck the empty envelope back into the pocket of his shirt and looked over at Dean. The three of them threw Bobby's hairs on top of their drinks and held their cups under their noses.

"Bottoms up," said Dean.

They all clinked their glasses together before quickly throwing back the tea, swallowing it as fast as they could. They winced and closed their eyes as the taste of the liquid got to them. Once they opened their eyes back up, they all looked at each other.

"Feel anything?" asked Dean.

Sam shook his head, but Alex was looking out the window.

"Hey, when did it start raining?" she asked.

Dean stood up and walked over to the window, pulling back the curtains. The rain was falling upside down, not like regular rain.

"When did it start raining upside down?" asked Dean.

When he turned back around to face his siblings, the room was darker and they weren't in their motel room. A loveseat was in the middle of the room, a coffee table resting in front of it. A few books were resting on the coffee table and an actual bookshelf was in one corner of the unfamiliar room. Paintings adorned the walls and a table was resting by the largest window in the room, two chairs on either side of it and a vase full of flowers resting in the middle of the table. Two smaller windows were placed above their heads on another wall of the room.

"Okay, I don't know what's weirder. The fact that we're in Bobby's head or that he's dreaming of Better Homes and Gardens," said Dean, looking around the rom.

"Wait, wait. Imagine the place without the paint job, more cluttered, dusty. Books all over the place," said Alex, walking into the middle of the room.

"It's Bobby's house," said Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"Bobby!" called out Dean.

Sam and Alex had moved into the hallway where the staircase was and looked up the stairs.

"Bobby!" yelled Sam, his voice a little raspy and thick.

"I'm gonna go look outside," said Sam, looking at Alex.

"No, no, no, stay close!" yelled Dean.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Dean, I'll be fine. You just look around in here. Look, we gotta find him," said Sam.

Dean stared at Sam.

"Just don't do anything stupid," said Dean.

Sam nodded and headed for the front door. He left Alex standing in the hallway as he opened the door.

As Sam opened the front door, he stepped outside into a beautiful, bright, and sunny day. The front porch was pristine, white chairs placed on it and the house was painted a bright and very vibrant blue. Sam walked further onto the front porch, leaving the front door open as he stepped away from it. He stepped up to the very edge of the porch and looked out. The front lawn was fenced in all around, the grass green. The front walkway was lined with beautiful flowers and an apple tree was in full bloom in the front yard. Birds were singing as Sam surveyed the landscape. A blue car was parked out front on the street. Suddenly, the front door slammed closed of its own accord. Sam walked back to it and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Alex! Dean!" he yelled.

There was no response. Sam walked over to the nearest window and banged on the wall beside it, looking into the house through the window. Sam saw Dean walking throughout the living room, but Dean's back was turned towards Sam. Alex was nowhere to be seen.

"Dean!"

Dean never turned around, so Sam sighed and took off down the steps of the front porch and onto the small pathway in the front lawn.

Back in the living room, Dean slid two doors open, which led into the kitchen. He walked inside, past the dining room table and the sink.

"Bobby!" he yelled out.

He walked further into the kitchen and stepped into a very small hallway off the side of the kitchen. There was a window on one wall and a door at one end. As Dean walked into the hallway, he looked down at the other end. Where one end was full of light, the other end of the hallway looked menacing.

"Who's out there?" whispered a gruff voice from behind one of the doors.

Dean turned his head back around towards the door closest to him where the voice had come from.

"Alex!" called Dean.

Alex came running into the kitchen after him, stopping when she was standing beside him. Dean walked towards the door, Alex right behind him. As he stepped closer, Dean saw scratch marks on the door and he raised his hand, touching them.

"Bobby, are you in there?" asked Dean, reaching for the doorknob.

"Dean?" asked Bobby, from behind the door.

Dean's head jerked up at the sound of Bobby's voice.

"Yeah, it's me and Alex out here. Bobby, open up."

Bobby quickly opened the door and rushed out from the room he had been standing in. He stayed against the wall, but peeked around the corner into the kitchen, looking for something. He had three scratch marks on his left cheek. He looked over at them once he had decided they were safe for now.

"How in the hell did you kids find me?" he asked.

"Well, we got our hands on some of that dream root stuff," explained Dean.

"Dream root? What?" asked Bobby, sounding very confused.

"Dr. Greg, the experiments," said Alex.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" asked Bobby.

Suddenly, the lights began flickering and Bobby grabbed Alex by the arm.

"Hurry," he whispered.

He pulled Alex along, back towards the room he had been in when they found him, but Dean stopped him, grabbing onto his shoulders. Alex whipped her arm free from Bobby's grasp.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on?" asked Dean.

"She's coming!" yelled Bobby, the panic rising in his voice.

"Okay. You know this is a dream, don't you?" asked Dean.

"What, are you crazy?" asked Bobby, glancing over Dean's shoulder.

"It's a dream, Bobby! None of this is real," said Dean.

A door creaked from behind Alex and she turned around, gasping as she saw a woman in a white gown. The woman had been stabbed three times, all of the wounds evident in her chest as she looked at the three of them. Her stab wounds were dripping blood.

"Does that look made up to you?" asked Bobby, pointing out the woman behind Dean.

Dean turned to look and his eyes widened as he took in the woman. Dean shoved Alex between himself and Bobby as Bobby rushed to hide in the other room. The door swung shut, and Bobby couldn't open it, no matter how hard he tried. He looked at the woman with fear in his eyes as he placed his back against the closed door. The woman began walking towards them.

"Bobby, who is that?" asked Dean.

"She's… she's my wife," cried Bobby.

Dean and Alex looked at the woman, who was staring them down.

Sam was still outside, the sky a bright shining blue and not a cloud in sight. He had managed to walk around to the back of the house, where more flowers adorned the sides of the house. Sam walked farther out into the very spacious backyard.

Dean and Alex watched as Bobby turned around to face his wife.

"Why, Bobby? Why did you do this to me?" she asked.

Dean and Alex's eyes were wide as they watched the interaction. Bobby's wife was in the kitchen and Bobby stood in the doorframe, Dean and Alex standing behind him.

"I'd have rather died myself than hurt you," whispered Bobby.

"But you did hurt me. You stabbed me over and over, again and again," accused his wife.

Dean and Alex looked over at Bobby, who looked absolutely heartbroken. Dean walked over to Bobby as Bobby's wife continued crying and saying horrible things to Bobby. Dean grabbed one of Bobby's shoulders and tried to talk some sense into him.

"Bobby, she's not real, okay?"

"You were possessed, baby. You were rabid and I didn't know what I know now. I didn't know how to save you," cried Bobby.

"You're lying! If you really loved me, you would have found a way!"

"I'm sorry," cried Bobby.

Bobby's wife glared at him, anger in her eyes, so Dean grabbed Bobby and they followed Alex into the living room. As Bobby's wife charged at them, Dean shoved Bobby into the living room and slammed the doors closed, locking Bobby's wife into the kitchen.

Sam continued walking through the backyard and he walked past a clothesline that held all white sheets and linens. The clothes and sheets were gently blowing along with the breeze. Sam looked to his right and suddenly, a guy whacked him in the shoulder with a baseball bat. Sam fell to the ground, holding his shoulder as the man stood over him.

"Who are you?" rasped Sam.

"Who are you?" asked the man, who looked to be about college age.

He tucked the baseball bat under his right arm as he looked down at Sam.

"You don't belong here."

"You're one to talk. You're in my friend's head," said Sam.

"No, you've got a poor choice in friends. This is self-defense, he came after me. He wanted to hurt me."

"Yeah, maybe that's because you're a killer."

"You should be nicer to me. In here, you're just an insect. I'm a God."

Bobby's wife banged on the doors that the three of them hid behind. Dean stood by the doors, holding them closed as she continuously banged on them, while Alex tried to explain to Bobby that all of it was a dream.

"The house, your wife. It's all a nightmare, Bobby," explained Alex.

She glanced over as Dean grabbed some sort of metal wire off of the table that was resting beside him and began tying the door handles together so that he wouldn't have to keep holding the doors closed.

"But I killed her," cried Bobby, almost sounding like very small child with the way his voice was whining.

"Bobby, this is your dream. And you can wake up. I mean, hell, you can do absolutely anything," yelled Dean, tying the wire around the door handles.

"Just leave me alone. Just let her kill me already."

Bobby walked towards the doors, but Dean grabbed him by his shirt collar, stopping him from reaching the doors.

"Look, you need to snap out of this now. I'm not gonna let you die, you're like a father to me, to all of us. You gotta believe us, please!" cried Dean, holding onto Bobby's collar as he looked at Bobby.

Bobby stood there for a few minutes, looking between Dean and Alex. Finally, he sighed.

"I'm dreaming?" he asked.

Alex let out a deep breath she didn't realize she had actually been holding and nodded, stepping forward to stand next to Dean in front of Bobby.

"Yes. Now take control of it," said Alex.

Bobby nodded and took in a deep breath before closing his eyes and concentrating. After a few seconds, the banging on the door ceased, and all was silent in the house. Dean finally let go of Bobby's collar and stepped a few steps away from Bobby, who opened his eyes. The three of them looked at the doors leading into the kitchen, but Dean was the first to actually move. He walked hesitantly towards the doors, untied the wire he had put there only moments before, and slid the doors open. The kitchen was empty, Bobby's wife absolutely nowhere in sight.

"I don't believe it," whispered Bobby.

Dean sighed and hung his head, taking in a few breaths before turning around to look at Bobby.

"Believe it," said Alex.

"Now, would you please wake up?" asked Dean.

The three siblings sat up from their sleep, all of them breathing heavily and their hearts racing. They looked at each other, and Dean took a quick glance down at the glass he still held in his hand from before they had fallen asleep.

"Bobby," whispered Alex.

Dean sat at Bobby's bedside as Bobby flipped through the mountains of files and papers that they had compiled. He passed a page about the dream root and handed it over to Dean, who placed it on top of the pile that was resting the closest to him. As Bobby continued handing him files, Dean sighed and looked over at him.

"Hey, Bobby?"

Bobby stopped flipping through the papers and looked over at Dean.

"All that stuff about your wife… Did that actually happen?"

Bobby sighed, and a small smile played on his lips.

"Everybody got into hunting somehow."

Dean sat up a little straighter in his chair and gave Bobby a sad smile.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. If it weren't for you, I'd still be lost in there. Or dead. So thank you," said Bobby.

Dean nodded, a small smile on his face. Before he had the chance to say anything in return, Sam walked into the room, Alex bounding behind him. She smiled when she saw Bobby and Bobby couldn't help but smile back in return. She leaped over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Bobby smiled and gently hugged her before she pulled away and stood beside Sam at Bobby's bedside.

"So, that stoner boy from Dr. Greg's experiments and the one that I saw in the dream wasn't in his dorm. I say he's long gone by now," explained Sam.

"Hey, he's not a stoner. His name's Jeremy Frost and he's a full on genius, 160 IQ. Which is saying something, considering his dad took a baseball bat to his head when he was a small child," explained Bobby.

He sifted through the papers on his table that rested at his chest and handed one to Sam.

"Here's father of the year. He died before Jeremy was even 10."

"Yeah, he looks like a real sweetheart," said Sam. He let Alex look at the picture before handing it over to Dean.

Dean looked at it and then threw it back on the table with the other piles of papers from the case.

"Okay, but how did he know to dig up your worst nightmare and throw it at you?" asked Dean.

Bobby rolled his eyes.

"He was digging around in my skull, God only knows what he saw in there."

"How did he even get in there? Isn't he supposed to have some of your hair or your DNA or something?" asked Alex.

At the exact same time, Alex and Sam pulled their bottom lip in between their teeth, a nervous habit they both possessed. They also both did it when they were deep in thought and concentrating, like they were doing now. Dean smirked as he saw their habits, but he turned back to Bobby, who was nodding.

"Yeah, before I knew it was him. He offered me a beer and I drank it. Dumbest fucking thing," muttered Bobby.

From his spot next to Bobby's bed, on the other side from Sam and Alex, Dean raised his eyebrows, realizing that he had accepted a beer from Jeremy when he was talking to him a few days ago. Dean smirked and scoffed.

"Oh, I don't know. I don't think it was that stupid."

He licked his lips and looked up at Bobby, Alex, and Sam, who were now all staring at him. Alex crossed her arms across her chest, and Sam placed a hand on his hip.

"Dean. You didn't," said Sam.

Dean shook his head.

"Sammy, I was thirsty."

"Well, that's just wonderful. Great, now he can come after either one of you!" yelled Alex, throwing her hand to her forehead.

"Well, now we just have to find him first," said Dean.

"We better work fast. And coffee up, because the one thing we cannot do is fall asleep," said Bobby.

Two days later, Dean was driving the Impala in the middle of the night, Sam and Alex in their usual spots as Dean yelled.

"I mean, this Jeremy guy's not a freaking ghost! Where the hell could he be?"

Neither Sam nor Alex answered, they just exchanged looks with one another.

"Dean, are you sure you don't want one of us to drive? You seem a little… caffeinated," remarked Sam.

"Oh, well thanks for the news flash, Edison!" yelled Dean.

He glared at Sam and Sam relented, turning back to look out his window. Dean's phone began ringing, so he removed one hand from the steering wheel to dig through his pockets for his phone. He struggled to reach it and cursed under his breath until he finally grabbed it and held it up to his right ear.

"Tell me you got something!" he screamed as a greeting.

Alex rolled her eyes and laid back on the backseat, sighing.

"So the strip club was a bust, huh?" asked Bobby.

"Yeah."

"That was our last lead," whispered Bobby.

Dean cursed loudly and his phone almost slipped from his grasp as he slammed his fist down on the steering wheel with the hand he was using to drive with.

"What the hell, Bobby?!"

"Don't yell at me, boy. I'm working my ass off here."

"Sorry, Bobby, I'm sorry. I'm just, I'm tired," said Dean, much calmer.

"Well, who ain't?"

"What's Bella got?"

Bobby looked over his shoulder at Bella, who was performing some sort of ritual on the kitchen table of Bobby's motel room.

"What do you got, Bella?" he asked her.

"Sorry. Sometimes the spirit world is in a chatty mood, sometimes it isn't," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Bobby sighed.

"She's got nothin'," he said to Dean.

"Great! Well, I'm just gonna go blow my brains out now!" yelled Dean.

He hit the end button on his phone and violently threw it into the nearest cup holder. He slammed his hand against the steering wheel once again, startling Alex and Sam.

A few minutes later, Dean pulled the car off the road and onto a gravel road. He pulled behind a large group of trees and shut the car off after putting it into park. He then leaned back in his seat.

"Um, what in the hell do you think you're doing?" asked Alex, sitting up in the backseat.

"I'm taking myself a long, overdue nap," replied Dean, closing his eyes and moving around in his seat to get comfortable.

"What? Dean, Jeremy can come after you," said Sam.

"Yeah, well, that's the idea."

"Excuse me?" asked Alex.

Dean lifted his head up and opened his eye to look at his siblings.

"C'mon, guys. We can't find him, so let him come to me."

He leaned his head back once more, closing his eyes.

"On his own turf? Where he's basically a God?" asked Alex.

"I can handle it," said Dean.

Sam and Alex sighed, but then they gained looks of determination on their faces. At the same time, they grabbed a handful of Dean's hair and pulled some of it out. Dean jumped up in surprise and pain. He grabbed the back of his head and rubbed it where they had yanked out some of his hair.

"Not alone you can't," said Alex.

"What are you two doing?"

"We're comin' in with you," explained Sam.

"No, you're not."

"And why the hell not?" asked Alex, looking at him.

Dean hesitated, but he finally answered.

"Because I don't want you digging around in my head."

"Too damn bad," said Sam.

Dean looked at both of them, but he finally sighed and laid his head back against his seat one more time.

About an hour later, all of the Winchester siblings were asleep in various positions. Dean's head was lying against the cold glass of his window, while Sam had climbed in the back with Alex because he couldn't fall asleep sitting up. Alex was curled up in the fetal position, her head resting on Sam's chest. One of Sam's arms was under Alex's head for her to use as a pillow while he held the other to his side. Sam lightly stirred and yawned as he opened his eyes. His arm under Alex's head was asleep and tingling, so he gently slid it out from under her head. Alex was woken up by this movement, so she quickly sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Sam nudged Dean and Dean shot up, groaning as he realized they were still sitting in the Impala.

"For the love of God, what are we still doing here?" he asked.

Sam shrugged, but stopped when he heard a twig cracking outside as if someone was stepping on it.

"Is someone out there?" he whispered.

They all climbed out of the car and slowly walked forward, on the lookout for Jeremy. As they stepped forward , music began playing. Dean stepped forward a few more steps to see Lisa sitting on a picnic blanket, smiling over at him.

"Well, are you gonna sit down? You better hurry. We have to pick Ben up from baseball in an hour," she said.

She smiled over at him, a large glass of red wine in her hand. Sam and Alex were a few steps behind him and he looked over his shoulder at them.

"I've never had this dream before," said Dean.

His eyes were wide as he turned back around and stared at Lisa again as he heard Sam and Alex walk closer to him.

"Don't look at me like that," he said to his siblings.

"Sorry," whispered Sam, clearing his throat as Alex chuckled.

"Dean. I love you," said Lisa, smiling over at him.

Dean looked at her, a smile playing on his lips, when suddenly, Lisa flickered for a second and then she disappeared, along with the picnic blanket and the music. They all looked around to see where she had gone.

"Where'd she go?" asked Dean, his voice almost in a panic.

Sam looked off to the left and saw Jeremy lurking behind a moss-covered tree. He slapped Dean's shoulder.

"Dean."

Jeremy began running away from them as fast as he possibly could when he saw them walk towards him. They began running after him as well, dodging the branches that stuck out from the trees. Sam and Alex were ahead of Dean, who paused for a split second. As he ran to catch up with them, he paused again, noticing that something wasn't right. He looked over his shoulder and found that he was no longer in the woods, but instead, he was in a hallway, the walls adorned with murals of trees and mossy leaves and branches.

"Okay," said Dean.

Sam and Alex pushed through some more branches before entering a clearing. They paused, waiting for Dean to pop out from behind them, but he never did.

"Dean?" yelled out Sam.

Dean began walking slowly down the hallway, glancing at all of the doors he passed by as he walked. Once he was close to the end of the hallway, the door directly in front of him clicked open and slowly creeped open as well. Dean paused and could see a little ways inside of the room. It looked like one of the many motel rooms he had stayed in over the years. He hesitated, but stepped forward, ever slowly, walking into the room. As he stepped inside, he tried flipping on the lights, but nothing happened. Dean looked across the room and saw a figure sitting in a chair at the desk against the furthest wall. The figure was male and he was sitting at the desk, turning one single lamp on and off repeatedly, causing a clicking noise to sound every time he flipped the light on and off.

"Jeremy?" called out Dean.

The man turned off the light once more before slightly moving his head so Dean could see that he was actually sitting at the desk. The dream Dean stood up then and walked over to the real Dean slowly.

"Hey, Dean," said dream Dean.

The real Dean's eyes widened before he smirked.

"Well, aren't you one handsome son of a gun."

"We need to talk," said dream Dean.

The real Dean nodded in understanding and winked at himself.

"I get it, I get it. I'm my own worst nightmare. Is that it, huh?"

"Joke all you want, smart ass. But you can't lie to me. I know the truth," said dream Dean.

Dean just stared at the dream Dean as he continued talking.

"I know how dead you are inside. How worthless you feel. I know how you look into a mirror and absolutely hate what you see."

The real Dean smirked.

"Sorry, pal. It's not gonna work. You're not real."

"Sure I am. I'm you."

"Nah, I don't think so. All I gotta do is snap my fingers and you go bye-bye."

Dean smirked as he snapped his fingers, but the dream Dean still stood there, just staring at him. Dean tried it again, snapping his fingers more forcefully this time, but still, nothing happened. Dean snapped his fingers three more times before finally giving up. Dream Dean smirked over at real Dean.

"I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you," said dream Dean.

The door to the room abruptly slammed closed, hard, and the real Dean watched as the lock flicked shut, locking them into the room together. Dean looked at his dream self as the dream Dean held a shotgun up to his shoulder.

"Like I said, we really need to talk."

Alex suddenly startled awake, gasping. Her chest rose and fell quickly with her pants of breath as she took in her brothers. Sam was still lying with her in the backseat, his arm still under her head. Dean's face was pressed against his glass window.

"Dean," she whispered.

Dean didn't answer, so she reached over and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Dean!" she yelled.

Sam began to rouse as Dean turned to look at her. Alex screamed when she realized it was Jeremy, not Dean, sitting in the front seat of the car. Sam quickly sat up at her scream and his eyes widened when he took in Jeremy smiling evilly at them in the backseat. He got out of the car and nodded his head for them to do the same. Alex climbed out first and Jeremy grabbed her by the hair, yanking her the rest of the way out of the car. He threw her to the ground as Sam climbed out and shoved Jeremy. Jeremy hit Sam across the face with his baseball bat and Sam fell to the ground on his back. He began crawling away from Jeremy, scooting backwards using his elbows and feet as Jeremy stepped closer.

"Boy, you just don't know when to leave well enough alone, do you?" asked Jeremy.

"You're a psycho," rasped Sam.

"You're wrong."

"Yeah? Tell that to Dr. Greg!" yelled Sam.

Jeremy stopped walking then and stared down at Sam sadly.

"The doc? No, no, the doc's the one who got me hooked on this stuff. But then he took it away. But I needed it and then he wouldn't let me have it."

"Right, so you killed him," stated Sam.

Jeremy smirked as he leaned against the Impala, still looking down at Sam.

"Well, I can dream again. Do you know what that's like? Not being able to dream? You never rest, not really. It's like being awake for fifteen years."

"And let me guess. That makes you go crazy," said Sam, smirking sarcastically up at Jeremy.

"I just want to be left alone. I just want to dream," said Jeremy, who was now leaning over Sam.

Sam smirked.

"Sorry. We can't do that."

"That's the wrong answer," said Jeremy.

Suddenly, Sam was tethered to the ground, literally. Sam struggled, but ropes were holding his arms and his legs to the ground. Jeremy smiled.

"I'm getting better and better at this. Stronger and stronger all the time. So you and your siblings? Yeah, you're not waking up. Not this time. Because I'm not gonna let you," said Jeremy.

He smiled down at Sam with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Now, where's that cute little sister of yours? I'd like to have some fun with her."

Sam's eyes widened as Jeremy turned away from him and began looking for Alex, who was still hiding behind the other side of the car. She knew she would have to run away soon, but she whimpered as she heard Jeremy's footsteps head towards her.

"I mean, you're going to hell and you won't lift a finger to stop it. I mean, let's talk about a low self-esteem! Huh. Then again, I guess there's not much of a life worth saving," said dream Dean, as he circled the real Dean.

"Come on, Dean, wake up," whispered the real Dean to himself.

"I mean, after all, you've got absolutely nothing outside of Sam and little Alex. You are nothing. You're as mindless and obedient as an attack dog," said the dream Dean.

The real Dean scoffed, shaking his head.

"Nah, that's not really true," said the real Dean.

"No? What are the things that you want? What are the things that you dream? I mean, your car. That's Dad's. Your favorite leather jacket? Dad's. Your music? Dad's. Do you even have an original thought?"

Dream Dean cocked his head to the side as the real Dean scoffed once again, still smirking at the dream version of himself that was facing him.

"No. No, all there is is watch out for Sammy and Alex! Look after your little siblings, boy! You can still hear your dad's voice in your head, can't you? Clear as a bell."

"Just shut up," said the real Dean, who was beginning to lose his patience with this whole conversation.

"I mean, just think about it. All he ever did was train you, boss you around, but Sam and especially Alex. Man, he doted on those two. Sam and Alex, he loved," said the dream Dean, moving closer to the real Dean.

"Alright, I'm getting angry."

"Dad knew who you really were. A good soldier, but absolutely nothing else. Daddy's blunt little instrument. Your own father didn't care whether you lived or died, so why should you?"

"Son of a bitch!" yelled the real Dean, pushing the dream Dean onto the desk across the room.

"My father was an obsessed bastard!" he yelled.

Dean punched, kicked, and pummeled the hell out of the dream version of himself. He held him against the wall as he yelled straight into his face, grabbing onto dream Dean's shirt collar.

"All that crap he dumped on me about protecting Alex and Sam, that was his crap. He's the one who couldn't fucking protect his family. He's the one who let Mom die. He wasn't there for them, but I always was. He wasn't there! I didn't deserve what he put on me, not one bit! And I don't deserve to go to hell!"

The real Dean punched the dream Dean a few more times before grabbing the shotgun from where it had fallen on the desk and aiming it at dream Dean. He shot it off multiple times, straight into dream Dean's chest. Blood splattered all over dream Dean's face, but then his head lolled off to his right side as he stopped breathing. Dean stared at himself, dead. He was panting from his furious tirade against his father.

Alex was still hiding from Jeremy, but Jeremy had gotten bored with looking for her. Alex quietly and slowly peeked out from behind the trees she was hiding in and silently gasped when she saw that Jeremy was standing over Sam, who was still trapped, and was brutally beating him with his baseball bat. Jeremy also kicked him repeatedly. Alex quickly ran out from behind the trees she was still standing in and ran over to Jeremy, jumping on his back and grabbing his throat with her hands. Jeremy struggled to remove her hands, which were in a vise-like grip around his esophagus. After a few seconds, Jeremy managed to bend over low enough to throw Alex off of his back, where she landed directly next to Sam. She got up on her elbows and knees, coughing, as Sam looked at her. She looked up at Jeremy, who was smiling down at her.

"Oh, goodie. Alex has decided to come out and play," he remarked.

Alex tried to begin crawling away, but Jeremy grabbed her by the hair, throwing her backwards towards him. She winced, and grabbed his hand that was pulling her hair from her scalp. He was too strong for her though and he pulled her up to her feet, still holding her hair. She whimpered as Jeremy placed her back to his chest and tilted her head to the side. He licked her neck and Alex tried to squirm away, but Jeremy held her there, his other arm now around her waist as he played with the hem of her tank top.

"Uh-uh. Not so fast, gorgeous."

Dean walked closer to the version of himself that was now dead and sitting on the desk. As he stared at the dead Dean, the corpse's eyes suddenly turned as black as night and he leaned forward, looking at the real Dean.

"You can't escape me, Dean! You're gonna die. And this, this is what you're going to become!"

Dean stepped back from himself, his eyes wide.

"You can't stop me, neither one of you can. There's nothing I can't do in here," said Jeremy, talking to both Alex and Sam.

Jeremy still had Alex pressed against him and Sam was breathing heavily, still recovering from the beating Jeremy had given him earlier.

"Because of the dream root?" asked Sam.

Jeremy nodded.

"That's right."

"Yeah, well. You're forgetting something," whispered Alex.

"Oh, am I, darling?"

He put his mouth next to Alex's ear, whispering into her ear.

"And what's that I'm missing?"

"We took the dream root too," said Alex, smirking over at Sam.

He smirked back at his sister and Jeremy's smirk faded. Suddenly, Jeremy's father appeared from behind some trees, yelling for Jeremy. Jeremy let go of Alex's body, causing her to fall to the ground. His eyes widened as his father stepped towards him. As his father stepped closer, Jeremy stepped back. Alex quickly crawled over to Sam and helped him stand up. Alex grabbed Jeremy's fallen baseball bat and tossed it over to Sam, who caught it with one hand effortlessly. He walked over to Jeremy and hit him with it, not once, but twice. Jeremy grabbed his stomach and then Sam hit his chest the second time, knocking him flat on his back. Jeremy wheezed one final time before dying not only in the dream, but also in real life. All of their nightmares disappeared and the siblings jolted awake back in the Impala. Sweat dripped down their faces as they all gasped for breath. They all stared at each other as their chests rose and fell with each deep, heaving breath they took.

The next morning, Sam was walking down the motel hallway with Bobby.

"So I heard you did quite a little bit of dream weaving yourself in there," commented Bobby.

Sam nodded.

"Yeah, I just kind of concentrated and it just sort of happened," answered Sam.

"Now this didn't have to do with any of your weird psychic powers, did it?" asked Bobby, turning his head towards Sam and staring at him as they both stopped walking and stood in the middle of the motel hallway.

"No. Or at least, I don't think so. I mean, Alex has them too, so wouldn't she have been able to do something as well?" asked Sam.

Bobby shrugged, and nodded.

"I guess so, probably. But good, I'm glad it had nothing to do with any of… that."

Bobby and Sam nodded to each other then and walked into the motel room.

"Um, so Bella isn't in her room and she's also not answering her phone," remarked Alex.

"I guess she already left then," said Bobby.

"Hmm, that's weird. She was so gung-ho about making sure you were alright, Bobby. Especially since you saved her life in Flagstaff," remarked Dean.

Bobby's eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"What are you talking about? I didn't save her life in Flagstaff. I gave her a good deal on some stupid amulet thing."

Alex's eyes widened as Dean and Sam looked confused.

"Oh, no, no, no," whispered Dean.

He walked over to the safe, where the Colt had been safely resting for the duration of their stay. He typed in the combination and flipped open the door. He cursed when he saw that the safe was empty, no Colt in sight in the safe. He slammed the door closed as he looked back at his siblings and Bobby.

"Bella stole the Colt," proclaimed Sam.

"Damn it, kids!" yelled Bobby.

Dean brushed past all of them.

"Pack your shit," he said.

He walked over to the small couch where his bags were resting and began zipping them all up, stuffing some more items into the ones that had more room to fill.

"Why? Where are we going?" asked Alex, turning to face her oldest brother.

"We're going to hunt that damn, fucking bitch down," answered Dean.

Once they were all piled into the Impala, Dean hesitated to start the car, so Alex and Sam looked over at him.

"Dean. What's wrong?" asked Alex.

"You know, I've been doing some thinking, you guys. I mean, I don't really wanna die. And I definitely don't wanna go to hell," whispered Dean.

Sam swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

"Alright, yeah. We'll find a way to save you."

Dean nodded and smiled over at Sam.

"Okay, good."

Alex smiled at both of her brothers and Dean started the car, pulling away from the motel parking lot and heading out and off onto the open road.

A few days later, Sam jolted awake to the sound of the radio playing "Heat of the Moment" by Asia. He sat up quickly in bed, looking over at Dean, who was already fully dressed and sitting on his bed, lacing up his boots. Sam blinked, trying to remove the sleep from his eyes.

"Rise and shine, Sammy!"

"Dude. Asia?" asked Sam.

"C'mon. You love this song and you know it," remarked Dean, nodding towards the radio.

Alex came out from the bathroom then, fully dressed and towel drying her hair. She rolled her eyes as she heard the song that was playing.

"Yeah. And if I ever hear it again, I'm gonna kill myself," remarked Sam.

Dean stopped lacing up his boot, reached over to the radio, and turned the music up. He cupped his ear with his hand as he looked over at Sam.

"What? I'm sorry, I can't hear you," he said.

Sam and Alex chuckled at Dean. Dean began mouthing the words, pointing at Sam as he sang. He bobbed his head along with the music, and Sam just chuckled.

Dean was gurgling water in his mouth as Sam stood beside him at the bathroom sink, spreading some toothpaste onto his toothbrush. Dean continued gurgling the water, and Sam looked over at him, raising his eyebrows. Dean's eyes sparkled and Sam shook his head. Suddenly, Alex pushed in between them, causing Dean to stop gurgling and glare over at her.

"Whoops. Sorry," she said innocently, winking over at Sam as she apologized.

Sam smirked back at her and they brushed their teeth together, in silence.

Alex and Sam stood in the doorway as Dean picked up another bag, searching for something.

"Dean. Whenever you're ready," said Sam, beginning to get frustrated.

Dean picked up a jacket of his and smiled, finally finding his gun that he had been looking for. He stuffed it in the back waistband of his pants and headed towards the door.

"Alright. Now who's ready for some breakfast?"

Dean stepped into the small town diner first, Sam and Alex walking right behind him.

"Drive safely now, Mr. Pickett," remarked the cashier to the old man that was paying his bill up at the front of the diner.

"Yeah, yeah," said the old man.

He walked past the three of them as he left, Sam moving his shoulder slightly to get out of the old man's way. The bell over the door chimed as the old man left and Dean walked further into the diner, looking for a suitable booth to sit in for breakfast.

"Can't stay unless you order something, Cal. You know the rules," said the waitress behind the counter.

The man she was speaking to looked a little worse for wear. His hair was long and dirty and his clothes were very tattered as he sat on one of the many bar stools that surrounded the countertop. He pulled a few coins out of his pocket and slid them over the counter to the waitress.

"Just coffee," he said.

She gave him a warm smile and poured him some coffee from the coffee pot she was holding in her hands.

Dean sat down across from Alex and Sam and looked up above the counter. Specials were posted above the counter and Dean squinted as he tried to look at all of them.

"Hey, Tuesday. Pig in a poke," smirked Dean.

"Do you even know what that is?" asked Alex.

Dean's smile faded and he turned his attention to the waitress, who had just approached their table.

"Are you folks ready?" she asked, smiling down at them as she placed her pen to her pad of paper.

"Yes. I'll have the special, a side of bacon, and coffee," said Dean.

She looked over at Sam and Alex.

"Make that two coffees and a short stack," said Sam.

"Um, three coffees, please. And just some scrambled eggs with a side of hash browns," finished Alex.

The woman nodded and finished writing down the order. She smiled at the three of them.

"You got it," she said as she turned and walked away.

"I'm telling you guys, this job is way too small. We should be spending our time hunting down Bella," said Dean, resting his arm on the back of the booth.

"Right, okay, sure. Let's get right on that. Where is she again?" asked Alex.

"Shut up," said Dean, and Alex smirked along with Sam.

"Believe me, we want to find her as bad as you do. But in the meantime, we have this," said Sam.

He reached inside his jacket pocket and fished out a couple of papers about the job that they were there for. He slid them across the tabletop to Dean, who took them and looked at them as he spoke.

"Alright, so this professor…"

"Dexter Hasselbeck. He was passing through town last week when he vanished," explained Sam.

"Last known location?"

"His daughter says he was on his way to visit the Brower County Mystery Spot," said Alex.

Dean set down the newspaper clipping of the man's obituary and picked up a brochure explaining the mystery spot.

"'Where the laws of physics have no meaning'?" read Dean from the back of the brochure.

Sam and Alex shrugged and they all looked over as their waitress returned, her tray full of drinks.

"Three coffees, black," she said, setting a glass down in front of each of them.

"Thank you," said Dean, looking at his coffee.

"And some hot sauce for the…"

The hot sauce suddenly tumbled off of her tray, falling to the floor. The glass bottle smashed once it hit the ground, spilling red Tabasco sauce all over the tile floors.

"Whoops! Crap," she whispered, looking at where it had fallen.

She then looked over at the three of them, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry," she apologized.

Dean gave her a quick smile as she turned around and yelled towards the kitchen area.

"Clean-up!"

Dean cocked his head to the side and grabbed his coffee cup, taking a huge gulp from it.

About an hour later, the three siblings were walking down the street, heading towards the last place the victim had been seen. A dog barked and whined at them as they passed it by the bike racks full of kids' bikes, and Dean looked back at the dog once they were a few steps away from it. He saw that Sam was still holding the mystery spot brochure in his hands, so Dean yanked it away from Sam. Sam sighed.

"Look, I'm just saying. There are spots in this world where holes pop up and swallow people. The Bermuda Triangle, the Oregon Vortex…"

"Brower County Mystery Spot?" questioned Dean, his eyebrows raised.

"Dean, sometimes these places are legit," said Alex.

Dean sighed.

"Okay, so if it is legit, and that's a very large, big ass if, what's the lore?" asked Dean.

Just as he had finished his question, a petite blonde woman bumped shoulders with him.

"Excuse me," she whispered, her voice devoid of any sort of emotion.

She carried a stack of flyers in one arm and Dean turned his head to look at her for a few seconds after she had passed and continued walking on.

"Well, the lore is pretty freaking nuts, actually. They say in some of these places that the magnetic field is so very strong that it can bend space and time. It leads victims… no one knows where," explained Sam.

Alex nudged Dean's shoulder as he kept glancing back at the blonde woman as Sam spoke. He finally gave his attention back to Sam as Sam finished speaking about the lore.

They passed two men, who were attempting to fit a piano through the door of a building. The piano was clearly not going to fit through the door at all, but the men were still struggling as they tried, in vain, to make it fit through the doorframe.

"I told you it wouldn't fit!" yelled the shorter, chubbier man.

"What do you want, a fucking Pulitzer?" screamed back the tall, skinny man.

Dean shook his head as he quickly glanced at them.

"Alright, we're not saying this is really happening. But if it is, we've got to at least check it out and see if we can do something," explained Alex.

Dean sighed, but gave in.

"Alright, alright. We'll go tonight after they close and get ourselves a nice, long look."

That night, Sam opened the door to the mystery spot, his flashlight in Alex's hand as he picked the many locks on the one door. Once he had the door opened, he put his lock-picking materials back in his jacket pocket and Alex handed him back his flashlight. He shut the door behind them as Dean slowly walked forward through the fluorescent neon green hallway with black swirls adorning the many doors and walls. Sam pulled out his EMF meter from his other jacket pocket and they walked forward. The room they walked into was black. Dean looked up and saw a table placed on the ceiling. He looked at the items that were tilted to certain degree angles and he sighed.

"Find anything?" he asked his siblings.

Alex shook her head and Sam continued inspecting items with the EMF meter.

"No," he responded.

"Do you have any idea what you're actually looking for?" asked Dean.

"Um… yeah," said Sam, nodding his head.

Dean raised his eyebrows and Alex chuckled beside him as they both looked at Sam, who shrugged.

"No."

Dean shook his head and walked around the room as Alex and Sam looked at the eccentricities that adorned the place.

"What in the hell are you doing here?" asked a man from behind them.

The siblings turned to see a man holding a shotgun towards them. Dean got out his own gun and they all stared at one another.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We can explain," said Dean, lowering his gun to his side slowly.

"You robbing me?" asked the man, pointing his shotgun at Sam's chest.

Sam tensed up.

"Nobody's robbing you, sir. Calm down."

Dean took the safety off of his gun and began lowering it to the ground. The man swung his own gun around, pointing it straight at Dean's chest.

"Don't move, don't move!"

"I'm just putting the gun down," said Dean.

The man shot off his gun straight into Dean's chest. Dean fell backwards and the man stared down at the gun in his hands, his eyes wide.

"Dean!" yelled Alex and Sam, rushing over to him.

Sam pulled Dean's head into the crook of his right arm as Dean struggled to catch his breath.

"Call 911," said Alex, her eyes welling up with tears.

"I-I didn't mean to…"

"Now!" yelled Sam.

The man took off running out of the room to call 911. Dean began convulsing.

"Hey, hey, come on," said Sam.

Dean looked up at him.

"No, no. No, not like this," whispered Sam.

Alex held onto Dean's hand and Dean squeezed it one last time before he took his last breath and his eyes closed as his head lolled off to one side. Alex continued holding onto his hand as her tears fell.

"Dean," cried Sam, his tears also welling over and falling down his cheeks.

The next morning, Sam jolted awake to the sound of the radio playing "Heat of the Moment" by Asia. He sat straight up in his bed and looked over at Dean, who was lacing up his brown boots. Dean looked over at Sam.

"Rise and shine, Sammy!"

Sam looked at the radio, his face very confused as his eyebrows rose all the way up to his hairline.

"Dude. Asia," smirked Dean, still lacing up his boots.

Sam's mouth was now open in shock as he blatantly stared at his brother.

"Dean."

"Aww, c'mon. You love this song and you know it."

Dean reached over and turned up the radio as Sam looked over at Alex, who had just entered the room from the bathroom. Alex shrugged her shoulders and mouthed, "I don't know what's going on" to Sam. Sam nodded and looked back over at Dean, who had finished lacing up his brown boots and was now mouthing the words of the song at Sam as he pointed to him as well while he was singing.

Dean gurgled his water next to Sam in the bathroom, just like the day before. Sam took a gulp of water and swished it around in his mouth, looking over at Dean. He spit his water into the sink and then Alex came into the bathroom, standing next to Sam. They both stared at Dean as he gurgled his water. Dean looked over at them and then spit out his own mouthful of water as well.

"What?" he asked them.

They both shook their heads.

"I don't know," said Alex.

Dean wiped his mouth off with a very pink hand towel and then dabbed at his chin with it as well.

"You alright?" he asked them.

"No, I think we… Man, we had a weird dream," said Sam, looking at Alex as Dean looked at his teeth in the mirror.

Alex nodded, agreeing with Sam.

"Yeah. Clowns or midgets?" asked Dean, looking at the both of them and smirking.

Alex sighed and walked out of the bathroom, while Sam just shook his head.

They walked back into the same diner they had eaten at yesterday.

"Drive safely now, Mr. Pickett," said the cashier, handing the old man some change in his open palm.

"Yeah, yeah," said Mr. Pickett.

He headed for the door that the siblings had just walked in through and Sam stared at him as he almost brushed by him, just like yesterday.

"Sam. What in the hell is going on here?" whispered Alex.

"Alex, it's almost like we're reliving yesterday. It's super weird," whispered back Sam, as they followed behind Dean as he led them to the same booth they had sat in the day before.

"Can't stay unless you order something, Cal. You know the rules," said the waitress as she stood behind the counter holding her coffee pot and staring at the man.

Sam and Alex watched as the man pulled a few coins from his pocket and slid them across the counter to the waitress.

"Coffee," he whispered.

The woman poured some coffee into the man's cup as the siblings sat down the in the same booth as yesterday.

Dean squinted his eyes as he stared at the specials above the counter.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke," said Dean, smirking.

Sam and Alex looked at the specials and then over at Dean.

"It's Tuesday?" asked Alex and Sam.

Dean looked at them very weirdly, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah."

The waitress walked up to their booth, her pen poised above her notepad as she smiled at them warmly.

"Are you folks ready?" she asked.

"Yes! I'll have the special, a side of bacon, and coffee," answered Dean.

She nodded as she wrote down his order, while Sam and Alex stared at Dean, their faces showing signs of panic and confusion. The waitress turned to look at their side of the booth, waiting for their orders.

"Uh, nothing for me. Thanks," said Sam.

The woman looked over at Alex, who waved her hands.

"Well, let me know if you change your minds."

The waitress turned and walked away back towards the kitchen. Dean sighed as he placed his arm around the back of his side of the booth.

"I'm telling you guys, this job is way too small. We should be spending our time hunting down Bella."

Neither Sam nor Alex looked at him, so Dean leaned forward and snapped his fingers, snagging their attention.

"Hey! You guys with me?"

"What?" asked Alex.

"Are you two sure you feel alright?"

"Um, you don't…" began Alex.

"You don't remember any of this?" finished Sam.

"Remember what, exactly?" asked Dean, still leaning forward as he talked to them.

"This. Today, like it's happened before?" asked Sam.

"So, what, you mean like déjà vu?" asked Dean.

"No! I mean, like it's… like it's really happened before," explained Alex.

"Yeah, like déjà vu," said Dean, nodding his head.

"No, forget about déjà vu! We're asking you if it feels like we're living yesterday all over again," said Sam.

Dean just stared at the both of them for a few moments.

"Okay. How is that not dej-"

"Don't, don't say it. Just don't…"

Sam trailed off as their waitress came back to their table with her tray in hand.

"Coffee, black. And some hot sauce for the… Whoops! Crap!" yelled the waitress, as she watched the Tabasco bottle go toppling off of her tray.

Sam, who was sitting on the end of the booth, watched as the hot sauce began to fall. He reached out and caught it in his open palm and the waitress gasped. Dean looked at Sam's hand and then looked over at Alex, who just shrugged as she bit her lip. Sam flipped the bottle right side up and handed it back to the waitress, who took it in her hand with a large smile on her face.

"Thanks!"

She set it down on the table in front of Dean, who chuckled along with her laugh. Sam's jaw twitched as he looked off into the distance. Alex sighed.

"Nice reflexes," commented Dean.

Sam looked at him briefly before turning back to his brooding.

As they walked down the sidewalk after dinner, they passed the same dog as before, who barked and whined at them as they passed. Sam and Alex both began walking somewhat sideways as they both stared at the dog as they walked, their faces scrunched up in the utmost confusion. They finally turned back around and Dean looked between both of them, shaking his head.

"Guys, I'm sorry, but I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Okay, look. Yesterday was Tuesday, right?" asked Alex.

"But today is Tuesday too!" yelled Sam.

"Yeah! No, good, you're totally balanced," said Dean, shaking his head at his very confused siblings.

"So you don't believe us?" asked Alex.

Dean kind of laughed, but then the blonde woman from yesterday bumped into his shoulder once again, like she had done the day before. Dean turned his head around to look at her.

"Excuse me," she said.

Dean did a double take, his smirk showing his approval of the woman as he turned back around and faced forward once again.

"Look, I'm just saying that it's crazy, you know? I mean, even for us, crazy. Hey, maybe it was another one of your guys' weird, psychic premonition things," offered Dean, pointing at them.

"No, no way. Way too vivid," said Sam.

"Okay, look. We were at the mystery spot and then…" Sam trailed off, looking over at Alex next to him.

"And then what?" asked Dean.

"Then we woke up," lied Alex.

Right then, they passed the two men, who were still trying to fit the piano in through the small building door.

"I told you it wouldn't fit!" yelled one, as he struggled.

"What do you want, a fucking Pulitzer?" yelled back the other man.

Dean shook his head at the two men.

"Wait a minute! The mystery spot! Do you think maybe it…" began Sam, but then he trailed off, not really sure of what he was gonna say.

"Maybe what?" asked Alex, her eyes hopeful.

Sam sighed.

"I don't know, but we gotta check that place out," answered Sam.

Dean looked at them skeptically and Alex sighed.

"Look, just go with us on this, alright?"

"Alright, alright. We'll go tonight after it's closed and get ourselves a nice, long look," said Dean.

"Wait, what?" said Sam.

He whirled around and put his palm on Dean's chest, stopping his movements. Ale paused beside him.

"No."

"Um, why not?" asked Dean.

"Uh, let's just go right now! Right now, business hours. Nice and crowded," said Sam.

Alex nodded energetically beside Sam. Both of them had huge smiles on their faces as they nodded at Dean.

"Oh my God, you guys are some freaks. But whatever, we'll go now," said Dean.

He began walking again, walking straight into the street and not looking out for any cars. As he was about halfway across, a car came from out of nowhere, hitting Dean and causing him to fly up into the air. Sam grabbed Alex and pulled her back onto the sidewalk, yanking her to his chest. Dean landed with his front side on the street, his face bloodied as he just laid there. The car that had hit him came to a complete stop in the middle of the street a few feet ahead as Alex and Sam ran over to their brother.

"Dean! No, no!" yelled Sam.

He and Alex dropped down to their knees next to Sam, Sam lifting Dean up and rolling him over. Dean's breaths were short. Alex and Sam looked over to the car that had hit Dean. The old man from the diner, Mr. Pickett, was behind the wheel and he stuck his head out the window to look back at them. Blood dribbled from Dean's mouth as Sam held him. Sam shook him gently.

"Dean?"

Sam jolted awake to the song, "Heat of the Moment" by Asia. He sat straight up in his bed, breathing heavily. He looked over and his eyes widened as he saw Dean sitting on his own bed, lacing up his brown boots.

"Rise and shine, Sammy!"

Sam looked over at Alex, who was fully dressed and leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. She just shrugged, indicating that she had no clue why they were still living in the same day.

Sam and Alex stood back in the doorway of the bathroom, watching as Dean gurgled the water from the sink to rinse out his mouth. Alex leaned gently against Sam.

"Sammy. What is happening?" she whispered.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke," smirked Dean, sitting across the booth from Sam and Alex.

"Will you please just listen to us, Dean? Because we are really freaking out," whispered Alex, glancing up at her older brother from beneath her eyelashes.

Dean looked at both of them and then glanced over at the waitress as she approached.

"Are you folks ready?" she asked, a warm smile on her face.

Dean took in a breath, beginning to speak, but Sam spoke for him instead.

"He'll take the special, side of bacon, coffee, black. Nothing for either one of us, thanks."

The woman looked at Sam strangely, but wrote down the order anyway.

"You got it."

She turned and walked back towards the kitchen and Dean smirked at Sam.

"Sammy, I get all tingly when you take control like that."

Dean put his arm around the back of his booth and Alex sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Quit screwing around, Dean," she warned.

Dean took one look at her and chuckled nervously. He removed his arm from around the back of the booth and leaned forward to listen to them.

"Okay. I'm listening. So, so, you two think that you're in some sort of…"

"Time loop," answered Alex and Sam.

"Like 'Groundhog Day,'" said Dean.

Sam's eyes brightened.

"Yes, exactly!"

"Uh huh," said Dean, nodding his head.

"So you don't believe us?" asked Sam.

Dean chuckled, a smile spreading across his face.

"I mean, it's just a little crazy. I mean, even for us, crazy, you know?"

"Coffee, black," said the waitress, setting the full cup of coffee down in front of Dean.

Dean stared at his siblings as she did this.

"And some hot sauce for the… Whoops! Crap!"

Sam was once again on the end of the booth and he caught the bottle of hot sauce before it fell completely to the ground. He didn't look at the woman as he held it out to her. She gasped as she saw him catch it and grabbed it from him as he held it out for her to take from his hand.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing it from him.

She placed it down on the table directly in front of Dean before walking away, back towards the kitchen. Sam and Alex looked at Dean.

"Nice reflexes," remarked Dean.

"No. I knew it was gonna happen. We both did," said Sam, motioning between himself and Alex.

"Okay, look. I'm sure that there's some sort of an explanation."

"You're just gonna have to go with us on this one, alright, Dean? You just have to, you owe us that much," said Alex.

"Calm down," whispered Dean.

"Don't tell me to calm down, I can't calm down! I can't, we can't because…" Alex trailed off and looked up at Sam as she bit her bottom lip.

"Because what?" asked Dean.

"Because you die today, Dean," answered Sam.

Alex nodded and Dean looked at them.

"I'm not gonna die, at least not today."

"Twice now, we've watched you die. And we can't… We won't do it again, okay? You're just gonna have to believe us. Please," begged Alex.

She set her hand on top of Dean's gently. He looked down at it, then looked over at his siblings, nodding.

"Alright. I still think both of you are fucking nuts, but okay. Whatever this is, we'll figure it out."

Sam nodded and Alex smiled gently.

The same dog whined and barked at them as they passed him on the sidewalk. Dean bumped into the same blonde woman, who said "excuse me," as she passed by them. The two guys still tried to fit the piano through the door, arguing with each other when they realized there was no way it was gonna fit through the very small door.

"And you two think this cheesy ass tourist trap has something to do with it?" asked Dean.

"Maybe it's the real deal, you know? The magnetic fields, bending space and time, or whatever," said Sam.

"I don't know, it all seems a little too X-Files for me," said Dean.

"Well, I don't know how else to explain it, Dean!" yelled Sam.

"Alright, alright. We'll go tonight after they close and get ourselves a nice, long look."

Sam reached out, placing his palm slightly on Dean's chest as he and Alex stood in front of him.

"No, no, no, we can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you…"

Sam sighed, trying to find the right words to say. Alex didn't say anything, just looked at the cracks in the sidewalk. Dean scoffed.

"I die there?" he asked.

"Um, you're blown away, actually," whispered Alex.

"Huh. Okay, let's go now," said Dean.

He began to walk across the street, but Sam quickly ran out and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back as Mr. Pickett came rushing past.

"Get out of the way!" yelled the old man out his window as he passed by them.

Dean chuckled, looking at his siblings, who looked at him very seriously.

"Wait, did he…"

"Yesterday, yeah," answered Sam, breathing a little heavily from his run to grab Dean a few seconds earlier.

"And?"

"And what?" asked Alex.

"Did it look cool, like in the movies?"

Sam and Alex rolled their eyes.

"You peed yourself," answered Sam.

Dean stopped smirking and glared at Sam.

"Well, of course I peed myself. Man gets hit by a car, you think he has full control over his bladder? Come on," yelled Dean.

He looked both ways this time before deciding it was safe to go ahead and cross the street. He nodded and they headed across.

A few hours later, they were walking down the sidewalk, away from the mystery spot.

"Well, that place is full of crap, just like I thought it would be," said Dean.

"What the hell is happening to all of us then, Dean?" asked Sam, sounding very frustrated.

"Hell if I know," said Dean.

He suddenly stopped walking and turned to face his siblings.

"Alright, so let me just get this all straight. So every day, I die."

Alex nodded.

"Yeah," said Sam.

"And that's when you two wake up again, right?"

"Yeah," said Alex.

"So let's just make sure I don't die," said Dean, like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Sam and Alex looked at him, confused.

"I mean, if I make it to tomorrow, maybe the loop stops and then we can figure all of this out!"

"You really think so?" asked Alex, biting her bottom lip.

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?" asked Dean.

He shrugged.

"Now, I say we grab some take out, head back to the motel, and lay low until midnight."

Sam and Alex nodded in agreement.

"Alright, good," said Dean.

He began walking.

"Who wants Chinese?"

Suddenly, a piano fell on top of him, crushing him into the ground. Both Sam's and Alex's eyes widened. The two men who had been moving the piano looked at them, their eyes wide and their mouths wide open. Dean's legs were sticking out from underneath the piano. Alex cursed as Sam stared at Dean's body in complete shock.

Yet again, Sam jolted awake to the sounds of "Heat of the Moment" by Asia. He sat up quickly in his bed and of course, saw Dean lacing up his boots.

"Rise and shine, Sammy!" yelled Dean.

Sam took a deep breath and then just fell back onto his pillow again, shaking his head as he realized he was reliving the day over once again.

Dean stared at Alex and Sam as they, once again, explained that they were reliving the same day over again.

"Well, I still think you guys are nuts, but whatever this is, we'll figure it out," said Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Thanks," said Alex.

"So, uh, if you're stuck in 'Groundhog Day,' why?"

"Well, at first we thought it was the mystery spot, but now we're not so sure," explained Sam.

"What do we do?" asked Dean.

"Well, we gotta keep you breathing. Try to make it to tomorrow. That's the only thing either one of us can think of," said Alex.

"Shouldn't be too hard," said Dean.

Sam chuckled and Alex shook her head, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, right. Dean, we've watched you die quite a few times now and we can't ever seem to stop it," said Sam.

"Well, nothing's set in stone, right? I mean, you say I order the same thing every day, right?"

"Yep. Pig in a poke, side of bacon," said Alex.

Dean nodded and looked over at the waitress, who was standing behind the counter by the kitchen.

"Excuse me, sweetheart?"

Sam and Alex looked over as well and the waitress turned to face him.

"Can I get sausage instead of bacon?"

She nodded.

"Sure thing, hun."

Dean looked at his siblings, who were looking at him with a bit of disbelief all over both of their faces.

"See? It's a different day already."

Sam and Alex nodded just as the waitress set Dean's food down in front of him. She smiled at him as she did so.

"Thank you," said Dean, grabbing his fork from beside his elbow.

He stabbed a sausage link and took a huge bite out of it, chewing with his mouth open. Sam smirked while Alex looked very disgusted and threw a napkin at his face. Dean laughed and began to eat some of his eggs, but then he began coughing. He sounded like he was choking as he dropped his fork and it clattered to the plate. Sam's smirk faded.

"Dean," said Alex.

Dean coughed some more, his eyes widening.

Yet again, Sam jolted awake to the sound of "Heat of the Moment" by Asia. He sat up in his bed.

"You mean we can't even go out for breakfast?" called out Dean from the bathroom.

He was taking a shower as Alex and Sam paced around the motel room beds, wondering why they were reliving this day once again.

"You'll thank us when it's Wednesday!" yelled Sam.

"Yeah, whatever that means," said Dean.

He pulled the curtain back to its original position and stepped under the shower spray. As Sam walked over to the windows and pulled back the curtains to look outside, Dean shouted and they heard him slip and fall in the shower.

"No," cried Alex.

Sam sat up in bed as he heard the song once again. He looked at Alex, who was in the doorway of the bathroom. She rolled her eyes and Sam threw the covers back, getting out of his bed.

A few hours later, they were sitting at the table in the motel room, eating tacos and burritos. Dean took a huge bite out of his crunchy taco and chewed. He looked down into his taco as he chewed.

"Do these tacos taste funny to you?"

Alex slammed her food down and threw her head down on the table. Dean looked at her weirdly and Sam pushed a fake smile onto his face.

Sam sat up in bed, sighing as he looked over at Dean, who was lacing up his brown boots. Alex stood in the doorway, her face sad, as she stared at Dean. A few minutes later, Dean walked into the bathroom. He grabbed the electric razor and plugged it in. As he plugged it in, he was electrocuted.

This time, Alex and Sam jolted awake at the same time. Sam slammed his hand down on the radio, stopping the song.

"I'm getting really sick of this, Sammy," whispered Alex.

Sam nodded.

"We're going back to the mystery spot tonight. There's gotta be something there that's causing this to happen."

At the mystery spot that night, Sam swung his axe into the wall angrily while Dean and Alex were crouched down beside the owner, who was tied to a chair.

"Don't worry, everything's fine. No one's gonna get hurt," said Alex, smiling at the owner.

Dean nodded and then glanced over at Sam.

"Hey, Sammy? Why don't you put the axe down and let this man go, what do you say?"

"No, something's gotta be going on here. I intend to find out what the hell it is," said Sam.

He returned to hacking up the wall with his axe as Dean looked around the whole place.

"This place is pretty tore up, dude. Time to give it a rest," said Dean.

"No! I'm gonna take it down to studs."

Sam began hacking at the wall again and Alex and Dean looked at the owner, chuckling. Dean stood up from his crouch, walking over to Sam.

"Sammy. That's enough."

Dean walked over and began fighting Sam for the axe. Alex watched with wide eyes as Dean grabbed the axe from Sam. Suddenly, Sam's grip on the axe faltered and blood splattered all over the owner and Alex.

"Oh no. Dean?"

Sam and Alex jerked awake, sighing as the day repeated once again.

They walked into the diner, Sam with his hands in his pockets and Alex walking sadly behind all of them.

"Drive safely now, Mr. Pickett," said the cashier, handing the old man his change.

"Yeah, yeah," said Mr. Pickett.

The man walked past them and Sam didn't even bother moving his shoulder as the old man bumped into him.

"Can't stay unless you order something, Cal. You know the rules," said the waitress.

The man slid the coins from his pocket across the counter to the waitress.

"Coffee," he said.

Dean led them to the same booth as every other time. Alex sat on the end this time though as Dean glanced up at the specials. Alex looked over at the counter too and saw an older man sitting at the counter, taking a drink from his coffee cup. She frowned, not sure if she had ever seen him before.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke," said Dean.

Sam sighed and put down a set of keys in the middle of the table. Dean looked at the keys, then looked up at Sam.

"What are those?"

"The old man's. Trust me, you don't want him behind the wheel."

Dean glanced down at the keys again and then looked over as the waitress approached their table.

"You folks ready?" she asked.

"Yes, we are. Um, I'll have the special, a side of bacon, and a coffee."

"Hey, Doris?" asked Alex.

"What'd I like is for you to log in some more hours at the archery range. You're an absolutely terrible shot."

"Now how did you-"

"Lucky guess," said Alex.

She smirked sarcastically at the waitress, who huffed and walked away from their table. Alex turned her attention back to Dean.

"Okay. So you guys think you're caught in some kind of what, again?"

"Time loop," answered Sam, his face never changing or showing emotion.

"Like 'Groundhog Day?'"

"Look, it doesn't even fucking matter anymore because there's no way to stop it," said Alex, ripping up a napkin into little tiny pieces as she spoke.

"Geez. Aren't you guys grumpy?" smirked Dean.

"Yeah, we fucking are. And you wanna know why? Because this is the hundredth Tuesday in a row we've been through. And it never stops. Never. So yeah, we're a little grumpy," answered Sam.

Dean stared at them.

"Hot sauce," said Alex.

"What?" asked Dean.

Doris approached their table and set down Dean's coffee cup directly in front of him.

"And some hot sauce for the… Whoops! Crap," said Doris, as it tumbled off of her tray.

Without taking her eyes off of Dean's face, Alex grabbed the hot sauce before it fell all the way to the ground. She faced it right-side up and placed it next to Dean's coffee cup.

"Thanks," said Doris.

Dean looked between Alex and Sam and Doris gave another quick glance their way before walking back to another table.

"Nice reflexes," said Dean.

"Look, both of us knew that was going to happen, Dean. We know everything that's gonna happen," said Alex.

Dean scoffed.

"You don't know everything."

"Yeah, we do, actually."

"Yeah, right," said Dean.

He stopped smirking as Alex and Sam said it at the exact same time as him.

"Nice guess."

They did it again, so Dean frowned and tried again.

"It wasn't a guess," said Alex.

"Right, you guys are just mind readers."

"But that's not all," said Sam.

He nodded his head over towards the cashier.

"Randy, the cashier. He's skimming from the register."

"Judge Myers," said Alex, nodding to the older gentleman who was now standing at the counter drinking from his milkshake.

"At night, he puts on a furry bunny outfit," finished Alex.

The man looked over at her, having heard his name, and dropped his milkshake all over the counter as he heard her comment.

"And over there. That's Cal," said Sam, nodding to the homeless man who was always at the counter getting coffee when they came in every morning.

"He's gonna rob Tony, the mechanic, on the way home."

"And what's your point with all of this?" asked Dean, his arm slung over the back of the booth as he looked at both of them with wide eyes.

"Our point is, we've lived through every single possible Tuesday. We've watched you die in every possible way, Sam singlehandedly ripped apart the mystery spot, we burnt it down, we've tried everything we know in order to save your life, but for some reason, we can't. No matter what we do, you die. And then we wake up. And then it's Tuesday again," said Alex.

As they walked down the sidewalk after their breakfast, Sam and Alex still looked pretty glum.

"Dog," said Sam.

Right then and there, they passed the Golden Retriever that always barked and whined at them as they passed every single Tuesday. Dean looked the dog up and down.

"Look. There's gotta be some way out of this," said Dean.

Sam and Alex ignored him as they passed old man Mr. Pickett.

"Where's my damn keys?" said Alex.

"Where's my damn keys?" asked Mr. Pickett as they stepped around him on the sidewalk.

He began checking all of his pockets.

"Excuse me," said Alex.

"Excuse me," said the petite, pretty blonde woman as she passed by them and accidentally bumped into Dean's left shoulder, as she always did every single Tuesday. Dean looked back at her.

"She's kind of cute," he said, turning back around to face forward as they walked ahead.

They stepped off the sidewalk and into a crosswalk onto an empty street, with no cars in sight. Dean smacked Sam's arm and he stopped both Alex and Sam from walking forward.

"Hey. All of these times, did I ever stop and do this?"

Dean turned back around towards the direction they had just come from and chased down the pretty blonde woman.

"Excuse me, Miss?" he yelled down the street towards her.

"No," whispered Alex, answering Dean's question as she and Sam watched him approach the blonde woman.

The woman handed Dean a flyer before smiling and walking away from them. Dean walked back over to his siblings, who had walked a little ways back down the street to meet Dean halfway.

"A hundred Tuesdays and neither one of you ever bothered to check what in the hell she was holding in her hands?" asked Dean.

Both Sam and Alex shrugged, so Dean sighed and turned the folder over in his hands, showing the front of it to them. On it was a picture of the man who had gone missing. Dean held the flyer next to his face as he held it up.

"Isn't this the guy who went missing?" he asked.

Sam and Alex looked at the folder for a few moments.

"Yeah," answered Sam, finally.

"So, that was his daughter back there."

Sam's eyes widened and he grasped the flyer from Dean's hands, jogging back towards the woman.

"Ma'am? Excuse me, Miss?" he yelled after her.

Dean and Alex watched Sam track her down, but they were standing beside the dog, which was now growling and then began barking towards them. The dog licked its lips. Dean smiled.

"Hey, buddy. Someone need a friend?" he asked.

He stepped towards the dog, and Alex didn't notice until it was too late. Dean screamed as the dog attacked him. Alex sighed.

"Not again, no," she whispered.

Sam jolted awake yet again. "Heat of the Moment" was blaring through the radio speakers and Alex groaned as she rolled over.

"Fuck this, Sam. I'm done with all of this," she whispered.

In the diner about an hour later, Dean was chowing down on his food. Sam was on his computer and Alex was occasionally glancing at it. Otherwise, she was people watching and keeping an eye on Dean, as usual. She noticed that the same old man was sitting at the counter a few feet away from them, but she couldn't help but feel that something was off about him. She sighed and shook her head free of those weird thoughts. She tuned back into what Sam was saying.

"So this police report lists Dexter Hasselbeck as a professor. But that's not all he is," said Sam.

Alex looked over Sam's shoulder at the computer screen.

"Well, what else is he then?" asked Dean.

"Well, when I talked to his daughter, she informed me that her dad was actually quite the journalist. Columns in magazines, a blog, even. He writes about tourist attractions," continued Sam.

Alex's attention drifted away from their conversation as she watched the old man, who had been sitting directly across from them at the counter, get up and walk over to the cash register.

"Mystery spots, UFO crash sites. He gets his kicks debunking them. I mean, he's already put four of these places out of business. Here," finished Sam.

He slid the computer over to Dean and Dean flipped it around to look at the article on the screen. He scoffed and then shut the computer.

"C'mon. Let's get out of here."

Dean stood up from the table first, heading towards the cash register. Sam and Alex stood up to follow him, but Alex grabbed Sam's arm, pulling him back as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"What is it?" asked Sam, seeing the worry and concern written all over her face.

"Sam. What's wrong with this picture?"

She discreetly pointed to where the old man had been sitting at the counter. Sam's forehead wrinkled slightly as he looked over at the place settings.

"I know something is different, but I really just can't put my finger on it," whispered Alex, looking at the spot with him.

Dean stopped once he was halfway to the counter, noticing that his siblings weren't directly following him. He stopped and turned around, headed back towards them.

"What's wrong?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex turned to look out the windows, seeing the old man walk right by the building.

"That guy has had maple syrup for the past 102 Tuesdays and now all of a sudden he's having strawberry?" asked Sam, still looking out the windows even though the man had already long passed by.

"Well, I mean, it's a free country, right? A man can't choose his own type of syrup? What is this place coming to?" asked Dean, jokingly.

"Not today. Not in this diner. Nothing in this place ever changes. Ever. Except us," whispered Alex, looking over at her oldest brother.

Sam sat up in bed as "Heat of the Moment" played once again. His jaw was tense as he looked over at Dean, who was, of course, sitting on the very edge of his bed and lacing up his brown boots.

"Rise and shine, Sammy!"

Alex stood in the doorway of the bathroom, the same expression on her face as Sam looked over at her.

Back in the diner that morning, Sam and Alex sat across from Dean in their usual booth. They glared at the older gentleman who was sitting across from them at the counter, his back turned towards them.

"So you think you're caught in some kind of… what, again?" asked Dean.

"Eat your breakfast," said Alex and Sam, turning to look at him only briefly before they returned to looking at the man at the counter.

Dean's eyebrows rose, but he did as he was told and returned to eating his meal. A few minutes later, the old man stood up, grabbed a toothpick, and walked outside. Alex nearly shoved Sam out of the booth to follow the man, handing Sam a medium size, brown paper bag as she did so. Sam grabbed it from her grasp and they both began following the man outside, only a few steps behind him.

"Wait, what's in the bag?" called out Dean.

He sighed, stood up from the booth, threw a few bills onto the table to pay for his meal, and then he walked after them.

Sam and Alex finally caught up to the man as he twisted his toothpick around in his mouth. They were behind some building a few blocks away from the diner and Sam shoved the man against some wall, holding a wooden stake up to his neck.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" asked the man, his arms flailing around as Sam grabbed him and pointed the stake at his neck.

Alex stood a few feet behind Sam, her arms crossed across her chest as Dean joined them.

"I know who the hell you are. Or should I say what?" seethed Sam.

"Oh my God, please don't kill me," begged the man.

Alex rolled her eyes at his pleas.

"Um, Sam?" asked Dean.

"You know, it took me a hell of a long time, but I got it," said Sam.

"What?" asked the man.

"It's your MO that gave you away. Going after pompous jerks, giving them their just desserts. Your kind loves that, don't they?"

"Yeah, sure, okay. Just put the stake down, please," begged the man, glancing at the stake Sam still held against his neck.

"Sam, maybe you shoul-" began Dean.

"No!" yelled Sam, looking over at Dean.

He turned back to the man he held.

"There's only one creature powerful enough to be doing what you're doing. Making reality out of nothing, sticking people in fucking time loops! In fact, you basically have to be a god. You'd have to be a trickster," said Sam.

"Look, Mister, my name is Ed Coleman. I have a wife and two kids, for crying out loud! I sell ad space," cried the man.

"Don't you dare lie to me! I know what the fuck you are! We've killed one of your kind before."

The man looked at Sam and then suddenly, his face changed. His face became that of the same trickster that they had battled months ago, the one they had believed was dead. Alex gasped and both Sam and Dean's eyes widened as they took him in.

"Actually, kiddos, you didn't kill me," said the trickster.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Sam, still holding the stake to the trickster's neck.

"You're joking, right? You three assholes tried to kill me last time. Why wouldn't I do this?"

The trickster smirked.

"And Hasselbeck. What about him?" asked Dean, now standing directly beside Sam and next to the trickster.

The trickster rolled his eyes, scoffing.

"Oh, that putz? He said he didn't believe in wormholes. So I dropped him in one."

The trickster cackled, throwing his head back slightly to laugh. He contained his laughter and brought his head back down to their eye level.

"And then you three showed up. I made you the second you hit town."

"So this is fun for you? Killing my brother over and over again?" asked Alex, stepping up towards them to stand close to Dean.

"Oh, hello gorgeous," said the trickster.

He winked at her as he sneered at her and Dean pulled her closer, slinging his arm over her shoulder. The trickster rolled his eyes.

"For one, yes. It is fun. And two, this is so not about killing Dean. This joke is on you two, Alex and Sam. Watching your brother die, every single day, forever."

Alex watched as Sam literally began trembling with his anger.

"You son of a bitch," whispered Sam.

The trickster just continued smiling.

"How long will it take you two fools to realize that you can't save your brother? No matter what."

"Oh yeah? If I kill you, this all ends, right now," said Sam.

He dug the stake deeper into the trickster's neck and the trickster groaned at the pressure.

"Aww, hey, whoa there. Okay, okay, look. I was just playing around. You can't take a joke, fine. You're out of it. Tomorrow, you wake up, and it'll be Wednesday. I promise," said the trickster, his gaze flickering between the three of them and their faces.

"You're lying," said Sam.

"Well, if I am, you'll know where to find me. Having pancakes at the diner," promised the trickster.

Sam looked at Dean and Alex, but then shook his head.

"Nah, it's just easier to kill you," said Sam.

The trickster smiled.

"Sorry, kiddos. Certainly can't have that."

He brought both of his hands up to his chest, crossed them, and then snapped, using both of his hands, at the same time.

Sam woke up, but this time, it wasn't to the same song. This time, it was "Back in Time" by Huey Lewis and the News. Sam sat up slowly, smirking as he realized that it was finally Wednesday.

"So the trickster didn't lie," he whispered to himself.

He looked over at the bathroom, where Dean was standing in the doorway with Alex. Alex was leaning against the doorframe, fully dressed, and smiling over at Sam, the glee evident on her face.

"What, were you just gonna sleep all day?" asked Dean, his toothbrush dangling from his fingertips.

"No Asia," said Sam.

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I know. This station really sucks," said Dean.

Sam looked over at the old-fashioned radio and smirked when he saw that it was finally Wednesday. He gasped slightly.

"It's Wednesday!" he exclaimed, sounding almost like a small child on Christmas morning.

"Yeah, which usually comes after Tuesday. Turn that thing off, would you?" asked Dean, pointing to the radio with his toothbrush.

Sam threw the covers off of his legs and practically jumped out of his bed, almost falling as he did so. The smile on his face was humongous as Alex laughed at him from her against the bathroom door.

"What, are you kidding? This isn't the most beautiful song you've ever heard?" asked Sam, sounding almost giddy.

Dean just looked back at him, sounding almost mad.

"No. Jesus, how many Tuesdays did you have?"

Sam grabbed one of his button up shirts from the end of his bed and slipped it on. He shook his head at Dean's question, his eyebrows raised.

"I don't know. Alex and I lost count. Hey, wait. What do you remember?" asked Sam.

"I remember both of you being pretty insane yesterday and then I remember running into the trickster," offered Dean.

Sam nodded with Dean's words.

"But that's about it."

"Alright, pack your stuff. Let's get the hell out of town, now," said Alex.

She pushed herself off of the doorframe and headed towards their bags, throwing an empty one at each of her brothers.

"What, no breakfast?" asked Dean, his bottom lip sticking out like a putting five year old.

"No, no breakfast," said Sam.

Dean was packing up the car about half an hour later, throwing his bag in the trunk. He heard someone approach him while his back was turned, and he assumed it was either Alex or Sam.

"Are you guys sure we should just let the trickster go?" he asked.

He whirled around and saw Cal, the homeless man from the diner, standing in front of him and holding a gun in one of his hands.

"Give me your wallet," said Cal, the gun shaking as he held it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, buddy, just relax," said Dean.

"I am relaxed!" yelled Cal.

Dean nodded slowly.

"Okay, alright. Nobody wants this to end the wrong way, so let's talk about it for a second."

Sam and Alex were inside packing up their bags. As Sam shoves his computer down into his satchel, he heard a gunshot from outside.

"Dean!" yelled Alex.

She and Sam both took off running down the stairs and out into the parking lot where the Impala was parked. Cal was running away as they ran down the steps and saw Dean lying on the ground, blood spurting from a gunshot wound on the right side of his chest. The blood was soaking his jacket as Alex and Sam ran over to him, crouching down at his sides.

"No, no, no, no," cried Alex.

"Come on," cried Sam.

Alex grabbed Dean's head and rested it in her lap as she tried to get him to open his eyes. Sam closed his eyes, hoping he would wake up like they had before. After a few seconds, nothing had happened.

"Sammy, we're supposed to wake up. Why aren't we waking up?" cried Alex.

Her face was now soaked with tears as she realized that Dean was really dead, and nothing was changing. Sam shook his head and Alex began sobbing as she held one of her hands to Dean's open wound.

"This wasn't supposed to happen today," said Sam, his own tears falling over his cheeks.

Six months later, Sam was driving the Impala down a road, the rain pelting the windshield as he drove. His phone rang, but he never answered, just letting it roll straight into his voicemail instead. The voice mailbox beeped and a message from Bobby began playing as Sam drove.

"Sam? It's Bobby. I heard about that demon thing you took care of in Death Valley. Nice job. It's been about three months since we talked though. It'd be awfully nice to hear your voice. Give me a call. I'm here."

A few days later, Sam was at a motel, eating his dinner when his phone rang again. It was another voicemail from Bobby.

"Sam? It's me, Bobby, again. Look, I'm worried about you. And so is Alex. You know, your twin sister? She's basically given up on you returning her calls. Just tell me you're not sitting alone somewhere, obsessing over this damn trickster. Call me, Sam. We can find it together. No one man should take something like this on alone. Do you hear me? By the way, that vampire nest in Austin. One hell of a job."

The next morning, Sam listened to his voicemails. This time, Alex was speaking, not Bobby.

"Um, Sammy?"

Sam's heart broke as he heard the despair, worry, anger, hurt, and hatred in her tone.

"Um, we've found him."

She hung up after that message and Sam looked at himself in the mirror.

Bobby listened as he heard Sam's footsteps approaching from behind him. They were back at the Brower County Mystery Spot, ready to find the trickster. Bobby stood up and turned around as Sam entered the room.

"It's good to see you, boy," said Bobby.

He walked over to Sam and threw his arms around him. Sam didn't react, just standing there as Bobby held him. Bobby stepped away after a few seconds and looked up into Sam's face.

"What in the hell are we doing here, Bobby?" asked Sam.

"Well, it's the last place where we're sure the trickster worked his magic."

"So?"

"So you want this thing? I found the summoning ritual to bring the trickster here."

Bobby walked over to the things he had set out to summon the trickster and Sam stepped forward slightly.

"So what do we need?" asked Sam.

"Blood."

"How much blood?"

"Ritual says near a gallon. And it's gotta be fresh too."

"Meaning we have to bleed a person dry."

"And it's gotta be tonight. Or not for another 50 years," said Bobby, nodding his head.

"Then let's go get some."

Sam turned to go, but Bobby just stared at him.

"You break my heart, kid."

"What?" asked Sam, turning back around to face Bobby.

"I'm not gonna let you murder an innocent man."

"Then why'd you bring me here?"

"Why? Because it was the only way you'd see me. Because I'm trying to knock some sense into you. Because I thought you would back down from killing a man," said Bobby, getting right up in Sam's face.

"Well, you thought terribly wrong. Now, leave the stuff, I'll do it myself. It's none of your damn business what I do anymore!" yelled Sam.

Bobby nodded and reached down inside his bag, pulling out a long knife and turning back around to face Sam.

"You want your brother back so bad? Fine."

Bobby looked off behind Sam and Sam turned around, his heart breaking at what he saw. Alex was standing in the shadows, stepping forward to Bobby. She took the knife from him and held it in her hands.

"Alex. What are you doing?" he asked.

"Better me or Bobby than a civilian," answered Alex.

She held the knife out to Sam, whose jaw ticked as he looked at his twin sister, whom he had abandoned months ago.

"You two are crazy, I'm not killing either one of you."

"Oh, so now we're the crazy ones?" asked Alex.

"Look, Sam. I'm old, I'm coming near the end of my trail. But you can keep fighting. Saving folks. But you need your siblings, so let me give him back to you," offered Bobby.

Sam shook his head, his eyes misty as he looked at the both of them.

"Bobby."

"You, and Alex, and Dean. You three are the closest thing I have to family. I want to do this."

Alex held the knife out to Sam once again and Sam finally took it.

"Okay," said Sam.

"Good," whispered Bobby.

Alex and Sam watched as Bobby knelt down in the middle of the circle and symbols he had drawn, his back towards them.

"Just make it quick," whispered Bobby.

Sam hesitated and took in a deep breath.

"Just do it, son."

Sam looked over at Alex, who smirked at Sam. She handed him a stake that she had in her jacket pocket and Sam inched closer to Bobby.

"Okay, Bobby. But do you wanna know why?" asked Sam.

He suddenly knelt down next to Bobby and stabbed him directly through the heart. Bobby groaned and cried out as he fell forward onto the ground.

"Because you're not Bobby," finished Sam.

He and Alex watched, waiting for the trickster to show himself, but nothing happened.

"Bobby?" asked Alex.

"Bobby?" asked Sam.

Suddenly, Bobby's body disappeared and the stake was the only thing left on the ground. It went flying through the air and into the hands of the trickster, who was standing behind Alex and Sam with a smirk on his face.

"You're right. I was just screwing with you two. Pretty good though, you two. Smart. Although, let me tell you. Whoever said Dean was the dysfunctional one, has never seen you with a sharp object in your hands."

Alex had joined Sam and she grabbed his hand. Sam looked down at their hands and Alex squeezed his hand gently, showing him that she was there.

"Bring him back," whispered Sam, looking at the trickster, who was now standing in front of them.

"Who, Dean? Didn't my girls send you two the flowers? Dean's dead. He ain't coming back. His soul's downstairs, in hell."

"Just take us back to that Tuesday, please. Or Wednesday, when it all started, please. We won't come after you, I swear," pleaded Sam, the tears in his voice and in his eyes as he pleaded for his brother to come back.

"You swear?"

"Yes," said both Alex and Sam.

"I don't know. Even if I could-"

"You can!" cried Alex.

"Very true. But that don't mean I should. Listen, there's a lesson here that I've been desperately trying to drill into those skulls of yours."

"Lesson? What fucking lesson?" asked Alex, beginning to get very frustrated with the trickster.

Sam squeezed her palm to calm her down.

"This obsession to save Dean. The way you three keep sacrificing yourselves for each other! Nothing good ever comes out of it, alright? Just some blood and some pain. Dean's your weakness. And the bad guys know it too. It's gonna be the death of at least one of you, probably both of you. And sometimes, you have just gotta let some people go."

"He's our brother," said Sam.

"Yep! And like it or not, this is what life is gonna be like without him," said the trickster.

"Please. Just… please," cried Sam.

The trickster sighed and hung his head for a few seconds before looking back up at the two of them again.

"I swear, it's seriously like talking to a fucking brick wall. Okay, look. This all stopped being fun months ago. I'm done, I'm over it."

"Meaning what?" asked Alex.

"Meaning that's for me to know and for you two to find out," said the trickster.

He snapped his fingers.

Sam woke up to "Back in Time" playing on the radio. He sat up in his bed and looked over at Dean and Alex, who were standing in the bathroom doorway, looking over at him.

"Were you just gonna sleep all day?" asked Dean.

Sam's eyebrows rose and Dean stepped slightly out of the bathroom, holding his small cup of water and nodding at Sam's face.

"I know, no Asia. This station sucks."

Dean began brushing his teeth again and Sam looked at Alex. She imperceptibly nodded over to the date on the radio, so Sam looked and saw that it was now Wednesday. He looked back over at Dean.

"It's Wednesday," whispered Sam.

"Yeah, which usually follows Tuesday," said Dean, removing his toothbrush from his mouth and walking back into the bathroom to rinse his mouth out.

"Turn that thing off," he hollered from the bathroom.

Sam quickly threw the covers off of his lower half and walked over to Dean. Just as Dean turned around to face Sam once again, Sam grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him into a powerful hug. Dean's eyebrows rose as Sam continued hugging him for quite a long time.

"Dude, how many Tuesdays did you even have?" he asked Sam.

"Enough."

Sam pulled away then to look at Dean's face.

"Wait. What do you remember exactly?"

"Well, I remember you two were pretty insane yesterday. I remember catching up with the trickster and that's about it," answered Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Let's go," said Alex.

"No breakfast?" asked Dean, pouting.

Sam and Alex smirked.

"No breakfast," said Alex.

"Alright, I'll pack the car," said Dean.

He went to grab his stuff, but Sam put a hand on his arm.

"Wait, you're not going anywhere alone."

"It's the fucking parking lot, Sam."

"Just, just trust him this once, oh my Lord," said Alex, rolling her eyes as she pushed past the both of them to get to her stuff.

Sam and Dean laughed.

As they were finishing packing, Sam looked at Alex.

"Hey, Alex? Can we talk about… what happened?"

Alex nodded and walked over to Sam.

"Sure, Sammy. Of course."

She slapped him straight across the face and Sam's head flung back from the force.

"Damn, Alex!" he yelled.

"Don't you ever do anything like that to me, ever. Do you understand me?" asked Alex, looking straight into Sam's eyes.

Sam nodded, still holding onto his face where Alex had smacked him.

"I won't, sis. I promise."

Alex nodded and walked back over to her stuff, zipping up all of her bags.

"Good. I love you, Sammy."

Sam smiled over at his twin sister.

"I love you too, Alex. Now, let's go help Dean."

They grabbed their things and headed out to the parking lot, ready to look out for their older brother for as long as possible.


	33. Chapter 33

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines._

**Chapter 33**

Dean led the way into Bella's apartment, flinging the door open with his gun out. Alex and Sam followed him, both of them having their guns out as well. Sam checked out the bathroom and the wardrobe, while Alex and Dean looked through her dresser drawers. Sam opened the safe underneath the TV, but the Colt wasn't there.

"Any sign of it?" called out Dean.

"Nothing," answered Sam.

As Dean opened another drawer, the phone next to Bella's bed began ringing. They all stopped what they were doing to look at one another. Dean walked over to the phone, looking down at it resting on the nightstand. He picked it up hesitantly and held it as far away from his ear as possible, but still being able to hear the person on the other end.

"Dean? Sweetie, are you there?" asked Bella from the other end of the call.

Dean rolled his eyes, mouthed "Bella" to Alex and Sam, and then held the phone closer to his face so he could talk into it.

"Where are you?" asked Dean.

"Two states away by now."

"Where?"

"Where's our usual quippy banter? I miss it," whined Bella.

"I want it back, Bella. Now."

"Your little pistol, you mean. Sorry, I can't at the moment."

"Do you even understand how many people are gonna die if you do this?" asked Dean.

"What exactly is it that you think I plan to do with it?"

"Take the only weapon we have against an army of demons and sell it to the highest bidder."

"You know nothing about me," said Bella, after a brief pause.

"I know I'm gonna stop you," smirked Dean.

"Tough words for a guy who can't even find me."

"Oh, I'll find you, sweetheart. And you know why? Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track you down."

"Well, that's where you're wrong. You're about to be quite occupied. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't take precautions?"

Suddenly, the door was kicked in by a group of police officers. All three of their eyes widened as they took in the officers and the three of them put their hands up as the officers moved towards them.

"That fucking bitch!" yelled Dean, his hands up in the air as an officer moved towards him.

They were all shoved to the ground and handcuffed as the head officer read them their rights.

"Sam, Alex, and Dean Winchester, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…"

As the officer continued listing off their rights, the three siblings watched as a man walked into the room, seeing his black, shiny, leather shoes first. They all looked up and saw Agent Henrickson standing above them, looking down at all of them.

"Hi, guys. It's been a while."

Dean rolled his eyes and put his head back down on the ground.

Sam, Dean, and Alex were led into the local, small town police station. They had chains around their feet and around their wrists as they were led back to the holding cells. They glanced at the reception area, where Agent Henrickson was leaning against a desk, watching them. Two other officers stood next to him and a young woman was seated at one of the many desks, looking terrified as they passed by her.

"Why all the sourpusses?" asked Dean, smirking at the four people looking at him.

Sam and Alex took in their surroundings, noting that the secretary's name was Nancy Fitzgerald and that she had a rosary laid out on her desk. She grabbed it as she saw them watching her intently. The officers pushed them forward then and Dean glanced at the young woman.

"We're not the ones you should be scared of, Nancy."

Nancy looked down at the rosary in her hands, avoiding his eyes.

The three of them were led into one large cell, an officer locking the cell door once they were all inside. They sat down on the small cot that was pushed against one brick wall of the cell, Alex sitting in the middle. She sighed as she sat down.

"Yeah, sorry you got caught, sis. What is this, your first time being locked up?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded and Dean smirked.

"You're such a badass," he said.

Alex laughed and Sam gave a small smile as well. They sat there in silence for a few moments, all of them glancing around the room.

"So how are we gonna Houdini ourselves out of this one?" asked Dean, finally breaking the silence.

"Well, that's a pretty good question, actually," said Sam.

A few minutes later, footsteps sounded down the hallway and they all looked up as Agent Henrickson stood in front of their cell. He held onto one of the bars of the cell door as he looked at the three of them. Sam looked away when he saw it was him and Dean rolled his eyes as Agent Henrickson began speaking.

"You know what I'm trying to decide?"

"Oh, I don't know, what?" asked Dean.

"What to have for dinner tonight. It's either steak or lobster. Oh, what the hell, we'll surf and turf. I've got a lot to celebrate, I mean, after all. Seeing the three of you in chains," said Agent Henrickson.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes and Agent Henrickson looked at her.

"Especially your pretty little face, Alex. You've evaded me more times than your two brothers over here. But now, I've finally got all three of you, and in one place, too."

"You know, I wouldn't bust out the melted better just yet. You couldn't catch us at the bank, couldn't keep us in that jail…"

Dean shrugged and Agent Henrickson looked down at the ground.

"You're right. I screwed up. I underestimated you three, I didn't count on any one of you being that smart. But now, I'm ready."

"Ready to lose us again?" asked Dean.

"Ready like isolation. How's that for ready?"

Dean rubbed a hand over his face and sniffed, while Alex and Sam looked away from Agent Henrickson.

"Take a good look at your siblings because you three will never see each other again."

Dean shook his head, his smug grin coming back into place on his face.

"You've got the wrong siblings."

"Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot. You three fight monsters. But I'm sorry, Dean, your daddy no doubt brainwashed you with all that satanic crap. Now, that's all, that's reality."

Sam and Alex sat up, leaning forward now instead of against the wall.

"Why don't you just shut your fucking mouth?" asked Dean, glaring up at Agent Henrickson.

"Well, guess what? Life sucks, so get a damn helmet. Because everybody's got a sob story, but not everyone becomes a killer, either."

Sam looked up and out the small window in the cell, hearing noises that sounded like a helicopter. Bright lights shined in through the window, but then they disappeared as quickly as they had come. Agent Henrickson looked at his watch, smirking. He tapped his watch.

"Mmm. It's surf and turf time."

He chuckled as he walked away from their cell and Dean gave him a sarcastic smile of his own once he was gone. He rubbed his hand over his face once again as he wondered how they would escape this one. Alex sighed.

"Damn, that guy was a real huge asshole."

Sam nodded in agreement.

Not even ten minutes later, another FBI agent walked back into the holding cell area. He shut the huge sliding door that led back to the cells before walking over to their particular cell, his hands on his hips and a smug smile on his face as he stood in front of them. Dean was now standing up by end of the cot as Alex was leaning against the wall and Sam was leaning forward, still sitting on the cot, his elbows resting on his knees. The three of them stared up and over at the new man.

"The Winchester siblings. Sam, Alex, and Dean. I'm Deputy Director Steven Gromes. This is a pleasure," he said, stepping as close to the cell door as possible.

"Well, I'm glad one of us feels that way," retorted Dean.

"I've been waiting a very long time for you three to come out of the woodwork."

He suddenly pulled out his gun and shot Dean straight through his left shoulder. Dean fell back onto the cot as Alex and Sam shot up, Sam running over and grabbing Steven's wrist, causing him to shoot the gun up and into the air instead of at them. Alex was by Sam's side and she gasped when the man's eyes turned black. She began chanting an exorcism, speaking Latin fluidly. The man's head turned around, but then suddenly, he looked back at them, his eyes still as black as before.

"Sorry I've got to cut this short. But it's gonna be a long night, children."

Steven tilted his head back and a cloud of black smoke erupted from his mouth. It went up towards the ceiling and escaped through the air vents up above. The agent fell to the ground, his gun still in Sam's hands, as Agent Henrickson and some other officers came rushing into the room.

"Put the gun down!" yelled one officer, spotting Sam with the pistol.

"Wait, okay, just wait," cried Alex.

"He shot him!" cried another officer.

"I didn't shoot him, alright? I didn't shoot anyone," said Sam.

"That bastard shot me!" yelled Dean, standing up from the cot and motioning towards Agent Gromes.

"Get on your knees!" yelled Agent Henrickson.

"Okay, okay, okay. Just please, don't shoot me," said Sam, lowering himself to his knees.

He set the pistol down on the floor outside of the cell as Agent Henrickson stood in front of the cell, his gun trained on Sam.

"Look, we didn't shoot him, alright? Check the body. There's no blood, we did not kill him," said Sam, his breathing very heavy.

"Go ahead. Check him," said Agent Henrickson, telling one of the other officers to do it.

An officer reached down and looked over the body.

"Vic, there's no bullet wound," he said.

"Yeah, because he's probably been dead for months," said Alex.

"What did you do to him?" asked Agent Henrickson.

"We didn't do anything!" yelled Dean.

"Talk or I shoot!"

"You won't believe us," said Dean.

Alex sighed and looked at one of the other officers.

"He was possessed," she explained, calmly.

"Possessed. Right. Fire up the chopper, we're taking these three out of here, and now!" yelled Agent Henrickson.

"Yeah, do that!" yelled Dean.

The other FBI agent in the cell holding room grabbed his walkie talkie and began speaking into it.

"Bill," he said.

Nothing but static was heard through the walkie talkie.

"Bill. Are you there?"

He tried again, but there was still no response from Bill. He looked up at Agent Henrickson, who imperceptibly nodded his head towards the doors. The man rose up from out of his crouch beside the dead man and headed back to the lobby and reception area, turning off the walkie talkie as he went. Moments after the man had left and walked outside, they heard an explosion and they all winced as they heard it.

"Now what in the hell was that? Reedy!" yelled Agent Henrickson, through his walkie talkie.

There was no response, so Agent Henrickson tried once again.

"Reedy!"

An hour later, as the lights were shut out, Sam, Alex, and Dean stood up from where they were sitting on the cot, looking at each other, once again alone in the cell holding room. Only a few emergency, back-up flood lights came on and Dean whistled.

"Well, that definitely can't be good," said Alex.

Dean groaned as the pain in his shoulder got to him. Alex sighed and maneuvered her hands to get into her pockets, pulling out a handkerchief that she was carrying around with her. She held it out to Sam, who took it and pushed it onto Dean's wound. Dean winced and groaned again as Sam staunched the bleeding from the wound. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Oh, c'mon. Don't be such a wuss," said Sam.

Dean looked down at his shoulder, seeing what Sam was doing, when they all heard a voice from behind them.

"So what's the plan?" asked Agent Henrickson.

They all turned to look over at him.

"Is it to kill everyone in the station and then bust the three of you out?"

"What in the hell are you talking about?" rasped Dean, grabbing the handkerchief from Sam and holding it onto his own shoulder now.

"I'm talking about your psycho friends, I'm talking about a bloodbath."

"Look, okay? I promise you, whoever's out there, is not here to fucking help us," said Alex.

"Look, you've gotta believe us. Everyone here right now is in absolutely terrible danger," continued Sam.

"You think?" asked Agent Henrickson, the sarcasm absolutely drenched in his tone of voice.

"Now, why don't you let the three of us out of here so we can save all of your sorry asses?" asked Dean.

"From what?"

Alex bit her bottom lip nervously, looking away from Agent Henrickson. Dean shook his head and Sam looked down at the floor, toeing the ground with the front of his shoe. Agent Henrickson sighed as he saw them all blatantly avoid his questioning.

"Were y'all gonna say some demons? Don't you even fucking dare say demons. Now, let me tell you all something. You three should be a lot more scared of me than some motherfucking demons."

Agent Henrickson gave them one last cold glare before walking out of the holding cell room.

"How's your shoulder?" asked Sam, looking at Henrickson's retreating form as he asked Dean a question.

Dean pulled the handkerchief from off his shoulder and out of his jacket, seeing that it was already halfway covered in blood.

"It's just perfectly awesome," he said sarcastically, giving Sam and Alex a fake smile along with it.

Sam looked at him sadly and Alex shrugged, not really knowing what to do or say.

"I'll live. You know, if we actually get out of here alive," said Dean, throwing the handkerchief off to the side of the cell.

"So do either one of you have a plan?"

Sam and Alex shook their heads, looking at Dean's shoulder to see how bad his wound really was. Dean looked down at the ground, wincing as they prodded around in his shoulder. When he looked up again, he saw Nancy, the secretary, lurking around the corner of the holding cell room. She was staring directly at them, her eyes wide and obviously curious.

"Hey, look," whispered Dean, nodding over to her as Sam and Alex looked over to finally see her standing there, in the corner.

"Hey! Hey, uh, please, please, we need your help," pleaded Sam.

He walked towards the cell door to talk to her more clearly as Alex stayed back with Dean.

"It's Nancy. Nancy, right? Nancy, my brother's been shot and he's actually bleeding pretty badly. Do you think maybe you could get us a towel? Please, just one, clean towel?" asked Sam.

Nancy still just stared at them, so Alex sighed and walked over to where Sam stood, gently pushing him aside. He looked at her questioningly and Alex just shook her head before turning her attention over to Nancy.

"Look at us, please. We're definitely not the bad guys here, I swear," pleaded Alex, giving Nancy a soft smile.

Dean and Sam gave their best soft smiles towards her as well, but Nancy turned around and fled back around the corner, her heels clicking down the hallway as she walked away. Sam sighed and Dean turned away from them.

"Nice try, guys."

Sam turned away too, but Alex watched the doorway. She smacked Sam's arm when Nancy suddenly reappeared around the corner, a clean, white towel clutched within her small hands. She hesitantly walked towards them.

"Thank you," said Alex, smiling at the girl, who was probably about her own age.

Nancy took small, hesitant steps towards them and Alex held up her hands, her palms forward.

"It's alright, Nancy," she said, still smiling softly and gently at the young woman.

Nancy stepped forward and reached through the bars, her eyes wide, but she was starting to smile softly at them. That all changed when Alex grabbed her wrist as she handed her the towel. Nancy began screaming and an officer came charging into the room, his shotgun raised and pointed at Alex.

"What the hell is going on in here?"

He glanced over at Nancy, who was holding her wrist to her chest and breathing heavily as she stared at Alex.

"You alright, Nance?"

Nancy nodded and the man looked back at the siblings.

"You try anything like that again and I'll shoot something other than your arm. You understand?"

Alex nodded and the officer allowed Nancy to leave first, following her out of the holding cell room.

"Alex, what in the hell was that about?" asked Dean.

Alex unraveled the folded up towel and held up a wooden rosary that Nancy had been wearing on her wrist. Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Huh," he said.

"How many do you guys figure are out there?" asked Alex, sitting in between her brothers on the small cot in the cell.

"Hell if we know," said Sam.

Dean nodded along with him.

"It's kind of crazy, isn't it? I mean, it's like they're coming straight for us. They've certainly never done that before," said Dean.

Sam's brow furrowed as he thought about what Dean was saying and Alex just sighed, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes. Dean chuckled under his breath to himself and smirked at his siblings.

"It's like they got a contract out for us. You guys think it's because we're so incredibly awesome? I think it's because we're so awesome."

Sam and Alex looked at Dean and Dean's smile faded as he saw how serious they looked. They looked up as an officer walked into the room and headed straight for the cell door, getting out his ring of keys. He unlocked the door, never looking at them as he slid it open.

"Uh, Sheriff?" asked Sam.

"It's time to go, kids," he said, finally looking up at them.

When none of them moved, he began walking into the cell as the siblings backed away from him, further into the cell.

"Uh, you know what? We're just comfy right here, but thanks, anyway," said Dean.

Agent Henrickson stepped into the doorway of the cell then and he looked over at the sheriff.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" asked Agent Henrickson.

"I'm tired of just sitting around here and waiting to die. Now, we're gonna make a run for it," said the sheriff, never looking over at Agent Henrickson.

"It's safer here," said Agent Henrickson.

"There's a squad facility in Boulder."

"We're not going anywhere."

"The hell we're not!"

The sheriff finally looked over at Agent Henrickson, who instantly pulled out his own gun and shot the sheriff straight in the head. Sam and Dean rushed towards Agent Henrickson, each one of them grabbing both of his arms. They shoved him over to the toilet, shoving his face inside the bowl. Using the rosary Alex had grabbed from Nancy's wrist, they had managed to turn the toilet bowl water into holy water. Dean held Henrickson's gun in his good hand as Alex began chanting the exorcism, Sam holding Henrickson's face down into the bowl. The only other officer left in the station came rushing into the room with his shotgun, but Dean held the gun out, aimed at the man.

"Stay back!" yelled Dean.

Nancy walked into the room seconds later and Dean looked at Sam, who was starting to struggle with holding Henrickson's head down as the demon inside Henrickson began struggling.

"Alex, hurry up," urged Dean.

"It's too late. I already called them. They're already coming," said Henrickson, as his head lifted from the toilet momentarily.

Sam plunged Henrickson's head back into the bowl of holy water as Alex began talking faster, the Latin flowing freely and fluidly off of her tongue as if she'd been speaking it her whole entire life. As she finished the exorcism, the demon inside Henrickson escaped from his mouth, a black cloud of smoke flying up into the air and disappearing. Sam let go of Henrickson's body, which was now dead weight, and Henrickson's body fell to the floor beside the small cot in the cell. Sam was panting from the struggle he had just faced by holding Henrickson down and Nancy stepped closer to the cell.

"Is he… is he dead?" she hesitantly asked.

Suddenly, Henrickson sat up, coughing profusely. He looked around the cell, his eyes wide as he took everyone in.

"Henrickson. Hey," called out Sam.

"Is that you in there?" asked Alex.

Henrickson pulled himself up off of the floor, using the edges of the cot to do so, before sitting down on the cot. Little sweat beads covered his face and neck.

"I, uh. I shot the sheriff," said Agent Henrickson, after a brief pause.

Dean glanced over at the sheriff's dead body and then a smirk came over his face.

"But you didn't shoot the deputy," he remarked.

Sam looked up at him, not laughing at all, but Alex briefly chuckled. Sam looked at her and Alex just shrugged.

"What? It was pretty funny, Sammy, come on," said Alex.

She fist bumped Dean, but then they both became serious again.

"I mean, a few minutes ago, I was perfectly fine, and then…"

"Let me guess. Some nasty black smoke jammed itself down your throat?" asked Dean, looking at Agent Henrickson.

"You were possessed," explained Sam, who was still sitting against one side of the cell, the bars pressing uncomfortably into his back.

Agent Henrickson's eyes were wide as he looked between the three siblings.

"Now you get the biggest, 'I told you so' ever," said Dean.

He handed Henrickson's gun back to him and Henrickson took it. He stood up from his place on the cot and began walking out of the cell.

"Officer Miche. Keys, please."

Officer Miche handed Henrickson the key ring from off of his belt. Henrickson took them and unlocked all three of the siblings, the chains falling to the floor with loud clangs as they hit the cement floor.

"Alright. So how do we survive?" asked Agent Henrickson, looking at all three of the Winchester siblings, who were now standing before him.

Back in the reception and lobby area, Sam had a can of spray paint and he was spray-painting a Devil's Trap right in front of the doors. Dean was looking over a floor plan of the whole building as Alex patched his shoulder up. He had taken off his first shirt and was now in just a t-shirt as Alex worked on his shoulder, taping gauze over it to help staunch the bleeding. Agent Henrickson and Officer Miche brought in all of the guns they could find around the place, while Nancy stood somewhat behind Alex, still wary of her and the boys because of the earlier incident. Dean looked over from the floor plan as he saw them set the guns down on an empty desk.

"Although those are all nice, they're not gonna do us much good."

"We've got an arsenal here," said Officer Miche, looking at Dean like he was insane.

Dean sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You don't poke a bear with a BB gun because it's just gonna make him mad."

"So what do you need?" asked Agent Henrickson, loosening up his tie from around his neck.

"Salt. Lots and lots of salt," said Alex, still looking at Dean's shoulder as she spoke.

"Salt?" asked Officer Miche.

"What, is there an echo in here?" asked Dean.

"There's road salt in the store room," said Nancy, speaking up from her spot behind Alex a few steps.

Dean looked over at her and so did Alex.

"That's perfect. Perfect! Now, we need salt at every window and every door," said Dean.

Agent Henrickson and Officer Miche took off, in search of the salt and where to use it. Alex finished taping up Dean's shoulder and Dean looked over at Nancy.

"How are you holding up, Nancy?"

She smiled gently at him, still standing somewhat far away.

"Okay. You know, when I was little, I would come home from church and my family and I would always end up talking about the devil. My parents would tell me to stop being so literal. I guess I showed them, huh?"

She smirked slightly as Alex placed the last piece of tape on Dean's shoulder.

"That should hold."

"Thanks, baby girl," said Dean.

He grabbed her by the arm before she could turn away from him and stood up, placing a kiss on her forehead and pulling her in for a tight hug. Alex placed her arms around him and Dean rested his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes as he breathed in her scent. Nancy watched this exchange, smiling gently at the love she saw between the two siblings. After a minute or two, Dean finally pulled away, placing another kiss on Alex's forehead before walking away from the desk and watching as Officer Miche carried in two huge bags of road salt from the storage room and placed them on an adjacent desk.

"Hey, where's my car?" asked Dean.

"Impound lot out back. But wait, you're not going out there, are you?" asked Officer Miche, looking at Dean like he was insane.

"Yeah, I've gotta get something out of my trunk."

Dean ran outside to the back impound lot, beginning to unlock the gate that was in front of him. He looked around as he picked at the lock on the gate, making sure no one nor nothing was following him. After a few seconds of quick work, he pulled the lock away from the gate and opened the gate, rushing inside the impound lot. As he ran towards the back of the lot, he pulled the car keys from out of his right jacket pocket. He unlocked the trunk and grabbed the duffel bag from inside the trunk. He took a quick glance around, made sure no one was there, and then he lifted the floor of the trunk upwards, revealing the arsenal he had stashed underneath the floor of the trunk. He began shoving all sorts of weapons inside the duffel bag, working quickly. As he was finishing up, he grabbed the trunk lid, moving to close it. The wind suddenly began whipping all around and the streetlamps flickered. Dean grabbed a bag of charms that was hanging from the trunk lid and turned around, glancing behind him. He looked past the streetlamp and saw a huge cloud of black smoke moving quickly towards him. He threw his duffel bag over his shoulder, slammed the lid of the trunk closed, and ran back towards the police station.

Dean ran in to the building through the set of back doors, pulling them closed as he stepped into the building.

"They're coming!" he yelled.

Sam looked up from his work of spray painting and they all heard Nancy scream as a cloud of black smoke hovered around the window she was standing around.

"Hurry!" yelled Dean, running farther into the building.

Sam began spray painting faster on the floor as Agent Henrickson, Nancy, and Officer Miche poured road salt all over the window sills and crevices around them. Alex stood in the middle of the lobby area as everyone finished up their respective jobs and huddled in the middle of the room together. Dean threw a sawed off shotgun to Sam, who caught it effortlessly as it arched through the air towards him. He simply handed one to Alex, since she was standing right beside him, and then he pulled out a gun for himself. The room suddenly darkened as the demons finally approached the building, the black smoke resting in front of the windows. The whole entire building shook as the demons tried to claw their way inside. Nancy held onto the cross necklace she was wearing as tight as she possibly could, her fingers shaking. Dust fell from the ceiling as the building continued shaking profusely. Suddenly, the shaking stopped and the windows cleared up, letting what little moonlight there was, back into the room. Sam looked over at Alex and Dean.

"Everybody okay?" asked Sam, looking around at the other three occupants of the room.

"Define okay," said Agent Henrickson.

Dean moved over to the closest desk and set down his gun.

"Alright, everyone needs to put these on. It'll keep us from all being possessed."

He grabbed the small bag of charms he had grabbed from his trunk and began handing one necklace out to every occupant of the room. They put the necklaces on their necks quickly and Nancy turned to look at the three siblings as Dean placed the bag of necklaces back into his duffel bag.

"What about you three?" she asked them.

Dean, Alex, and Sam sighed and pulled down their shirts a little bit, revealing the tattoos of the charm on their chests, right below their collarbones, but right above their hearts.

"Smart. How long have you had those?" asked Agent Henrickson, his hands on his hips as he looked at the three of them.

"Not long enough," remarked Sam.

Alex sighed and Dean turned back to his duffel bag, messing around with all of his guns.

An hour or so later, Nancy was standing around by one of the many windows and she looked outside. Outside stood a number of people, looking in on them from a couple feet away. Nancy squinted to get a closer look at the numerous people.

"Hey, that's Jenna Rubner!"

"It's not Jenna anymore," said Sam, looking out of the window as well and seeing Jenna's black eyes.

"So that's where all that black smoke went?"

"Yep, looks like it," answered Sam.

As Dean stood talking to Agent Henrickson, the sound of glass shattering spoiled their conversation. They ran out of the room with their shotguns and ran into a smaller interrogation room, where Sam, Alex, Nancy, and Officer Miche already stood, looking at the intruder.

"How do we kill her?" asked Agent Henrickson, his shotgun raised at the woman intruder.

"We don't kill her," said Sam, pushing the barrel of Agent Henrickson's gun back down again.

"What? Are you kidding?" asked Officer Miche, looking at Sam like he was going crazy.

"She's here to help us," said Sam.

He walked forward towards Ruby and Dean shook his head, sighing as he hung his head down towards his chest. Alex just rolled her eyes.

"Are you gonna let me out?" asked Ruby.

She nodded down towards the trap that was drawn on the floor and Sam crouched down, rubbing his knife across the freshly painted trap, letting Ruby out of it. She stepped forward and walked past all of them to get out of the room. Dean and Alex shook their heads and walked out after her, Nancy and Agent Henrickson quickly following them. Sam walked over to the window, peering over at the windowsill and the salt that had been disturbed there.

Ruby walked into the lobby area, Alex and Dean closely following behind her.

"So how many are out there?" asked Dean.

"Oh, 30, at least. But that's only so far."

Ruby perched herself on the edge of one of the desks in the room and looked over at Dean.

"Oh, great. 30 hitmen, all gunning for us. Who sent them?"

Ruby looked over at Sam as he stepped into the room, the last one to enter. She cocked her head to the side as she stared at him.

"You didn't tell Dean?"

Alex and Dean raised their eyebrows, looking from Sam to Ruby.

"Tell me what?" asked Dean.

"Sammy?" asked Alex, taking her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"Well, there's a new up-and-comer," explained Ruby, still looking over at Sam, who was now leaning against the wall across the room, away from all of them.

"Well, who is he?" asked Dean.

Ruby's head snapped over to look at him.

"Not him. Her. Her name is Lilith."

"Lilith?" asked Dean.

Ruby nodded.

"And she really, really wants Sam's intestines on a stick. I guess she sees him as some sort of competition."

Ruby smirked and crossed her legs at the ankles as Dean and Alex looked over at Sam.

"You knew about this?" asked Dean.

Sam said nothing, but instead, he just took a deep breath.

"Well, geez, Sam. Is there anything else I should know?" yelled Dean.

"Don't blame Sam, alright, Dean? I knew too," whispered Alex.

Dean looked at his little sister who was standing beside him and just shook his head. Ruby scoffed.

"Can the three of you please just talk and work this all out later?"

When no one said anything, she looked over at Sam.

"We'll need the Colt."

Sam looked down at the floor, taking a deep breath. Ruby looked at Alex, whose eyes were wide and fearful, and then she looked at Dean, who slowly sat himself on the edge of another desk and looked over at Ruby, his eyes wide as well.

"Where's the Colt?" asked Ruby.

Dean began to answer, but just hung his head.

"It got stolen," said Sam, his voice low and deep.

"I'm sorry, I must have blood in my ear. I thought you just said you were stupid enough to let the Colt get stolen out of your thick, clumsy, and idiotic hands," yelled Ruby.

"You know what, bitch? You can shut your dirty fucking mouth before I come over there and slap the shit out of you," seethed Alex.

Dean's eyebrows rose and he whistled lowly as Ruby stood up from her seat on the desk, shooting Alex a glare and muttering under her breath. Ruby's back was turned to all of them as she stood up and thought. She finally turned back around after a few minutes of tense silence.

"Fine. There's only one other way I can think of to get you all out of here alive."

"And what's that?" asked Dean.

"I know a spell. It'll vaporize every demon within a one mile radius. Myself included. So you let the Colt out of your sight and now I have to die," threatened Ruby, looking over at Sam hatefully.

Alex sighed and looked down at the floor.

"And where's the problem with that?" mumbled Alex.

Dean chuckled under his breath as Ruby glared at Alex. Sam let a small smile slip through his hardened features. Alex looked up at Ruby, smiling brightly at Ruby's hateful glare. Dean and Alex fist bumped, directly in front of Ruby. Agent Henrickson, Nancy, and Officer Miche looked at them, their faces showing no emotion. Dean stood up from his perch on the edge of the desk and looked over at Ruby, who was sitting back down again.

"Okay. So what do we need to do?" he asked.

Ruby looked over at him.

"Aww, you can't do anything. This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue."

"I got virtue," said Dean.

Ruby chuckled.

"Well, nice try anyway, but, uh, you're definitely not a virgin."

Dean laughed at Ruby and glanced around the room quickly.

"Um, news flash here, Ruby. No one's a virgin."

Ruby sighed and imperceptibly tilted her head over in Nancy's direction, her eyes wide. Nancy crossed her arms over her chest and looked to her left, trying to play it cool, as they all looked over at her. Dean cocked his head to the side.

"What? No. No way. You're kiddin' me, you're…"

"What? It's a choice, okay?" said Nancy, trying to defend herself.

"So, wait. You mean, you've never… Not even once? I mean, not even… Wow," said Dean, as Nancy shook her head at everything he had attempted to ask her.

"So, this spell. What can I do?" asked Nancy, looking over at Ruby now.

Ruby stood up and walked over to Nancy.

"You can hold still… while I cut your heart out of your chest," finished Ruby as she stood a few feet in front of Nancy now.

Nancy stood up from her slightly seated position quickly.

"What?"

"Whoa, what are you? Crazy?" asked Dean, coming up behind Ruby then.

"I'm offering a solution."

"You're also offering to kill somebody."

"And what exactly do you think is gonna happen to this girl once the demons get in, huh, Dean?" asked Ruby, practically yelling at him.

"All the people out there. Will it save them?" asked Nancy quietly.

Ruby looked at her.

"If their bodies are okay, then, yes," answered Ruby.

Nancy nodded firmly.

"Then I'll do it."

"Hell no," protested Henrickson.

"Nancy, you don't need to do this," said Alex, who was now standing beside Sam.

"All my friends are out there," said Nancy.

"We don't sacrifice people. If we even begin to think about doing that, we're no better than them," said Agent Henrickson.

"We don't have any other choice," said Ruby, looking at Agent Henrickson.

"Yeah, well. Your choice is not a choice," yelled Dean.

Ruby looked over at Sam and Alex then.

"Sam. You know I'm right."

Dean's eyebrows rose as he also looked over at his little brother. Sam's lips were pursed and Alex stared at her twin, her eyes wide. Sam looked past Ruby and at Dean, who gave a sarcastic chuckle.

"Sam."

Sam said nothing, but just continued looking at his brother.

"What the hell is going on? Sam, tell her!" yelled Dean.

Nancy sighed and stood up straight, nodding her head.

"Well, it's my decision."

Ruby smirked and glanced at Nancy.

"Damn straight."

"Stop! Stop!" yelled Dean.

Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Nobody needs to kill any virgins. Sam, Alex, I need to talk to the both of you," said Dean.

He walked towards them and the three of them headed into the hallway away from the group in the lobby. They carried their shotguns with them and once they were in the hallway and out of earshot, Dean whirled around, facing Alex and Sam.

"Please tell me you're not actually considering this. I mean, we're talking about holding down a girl and cutting out her whole entire fucking heart."

"And we're also talking about 30 people out there, Dean. Innocent people, who are all gonna die along with everyone in here," answered Sam.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that we throw away the rulebook and stop acting like humans! I'm not gonna let that damn demon kill some poor, innocent girl who hasn't even ever been laid. I mean, look. If that's how you win wars, then I don't wanna win," defended Dean.

"Then what? What do we do, Dean?" asked Sam, throwing his arms out and raising his eyebrows.

"I got a plan. Open the doors and let 'em all in. Then, we fight," whispered Alex.

Sam looked at her like she was crazy. Dean smirked.

"That's my girl."

"Did you get the equipment to work?" asked Dean, watching as Sam re-entered the lobby area.

"Yeah."

"So?" asked Alex.

"So I still say this is fucking insane," answered Sam.

Ruby scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"It's not gonna work."

She hopped up from her perch on one of the desks and began walking away from all of them.

"So long, kids."

"What? So you're just gonna leave?" asked Sam.

Ruby whirled around, her blonde hair flying across her shoulders as she spun around to face them once again.

"Hey! I was gonna kill myself to help you win, but I'm not gonna stand here and watch you lose."

She took a few steps closer to Sam, staring directly at him.

"And I'm disappointed. I tried, but clearly, I bet on the wrong horse. Now, would you mind letting me out?" she asked.

Sam sighed, but led her out of the room and out of the building. Once he returned, they all began to prepare for the fight ahead of them. Dean led Alex to the door that she would be in charge of, fighting off demons.

"Alright, are you all set?" asked Dean, looking her over and making sure she had all the weapons she would need.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Dean, I know what I'm doing. Just leave, I'll be alright. See you when this is all over?" asked Alex, smiling brightly at her oldest brother.

Dean smirked and winked at his little sister.

"Oh, absolutely. Stay strong, little sis."

Alex laughed as her brother went to his own door to guard.

Once Dean was in place, he called out to everyone.

"You ready?" he yelled.

"Yeah!" yelled back Alex, Sam, and Agent Henrickson.

Dean brushed the salt out of the way with his foot and crouched down, using his knife to swipe away the Devil's Trap that Sam had spray-painted on the floor only hours earlier. He stood up, kicking open the door that led outside, and waited. Alex, Sam, and Agent Henrickson did the same, Alex taking a deep breath as she waited. Dean backed up, hiding somewhat around the corner for a surprise attack, but no one came inside.

Agent Henrickson was knocked backwards by a man who swung down from above the door.

Dean shot two demons, first a man and then a woman, as they both charged towards him.

Alex shot down one demon quickly as she waited for more to appear.

Sam shot a huge man that came barreling towards him, but then he was grabbed from behind by a different demon. The man pulled Sam down to the ground with him, but Sam quickly shot up, and hit the man in the face with the butt of his gun.

Agent Henrickson struggled against one demon's hold while other demons swiftly ran past him, into the building. Agent Henrickson struggled, but reached for the holy water that was in his shirt pocket.

"I hope this works," he said to himself as he removed the cap and threw it on the demon that was holding him.

The demon flinched backwards in pain, letting go of Agent Henrickson. Agent Henrickson backed up into the hallway, running into Dean. Dean quickly took advantage of their situation and reloaded his shotgun while Henrickson looked on, shooting any demons that ran inside. Once Dean's gun was reloaded, they parted ways once again.

Demons were rushing inside the building as Alex ran back into the front area where Sam was stationed. She saw him struggling with two demons and she knew many more were headed towards them. She shot two demons on her way over to Sam and she got a running start, jumping over the counter that rested in the middle of the room. She slid across the counter effortlessly and landed on her feet, punching a woman in the face as she ran towards her. Sam hit one man in the face with the butt of his gun. Sam reached inside his jacket and pulled out his bottle of holy water, spraying it all across the demons that were closest to him. They yelped in pain and scooted backwards, against the wall. Dean had entered the room and was standing against the wall behind Sam and Alex, who were now standing out from behind the counter and in the middle of a circle of demons. As the demons stood and stared at them, one woman stepped out from the crowd. She walked over to stand in front of Alex and Sam, stopping a few feet away from them. She smiled and held out her palm, flinging them against the opposite wall, along with Dean. The three siblings groaned as their backs hit the wall. Alex looked at Dean, who nodded.

"Henrickson, now!" yelled Dean.

Agent Henrickson hit one demon in the face with the butt of his gun before moving into an interrogation room. He hit a tape recorder and it began playing Sam's voice over the loud speakers throughout the whole police station. Sam was performing an exorcism and the demons all cringed as they heard what it was. Sam, Dean, and Alex were still stuck to the wall as they watched all of the demons in that station begin to go crazy, screaming and running around all over the place. They tried to escape from every door possible, but Nancy and Officer Miche had poured salt around outside of the doors, making it impossible for the demons to escape at all. They banged on the doors as hard as they possibly could, but nothing was happening. Alex closed her eyes, flinching slightly, as the demons began to leave their bodies, multiple clouds of black smoke flying up into the air. The clouds of smoke all rested on the top of the ceiling, a humongous cloud of black smoke still in the station building as the bodies fell to the floor. Sam's exorcism still played overhead and Sam and Dean closed their eyes as the black smoke exploded, bursting into flames and then disappearing from above them. The three siblings fell from the wall onto the floor, breathing heavily. They used the wall as leverage to climb back into a standing position and they all looked over as Agent Henrickson entered the room then. His lip was slightly bleeding and he rubbed a thumb over the cut, pulling it away to see the blood on his thumb. He chuckled as he looked over at them. Dean just shrugged and Agent Henrickson sighed.

About an hour or so later, Nancy helped another disoriented man leave the room, while Sam, Dean, and Alex stood in the lobby area with Agent Henrickson, who was looking over at the three of them.

"Well, I guess I better call in," he said.

"So what are you gonna tell them?" asked Sam.

Agent Henrickson smirked.

"Oh, the least ridiculous lie I can come up with within the next five minutes."

"Yeah, good luck with that," offered Dean.

"Um, not to pressure you or anything, but what are you planning to do about us?" asked Alex, quietly, as she bit her bottom lip and looked over at Agent Henrickson.

"I'm gonna kill you," said Agent Henrickson.

Dean's eyebrows rose, while Sam and Alex looked very confused.

"The Winchester siblings were in the chopper as it caught on fire last night. Absolutely nothing's left, can't even identify them with dental records."

Sam smirked and nodded at Agent Henrickson with respect, a small smile playing on his lips.

"So rest in peace, guys."

Agent Henrickson smiled and Sam stuck out his hand, offering to shake on it. Agent Henrickson obliged and Dean did the same, shaking his hand as well. Agent Henrickson looked at Alex, who smiled at him and he held out his arms for a hug. Alex stepped into his embrace for a few split seconds before pulling away and standing in between her brothers once again.

"Now, get out of here," said Agent Henrickson.

"Yeah," whispered Sam, nodding.

Sam hauled a duffel bag full of weapons over his shoulder and followed his siblings out the front door. He saw Agent Henrickson pick up the nearest office phone and begin to dial a number.

Sam was lying down on his motel room bed, Dean was sitting at the table, and Alex was sitting cross-legged on Dean's bed when there was a knock on the door. Dean looked at his younger siblings, who both just shrugged, and he stood up from his chair, pulling the door open to let Ruby walk inside. Sam sat up as Ruby walked further into the room, her arms crossed across her chest. She sighed.

"Turn on the news," she said.

Sam obliged, grabbing the remote from the side table. Alex scooted over so Dean could sit beside her on the motel room's ugly comforter on the top of the bed. They all watched the news as a woman reporter spoke of an explosion at the station that had killed everyone inside instantly. Dean sighed and held his head in his hands as Nancy's smiling face appeared on the screen. Officer Miche's face appeared next, along with Agent Henrickson's after that. Ruby stared at all of them, a smug look on her face, as she walked over a few steps, reached down, and flipped the Power button off on the TV. She stood back up and looked at the three of them.

"Must have happened right after we left," whispered Alex.

"Well, considering the size of the blast, smart money's on Lilith," said Ruby.

She tossed all three of them a small black bag and they held them in the palms of their hands, wary of what was inside. Ruby crossed her arms over her chest once again.

"What's in these?" asked Dean.

"Something that will protect you. Throw Lilith off of your trail. For the time being, at least," said Ruby, whispering the last part and rolling her eyes along with it.

"Thanks," said Sam, holding up the bag in her direction.

"Oh, don't thank me. Lilith killed everyone. She slaughtered your precious little virgin plus a half a dozen other people."

Dean sighed, closing his eyes at the mention of Nancy. Alex put her free hand on his knee, squeezing it in reassurance. Sam looked down at the floor.

"So after your big speech about humanity and war, it turns out your plan was the one with the body count. Do you three even know how to fight a battle? You strike fast and you don't leave any survivors. That way, no one can go running off to tell the boss. So next time, we go with my fucking plan," said Ruby.

She kept her arms crossed under her breasts as she stormed out of the room. Dean sighed as he heard the door slam closed behind her and he patted Alex's hand on his knee. Sam looked over at his siblings, sighing sadly.

A few days later, in the middle of the night, Dean drove the Impala past the Morton house, the next job they were investigating. Sam held his arm out of his passenger side window, a flashlight in his grasp, as they tried to get a good look at the supposedly haunted house. Dean drives past the house slowly, looking at the house with Sam and Alex, before speeding up and driving away. What the siblings don't see are Ed and Harry, the two boys who they ran into when they were working on an earlier job about a year before. Ed and Harry were ghost hunters in charge of a website and now the two of them were creating a TV show titled "Ghostfacers." Ed, Harry, and their team were breaking into the Morton house to investigate it as well.

Dean led the way into the Morton house that same night, Alex in the middle, and Sam bringing up the rear. As they stepped into a hallway, they saw two figures at the end of the hallway, holding flashlights and looking through the house as well.

"Freeze! Police officers!" yelled Dean.

They walked down the hallway, the two men now up against the wall as the three siblings approached.

"Let's see some identification," said Sam, glaring at the two men.

Alex looked at one of the men, thinking that he looked oddly familiar. She also noted that the other man had a headband wrapped around his forehead, with a very small camera on the headband. She wondered why they were filming. She watched as Dean looked at one man's ID.

"Would you care to explain why you're wearing that weirdo outfit, Mr., uh, Corbett?" asked Dean.

"Uh…" began the man, but then the other man spoke up.

"Whoa, I know you."

"Yeah, sure, you do. Now give me some identification," said Dean, holding his hand out towards the other man.

"No way, wait a second. I know all three of you guys, yeah. Yeah, huh."

"What?" asked the man named Corbett.

"Holy shit," said Sam, rolling his eyes.

Dean and Alex turned to look at their brother.

"What?" asked Alex.

"Uh, West Texas, the tolpa we had to take out? Those two goofballs that almost got us killed, um, the Hell Hounds, or something?" asked Sam.

Alex scoffed.

"Oh, yeah!" she said.

Dean, Alex, and Sam looked at the man who had recognized them, their flashlights shining directly in his face.

"Fuck me," whispered Dean.

"Um, yeah, we're not the Hell Hounds anymore, okay?"

"Ed, what's going on?" asked Corbett.

"They're not cops, buddy, no," smirked Ed, looking at Corbett and then back to Dean.

"Ed, Ed. You had a partner too, didn't you? Isn't he around here somewhere?" asked Dean.

Ed nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, he's uh, running around and chasing ghosts," replied Ed.

"Great. Well, listen. You and Corbett here need to gather up your little girlfriends and get the hell out of here," said Dean, his face suddenly serious.

Ed chuckled and stepped forward, only stopping once he was a few steps away from Dean.

"Listen here, chiseled chest, okay? We were here first, we've already set up base camp, and we beat you."

Alex rolled her eyes as Dean turned to his siblings.

"They were here first," he said.

Sam rolled his eyes and Dean turned back around to Ed, grabbing him by the shirt and lugging him backwards until Ed's back hit the wall. Ed groaned.

"Ed?" asked Dean.

"Yeah?"

"Where's your partner?"

Ed led them all out of the hallway and into what would've been considered the living room, where all of their equipment was set up.

"What are you doing at the Morton house, Ed? Huh? On leap year, what are you thinking?" yelled Dean.

He followed directly behind Ed into the living room/base camp area and stood in the middle of the room, Alex and Sam directly behind him and Corbett stood next to Ed.

"We're here to spend the night, okay? It's for our TV show," answered Ed.

"What? Great, perfect," muttered Alex, sarcastically.

"Yeah, no one's ever spent the night before," said Corbett, sounding very excited.

Dean looked over at Corbett, his eyebrows raised.

"Uh, actually, yeah , they have."

"Uh, we've never heard of them," shot back Ed.

"Yeah, you know why? Because the ones that have, haven't lived to talk about it!" yelled Dean.

"Oh, c'mon, I don't believe you," laughed Ed.

Sam sighed and set the large duffel bag that he was carrying over his shoulder on the ancient desk that Ed was standing behind. He unzipped it quickly and began pulling out files. Alex held her flashlight above him so he could see what he was doing.

"Look, missing persons reports going back almost a half century."

He pulled out the papers, unfolded them, and pointed to them as he spoke, Ed slowly walking towards him and looking at the papers Sam held in his hands.

"Um, John Grare, stayed on a dare, gone. Julie Wilkinson, gone. There are tons more. All of them came just to stay the night through, always on a leap year. The only body they ever found was the last owner, Freeman Dagget."

Ed took the papers from Sam's hands and began flipping through all of the missing posters they had collected over the last week.

"These look legit," whispered Ed.

"They are legit! Look, Ed, we ain't got much time here, buddy! Starting at midnight, your friends are going to die," said Alex.

Suddenly, they all turned to look at the stairs as Ed's partner and two other people came rushing down the stairs, screaming and yelling as they did so. They ran into the room, both scared and excited.

"Corbett, we saw one, we saw one! It was a full apparition!" yelled Harry, Ed's partner in crime.

Harry and the other two people stopped yelling when they spotted Sam, Alex, and Dean all standing together, off to the side. The three siblings looked at Harry and his friends like they were complete idiots. Harry looked to them and Ed, then back again.

"Hey. Aren't those the fuckers from Texas?" asked Harry, looking at Ed and pointing to the Winchesters.

"Yes," said Ed.

Dean stepped forward, back into the middle of the room, Sam and Alex right behind him.

"Alright, let's have this reunion across the street, guys, c'mon," said Dean.

His breath was wasted as they all rushed over to the computers, showing Ed and Corbett the video of what they had just seen only moments before.

"Look, honest to God proof," said the woman, whose name was Maggie.

Dean walked over to join everyone else as they gathered around the little tiny computer screen, watching the apparition. Dean cocked his head to the side as he watched the video. Alex nodded to her brothers and they walked over to the side, not noticing that a camera was trained on their every move as they spoke.

"Think we were off on this? That was just a death echo," said Alex.

"Yeah, but what's it doing here? Did anybody get shot here?" asked Dean, as they walked closer to the stairs so they wouldn't be heard.

"No, not that I could find," said Sam.

"What's a death echo?" called out the cameraman.

All three of the Winchester's heads snapped up to look over at him.

"Look, we got a problem here and that ghost ain't it," said Sam, looking directly into the camera as he spoke.

"But what's a death echo?" repeated the man, sounding very bored.

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes, but she looked into the camera, answering his question.

"Look, echoes are trapped in a loop, okay? They keep replaying how they died over and over and over again, usually in the place where they were killed. It's about as dangerous as a scary movie."

"Maybe the echo's not dangerous, but maybe something else is," said Dean, beginning to move back into the living room where everyone else was still stationed.

"Alright, alright, we need to get out of here, guys, c'mon! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" he yelled.

"Pack it up!" yelled Alex.

"You guys, time is running out," said Sam.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What about all of our equipment?" asked the girl, Maggie.

Sam, Alex, and Dean had managed to drag them away from their computers and were leading them towards the front door of the house. They all stopped when Ed hollered out.

"Wait, wait, wait! Where's Corbett?" he asked.

They all began looking around for Corbett when suddenly, they heard a scream from upstairs. They all stopped what they were doing.

"That was Corbett," said Ed, once the screaming had stopped.

"Corbett!"

"Corbett!"

"Corbett!"

The whole Ghostfacers team ran up the stairs after Corbett, calling out for him.

"Guys, wait!" yelled Sam, but it was no use.

Sam, Alex, and Dean stood by the stairs, watching as the whole team disappeared around the corner as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Shit!" yelled Sam.

Alex sighed, but followed her brothers up the stairs. They finally caught up to the team as the screaming resumed and it was finally midnight.

"Corbett's not here. So let's move!" yelled Sam.

"Let's go, let's go!" yelled Dean.

"Move, move!" yelled Alex, ushering them all down the hallway on the second floor. They finally managed to get them all downstairs and back into the living room.

"What's happened? Oh, God," said Ed, removing the light from around his head and setting it on the desk in front of him.

"He's gone. He just disappeared," whispered Ed.

He walked around the desk and joined Maggie and Harry, who were looking at the computer screen.

Sam, Alex, and Dean were standing at the bottom of the staircase, right by the front door of the house. Dean was leaning his arms on the wall, his head resting on his arms as Alex and Sam stood beside him.

"Well, it's now 12:04, Dean. Are you good, you happy?" asked Sam, sarcastically.

Dean pushed himself off of the wall and glared at Sam.

"Yeah, I'm happy," shot back Dean.

"Let's go hunt the Morton house, you said. It's like the Grand Canyon."

"Sam, I don't wanna hear it."

"You got two months left, Dean. But instead, we're gonna die tonight."

Sam grabbed a wooden chair that was resting beside the staircase and used it to attempt to break down the front door. Instead, the chair was broken in half. Alex flinched as Sam threw the broken pieces of the chair down onto the floor.

"Whoa, what the hell's going on, guys?" asked Harry, rushing over to them.

"I'll tell you what the hell's going on. Every door, every window, and I'm guessing every exit out of this house, they're all sealed," said Sam.

"Why, why are they all sealed?" asked Maggie.

"It's a supernatural lockdown, okay? Whatever took Corbett doesn't want us to leave. It's no death echo, it's a bad mother fucker and it wants us scared," explained Alex.

"Or it just wants us," said Maggie.

"Uh, guys, the camera's fritzing again," said the cameraman.

"EMF's starting to spike!" exclaimed Ed.

"This is a big one!" yelled Harry.

"Everyone stay close, this is a big one," said Sam.

Sam looked up the stairs, while Dean and Alex kept an eye on the team. A few moments later, another death echo appeared in the living room where they had been previously standing only moments before. Sam turned to watch the death echo.

"Is this the same echo you guys saw earlier?" asked Dean.

Harry, Maggie, and the cameraman shook their heads.

"Uh-nuh," said Harry.

"Um, no, it's a different guy," said the cameraman.

Dean turned to look at Alex and Sam.

"Multiple death echoes? What the hell's going on?" he asked them.

"Beats me," said Sam, turning his attention back to the death echo.

"Okay, okay, alright, alright, alright," said Dean.

He stepped away from the group and walked over to the man in the death echo, waving his arms in front of him and yelling into the man's face.

"Hey, buddy! Wake up, alright?" yelled Dean.

"You're dead! Hello?"

"What's he doing?" asked Ed, looking to Sam and Alex for help.

"It's really rare, but sometimes you can shock an echo out of its loop if you can talk to the part of the ghost that's still human. But usually, you have to have some sort of connection to the deceased," explained Alex, watching her older brother attempt to talk to the death echo.

"Come on, wake up, be dead!" yelled Dean.

Suddenly, it sounded like a train was heading for them. The whistle sounded louder and louder, but nothing ever happened to them. The death echo cringed and held up his hands to try and protect himself, but he was flung backwards and everyone let out a small yelp as he disappeared. Dean looked at Alex and Sam.

"There's no record of this anywhere. No one got shot here, obviously no one's gotten run over by a train," said Dean.

They were all walking through the house, staying close by one another.

"Stay close," said Sam.

"Did the echoes take Corbett?" asked Maggie, who was walking behind Dean.

"Yes. Wait, no. I don't know, we don't know what's doing it. That's what we're trying to figure out," said Dean.

"Stay close," said Alex, looking at the cameraman.

Sam joined her and looked at the cameraman and Maggie.

"Okay, look. Death echoes are ghosts, okay? Now, ghosts usually haunt places where they lived or where they died…"

"But these loops didn't live or die here," finished Alex.

"So what are they doing here?" asked Maggie.

"Hey, give the lady a cigar," said Dean, smiling sarcastically at Maggie and the cameraman behind him.

He followed the rest of them into a room that resembled an office. There were heads of a buck and a moose on the walls and an old file cabinet in one corner. Sam had begun picking through the filing cabinet. He brushed some glass off of an old picture frame that held some sort of certificate in it.

"Freeman Dagget. The last owner that lived here, conducted for 20 years of fine service at the Gambler's General Hospital," said Sam, reading from the certificate.

"This guy was a doctor?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam.

Sam looked back at his brother.

"Janitor."

"What'd you say he died, '64?" asked Dean, walking away from the desk.

"Yeah, heart attack," answered Sam.

"Huh," said Alex.

She had found a small table full of papers and all sorts of pamphlets. She held one small pamphlet up and showed it to everyone.

"'Survival Under Atomic Attack.'"

"An optimist," muttered Sam.

Alex chuckled slightly and they both looked over at Dean as he pried open a locked cabinet in another corner of the room. Dean reached inside the cabinet and pulled out a large rectangular, metal box, setting it down on the desk in the middle of the room. He opened the box and began sifting through it, shoving papers off to the side.

"Crap, crap," muttered Dean.

Sam and Alex reached inside the box as well, helping Dean look through some of the papers.

"You said Dagget was the hospital janitor?" asked Dean.

"Yeah," said Sam.

"Eww. We got three toe tags here," said Dean, holding the tags in his hands.

"One, death by gunshots. Train accident. And suicide," said Dean.

He looked over at Alex and Sam, both of whom had their noses scrunched up in utter disgust.

"Eww," they said at the same time.

"What?" asked Harry, whispering.

"Well, that explains why all the death echoes are here," said Alex.

Harry and Ed still looked confused, so Sam rolled his eyes, sighing.

"They're here because their bodies are here. Somewhere in the house," said Sam.

Harry and Ed looked like they were trying to put the pieces together, both of them looking towards the ceiling as if they were thinking profusely.

"Dagget brought their remains home from the morgue. To play," said Dean, looking into the camera.

Ed and Harry looked at one another, their faces registering disgust at the exact same moment.

"Eww," they said in unison.

"That's nasty, dude," said the cameraman.

"Wait a minute," said Dean, looking around at all of them in the room.

"Where's Maggie?" he asked.

Dean walked down the hallway and found Maggie in another room on the second floor. She spun around and gasped when she saw him looking at her through the camera she held.

"Stay closer to the herd, okay?" asked Dean.

He turned around as the rest of them found their way into the room. Alex wandered off to a small desk in the corner of the room and picked up a paperweight that was resting on the edge of the desk. She was holding it in her hands, looking at it, when suddenly, the cameras began fritzing out once again. A split second later, Alex was no longer in the room, having suddenly disappeared.

"Dean. Where's Alex?" asked Sam, looking around the room, but not seeing his twin sister.

Dean looked around the room as well, but still couldn't find her.

"Alex?"

Dean and Sam walked over to where Alex had been standing.

"Where'd she go?" asked Maggie, huddling into Harry's side.

Dean looked down at his feet and Sam crouched down, picking up Alex's flashlight from the ground.

"Alex!" yelled Dean.

Sam turned off the flashlight and followed Dean out of the room and down the hallway. The rest of the team followed behind them.

"Alex!" yelled Dean.

"Corbett! Talk to us!" yelled Harry.

"Alex!" yelled Sam.

Alex looked around at her surroundings, hearing music playing from somewhere beside her. Corbett was sitting at the same table she was seated at. He was sitting at the opposite end of the table, a cut on his forehead caked with dried blood and his little video camera still stuck on his hand. His head was lolled forward onto his chest.

"Corbett," she called out.

Corbett stirred slightly, so she called out his name again.

"Corbett. Corbett, hey, wake up, man."

Corbett finally sat up and blinked a few times, taking in his surroundings slowly.

"Corbett, hey."

Corbett looked down at the end of the table, where Alex was located. She was tied to the chair, a cut on her forehead as well, but hers was still dripping slowly with blood. Her lip had a cut on it as well and there was blood in her long blonde hair.

"Alex?" asked Corbett.

"Corbett, hey. You gotta keep listening to the sound of my voice, alright? I'm right here," said Alex.

She watched Corbett struggle to keep his eyes open.

"Stay awake."

"Don't listen to her," said a deep, menacing voice from somewhere off in the room.

Alex looked over at the owner of the voice, glaring at him as he turned off the music abruptly. Alex's eyes widened as the man walked over to Corbett's end of the table and picked up some sort of metal stick that had a pointed end. Corbett began whimpering as the man walked behind him.

"Corbett, stay awake. Stay with me here," said Alex, panicking.

"Stay with me, you got it? I'm right here, please stay with me, buddy," pleaded Alex.

"Don't, don't, no!" cried Alex.

Alex watched as the man stuck the metal stick straight through the middle of Corbett's throat, killing him instantly.

"Corbett! Corbett!"

Alex watched as the man started up the music once again and Corbett's corpse had a shocked look on its face. Alex sighed.

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath.

"Where are you guys?" cried Maggie, following Sam, Dean, and the team back into the room where Alex had been taken from. Dean and Sam walked back over to the desk.

"Dean, Sam. What are you guys doing?" asked Harry.

"Okay, so, Dagget was a Cold War nut, okay? He was an amateur taxidermist, he liked to slow dance with cadavers, and all he ate was sea rations… So what the hell are we looking for?" yelled Dean, shoving a bunch of papers off of the desk as he became frustrated.

"Cold War life. He was scared," said Sam, looking at his older brother.

Realization dawned in Dean's eyes as he and Sam rushed from the room.

"He was scared, he was scared!" yelled Dean.

"He was scared? Scared of what? Wait, where are you guys going?" asked Harry, following Dean and Sam out of the room.

"Get away from me," said Alex, tensing up as Dagget walked towards her.

"This won't hurt. It's okay, it's okay," assured Dagget, leaning down towards her.

He placed a party hat on top of her head, snapping it on under her chin. Alex glared at him as he stepped away from her, relaxing only slightly.

"Where are you going?" asked Maggie, yelling at Sam and Dean as they rushed down the stairs.

"Guys like Dagget, who were really scared of the Cold War, built bomb shelters. And I'm guessing he's got one," said Dean.

"And I'll bet you it's in the basement," said Sam.

He pushed open the basement door that was located right next to the stairs and led the way down the stairs, Dean directly behind him, along with the cameraman. But before anyone else could walk down the stairs, the door was flung shut.

"Um, who closed the door?" asked the cameraman.

"It did. It wants to separate us," said Sam, watching as Dean walked back up to the door.

"Ed? Ed, listen to me. There's some salt in my duffel. Make a circle and get inside it," yelled Dean.

"Inside your duffel bag?" asked Ed, exchanging a curious glance with Harry.

"Inside the salt circle, you dumbasses!"

"Oh, yeah, yeah," said Ed.

He, Harry, and Maggie left the basement door and headed back into the living room, looking for Dean's duffel bag.

Dean shook his head and walked back down the stairs, leading the way into the basement. Sam and the cameraman followed closely behind him. Dean and Sam began searching for their little sister as Maggie, Ed, and Harry saw the death echo of Corbett upstairs.

"Hey, can I ask you guys something?" asked the cameraman, watching Sam and Dean search for their sibling.

"What?" asked Dean, not looking towards the man.

"Earlier, when you three were talking, Sam said you had two months left, Dean. What was that about?"

Sam scoffed.

"Eh, it's complicated," said Dean.

"Is it cancer?" asked the cameraman.

"Shut up," said Dean.

Sam stopped and looked at Dean.

"Dean. Do you hear that?" he asked.

Dean and the cameraman stopped moving around and talking and listened as well. Faint music sounded from somewhere and they strained to listen to it.

"It sounds like it's coming from behind this wall," said Dean.

He and Sam both moved towards the wall, pushing and shoving a large metal cabinet out of their way. Once the cabinet was pushed out of the way, they saw a large metal door built into the wall.

"Wow. You guys are strong," said the cameraman.

Dean flipped him off as Sam looked at the door. Dean and Sam began shoving the side of their bodies into the door, trying to break it down. They didn't have to try very hard because after the second try, the door fell down and they stepped into the bomb shelter where Alex was located. She stared at them as Dagget stepped towards them. Dean raised his shotgun and shot Dagget, who immediately disappeared. Dean and Sam ran past the corpses and rushed over to Alex, Dean setting down his gun to help Sam untie her. The cameraman looked at all the corpses through his camera. Dean and Sam got Alex untied in no time and she stood up quickly, brushing herself off. Dean threw an arm around her and pulled her into him, closing his eyes as he quickly kissed her forehead, thanking God she was safe. The cameraman groaned as he saw Corbett's dead body.

"Oh, no. Poor Corbett," he said.

The cameraman walked backwards as Sam, Dean, and Alex headed out of the bomb shelter. He was filming them as he walked backwards.

"So what's this Dagget guy's problem, anyway?" he asked them.

"Loneliness," said Alex.

"What, has he never heard of a real doll?" asked Dean.

"No, no, no. Dagget was the Norman Bates, stuff your mother kind of lonely. I mean, that's why he lifted these bodies from the morgue. He threw himself a birthday party. Except they were the only ones who would come. Anyway, so at midnight, he sealed them in the bomb shelter and then went upstairs and OD'd on horse tranqs," explained Alex.

Dean and Sam stared at her, confused.

"How do you know all of this?" asked Dean.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes, wincing as the movement hurt the fresh cut that was just above her eyebrow.

"'Cause he told me," she answered.

"Oh," said Dean.

Alex smiled sadly.

"Yeah."

"Well, okay. So now that he's dead, what? Same song, different verse? Trying to get people to come to his party?" asked Sam.

"Pretty much, yeah. And then they'll stay forever," answered Alex.

Back upstairs, Corbett's death echo had reappeared once again.

"Aww, Corbett," whispered Maggie.

Harry nodded, but then Ed looked at the both of them.

"Wait, guys. Guys, it's Corbett. He's, he's trapped, he's in a lot of pain, you know? We gotta, we gotta try and pull him out of his loop," said Ed.

He looked at Maggie and Harry, who said nothing and just looked back at him.

"We have to!" said Ed, standing up.

Maggie and Harry stood up as well. They watched as Ed stepped over the salt circle and walked over towards Corbett, who was whimpering.

"Corbett? Corbett, it's Ed. Corbett, listen to me, okay? I'm not gonna hurt you, listen. Listen. Oh, God, Corbett," said Ed, as he walked closer and closer to Corbett's shaking death echo.

Dean kept trying to break down the door as the cameraman kept filming. Alex was standing in front of Sam, but behind Dean when the cameraman's camera began fritzing in and out.

"Uh-oh, guys, I'm getting a ghost roll thing. Something's coming."

The cameraman fell down the stairs when he saw that Dagget was right in front of him. As Dagget leaned over him, Sam shot Dagget with his shotgun, causing him to disappear once again.

"I know how we can get through to Corbett," said Harry.

He grabbed Ed's shoulder and turned him around to face him.

"How?" asked Ed.

"Ed, he had feelings for you."

"Huh?"

"He wanted you. Ed, you know what you gotta do. You can do it. Ed. You've always been the brave one."

Ed began shaking his head.

"Yes, you can. You make us brave, right, Maggie?" asked Harry.

Maggie nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, you do, you totally do" she said, encouraging Ed.

"Ed, you gotta go be gay for that poor dead intern! You gotta send him into the light!" said Harry, pointing towards Corbett's death echo.

Ed looked at Corbett, then to Ed, then back to Corbett again before finally stepping away from Harry and Maggie in the sale circle. He walked slowly back over to Corbett's death echo.

"Corbett. Corbett, look. Hey, it's just Ed, buddy. It's just me. Hey, hey, Corbett, listen to me, listen to me. Okay. You meant… Corbett, you meant a lot to the team. You meant… you meant a lot to me," said Ed, a tear falling down his face as he spoke to Corbett.

"And you never, never backed down, never said a bad word. I remember that, Corbett. I remember that because I love you, Corbett. I really, truly love you. Do you remember that?" finished Ed.

He looked up at Corbett, who was now looking at him.

"Hey, Ed," whispered Corbett, as he looked at him.

"Yeah. Yeah, Corbett, it's me, yeah. Look, it's me. You gotta help us, man. You have to help us, Corbett, please. Please. Please, help us right now," begged Ed.

Dean, Sam, Alex, and the cameraman were back down in the basement, Dean having been unsuccessful in breaking down the door that led back upstairs. Sam looked at the cameraman, who was still breathing pretty heavily from his encounter with Dagget.

"Hey, just take it easy, man, alright?" said Sam.

The camera fritzed out once again and the cameraman saw Dagget standing directly behind Dean.

"Um, guys?"

Dean turned and his eyes widened as Dagget grabbed him and threw him across the room. He shoved Sam and Alex out of the way and headed straight for the cameraman. The camera fritzed out once again and the cameraman watched as Dagget turned, facing Corbett.

"Corbett?" asked the cameraman.

Corbett ran towards Dagget, tackling him to the ground. Once Corbett grabbed Dagget, the cameraman could see nothing but blinding white light. After a minute or so, the blinding light disappeared and the cameraman searched for Sam, Alex, and Dean. He saw Dean first.

"You alright, dude?" he asked Dean.

Dean stood up slowly, so the cameraman turned to Sam and Alex. Sam stood up first and then grabbed Alex's hand, lugging her up to a standing position.

"You alright?" he asked the two of them.

Dean met his siblings in the middle of the room, Sam looking a little worse for wear with a bloody nose and a cut on his cheek that was oozing blood. They walked upstairs and met Ed, Harry, and Maggie in the living room. Dean nodded and they all headed for the front door. They stepped outside into the early morning light, the sun almost risen all the way. Alex blinked at the bright sunlight and followed behind Sam as they walked down the three front porch steps. Once they had reached the bottom of the steps, Sam pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ed, patting Ed's shoulder as he did so. Sam nodded once at the camera, and then slung an arm over Alex's shoulders as they walked to the Impala behind Dean.

A few hours later, Sam, Alex, and Dean sat in Ed's garage, the Ghostfacers headquarters, and watched the episode that they had been filming at the Morton house. The Ghostfacers all stood behind them, watching as well and drinking beers.

"So, guys. What do you think?" asked Ed.

Dean chuckled, rubbing a hand over his face, while Sam and Alex looked at him, smiling.

"You know, I kinda think it was half awesome," answered Dean.

"Half awesome, that's full on good, right?" asked Maggie excitedly, looking around at everyone.

"Yeah, it's cool how you guys can honor Corbett's memory, while grossly exploiting his death, well done," said Sam.

"Yeah, that's, uh, a real tight tope you guys are walking," said Alex, standing up along with her brothers.

"Yep, alright guys," said Sam.

He followed his siblings as they began walking out, but they all turned back around when Ed began speaking to them.

"Nah, that's reality, man. Yeah, Corbett gave his life searching for the truth and it's our job over here to share it with the world."

The Ghostfacers team nodded from behind Ed, smug smiles on all of their faces.

"Right, well, from our experience, you know what you get when you show the world the truth?" asked Alex.

"A straitjacket. Or a punch in the face, sometimes both, even," answered Dean.

"Right," said Sam, smiling at them.

"Oh, c'mon, guys. Don't be Facer haters just because we happen to have gotten the footage of the century," said Harry, pointing to the computers.

"Oh, yeah," said Ed, staring at them with his hands on his hips.

Alex gave a fake smile.

"Well, you sure got us there," she said, looking at her brothers.

Sam and Dean nodded profusely.

"Well, we'll see you guys around," said Dean.

Sam gave a wave of his hand and they finally made their way out of the garage. Ed went over and shut the door behind them. He looked at his team, his eyebrows raised.

"Dicks," said Harry.

"Oh, yeah," agreed Ed.

"Totally," said Maggie, rolling her eyes.

"Yep," agreed the cameraman.

Ed walked over to the computers and crouched down, seeing Dean's duffel bag underneath the table. He grabbed it and lifted it up, setting it down on the table. Harry and Maggie walked over to stand on either side of him as he opened it up and lifted some sort of huge, metal device out of it. There were all sorts of wires and cables sticking out from it and it almost looked like an extra-large black magnet. As soon as he lifted it up to begin examining it, the computer and television screens began fritzing in and out.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" said Harry.

He began punching keys on the computers, but the screen turned blue and it said there was no operating system found.

Sam, Alex, and Dean jogged over to the Impala, reaching the car just as they heard a chorus of screams and yells from inside the garage.

"No! Are you kidding me? No, no, this cannot be happening!" yelled the many voices of the Ghostfacers.

Sam smirked as he heard them yelling at each other and he let Alex climb into the backseat first before he climbed into the passenger seat. Dean looked at Sam and Alex.

"That electromagnet wiped out every tape and hard drive they have," said Dean.

"The world just isn't ready for the Ghostfacers," said Alex, smirking along with Sam and Dean.

"That's too bad. You know, I kind of liked the show," said Dean.

Sam scoffed.

"It had its moments," he agreed.

Alex nodded as well and Dean started up the Impala. He looked back at the garage before pulling out of the driveway and onto the street, burning rubber as he sped away from the Ghostfacers headquarters.

A few days later, on their next job, Dean was sitting on a bench outside a large building, Sam and Alex walking towards him. Sam had his hands in his pockets as they approached Dean, who was on the phone.

"Yep, I got it. Thanks, bye," said Dean.

He hung up his phone and stood up as Sam and Alex finally walked all the way up to him. He tossed Sam a soda can and Sam caught it, looking at the can as Dean spoke.

"So?"

Dean stuffed the remainder of his food into his mouth and Alex looked disgusted at him.

"The professor doesn't know crap," answered Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Well, pack your stuff because we're hitting the road," said Dean.

He brushed past his siblings and headed away from them. Sam and Alex turned to watch Dean as he walked away.

"What?" asked Alex.

Dean turned back around to answer them.

"That was Bobby," he said, pointing into his pocket where he kept his phone.

"Some banker guy just blew his head off in Ohio, they think there's some sort of spirit involved."

"So you two were talking about a case?" asked Sam.

"No, we were, uh, actually talking about our feelings. And then our favorite boy bands. Yes, Sammy, we were talking a case," answered Dean.

"So, a spirit, what?" asked Alex.

Dean nodded.

"Yeah, the banker was complaining about some electrical problems that he's had for like a week. Phone was going haywire, his computer's flipping on and off. Eh?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows.

Sam and Alex nodded feebly.

"What, is this not ringing your bell?" asked Dean.

"Well, yeah, sure. But, Dean, we're on a case right now," said Sam.

"Whose?" asked Dean.

"Yours," said Alex.

Dean nodded.

"Right, yeah. Coulda fooled me."

Dean began walking away from them again.

"Well, what the hell else have we been doing lately besides trying to break your deal?" asked Sam.

"Chasing our tails, that's what. Sam, we've talked to every professor and witch that we could possibly find and nobody knows squat. And we can't find Bella, we can't find the Colt. So until we actually find something, I'd like to do my fucking job," said Dean.

"Well, there's one thing we still haven't tried yet," argued Sam.

"No, Sam, no."

"Dean, we should summon Ruby."

"I'm not gonna have this fight with you," said Dean, shaking his head.

"She said she could save you!"

"Well, she can't!"

"Oh, really, you know that for sure?"

"I do."

"How?"

"Because she told him," whispered Alex.

Sam and Dean both turned to stare at her as she looked up at Sam sadly.

"Sammy, I'm so sorry. She told Dean she couldn't save him."

"Alex, how did you know that? I didn't tell you," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Dean, I'm not an idiot. I could see it in your eyes. I know you guys better than you know yourselves, you can't fool me."

"She told me, Sammy. Flat-out that she could not save me. Nobody can," said Dean.

"And you both just somehow neglected to mention this to me?" asked Sam, the hurt evident all over his face.

"You know, I really don't care what that bitch thinks and neither should you," said Dean.

"So what? Now you're keeping secrets from me, both of you?"

"Do you really wanna talk about who's keeping secrets from who?" threatened Dean.

Sam sighed, just staring at Dean. He switched his gaze over to Alex and shook his head at her, brushing past her and Dean to walk away from them. Dean walked back over to Alex and slung an arm over her shoulders, dragging her along with him as he began walking.

"C'mon, little sis. Just give him some time, he'll be alright," reassured Dean.

Alex nodded and let Dean drag her along, following somewhat behind Sam.

Dean pulled the Impala next to the curb of a nice house. They were finally in Ohio and dressed up so that they could interview the wife of the victim.

"I found him. There," said the victim's wife, pointing to the spot in the office where she had found her dead husband.

"Why don't you just tell us everything you saw, Mrs. Waters," offered Dean, glancing around the office space.

"You mean, besides my dead husband?"

She raised her eyebrows at them, her face an emotionless mask.

"Well, just everything else you saw. Please," said Sam.

The woman sighed, crossing her arms across her chest. She took a quick glance behind her, shuddered, and spoke to them.

"Um, there was blood. Everywhere. The phone was ripped from the wall, his favorite scotch on the desk. What else could you possibly want to know?"

"Why was the phone ripped from the wall?" asked Alex, gently.

"I don't know."

"Do you mind if I take a look?" asked Sam.

Mrs. Waters motioned toward the rest of the office with her hands, her eyebrows raised. Sam headed towards the desk and Dean stepped closer to Mrs. Waters. Alex followed Sam.

"I already went over all of this with the other detectives," argued Mrs. Waters.

"We'll be out of your hair in no time, ma'am," said Dean.

He smiled politely at the woman and moved past her to join Alex and Sam at the large desk in the office. She turned and watched them work, her arms crossed back over her chest again. Sam grabbed the phone and flipped through all the recent calls, noticing a strange number.

"Ma'am, what time did your husband die?" asked Sam, looking over at Mrs. Waters.

"Sometime after 11," she answered, shrugging her shoulders.

Dean and Alex looked at Sam, who pointed towards the caller ID on the phone, his eyebrows raised.

"What about strange phone calls? Receive any of those lately?" asked Dean, facing the woman.

"No. No."

"Mrs. Waters, withholding information from the police is a capital offense," said Dean, shoving his hands in his pants pockets and staring at Mrs. Waters.

Sam cleared his throat, loudly, and Dean looked back at him questioningly. Alex shook her head at Dean and Dean rolled his eyes at her, turning back to face Mrs. Waters. She sighed.

"A couple of weeks ago, there was this… I woke up one morning and I heard Ben in his study. I thought he was talking to a woman."

"What made you think that?" asked Alex.

"Because he kept calling her Linda. The thing is, I picked up the other line and… nobody was there. Ben was talking to nobody."

"There was absolutely nothing?" asked Sam.

"Just static," answered Mrs. Waters.

"Did you ever speak to Ben about this phone call?" asked Alex.

"No, I should've, but no."

"Did he ever say who Linda was?" asked Sam.

"What difference does it make? There was no one on the other end!" cried Mrs. Waters.

Back in the motel room, Dean was on Sam's laptop, looking for clues as to who Linda might be. He pulled up an online obituary and smirked at the picture.

"Well, Linda's a babe. Or was."

"Find her?" asked Alex.

She and Sam sat up on their bed and looked over at Dean.

"Yeah, Linda Bateman. She and Ben Waters were high school sweethearts."

"So what happened?" asked Sam, leaning forward on his elbows.

"Drunk driver hit 'em head on. Ben walked away," said Dean.

He looked at Sam and Alex.

"So what then? Dead flame calls just to chat?" asked Sam.

"You'd think, but Linda was cremated. So why's she still floating around?" asked Dean.

He stood up from his chair and walked over to his siblings.

"You got me," said Alex, flopping back down onto the bed.

"What about that, uh caller ID?" asked Dean, looking at Sam in front of him.

"Turns out, it's a phone number."

"It's no phone number I've ever seen," said Alex.

Sam scoffed.

"Yeah, because it's about a century old. From back when phones had cranks," said Sam.

"So why use that number to reach out and touch someone?" asked Alex.

"Well, you got me there, too. But either way, we should run a trace on it," said Sam.

"How the hell are we gonna trace a number that's over a hundred years old?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed and Alex groaned.

"We don't get many folks from HQ down here," said the federal agent.

Sam, Dean, and Alex followed him down the concrete steps and smiled at him.

"Yes, well, the main office mentioned that there would be a lunch," said Dean.

Alex and Sam looked at him and Dean just shrugged. The bald man leading them paused briefly, but then he looked back at Dean and smiled.

"Well, I'm sure we can come up with something. The man you three want to be speaking to is…"

The man paused as he heard a buzzing sound and he turned to look at Sam, Dean, and Alex. Alex was swatting by her ear, where a large fly was buzzing obnoxiously. Sam and Dean swatted the fly away as it buzzed by them as well and the man sighed, giving them a sheepish smile.

"Yes, sorry. We have a bit of a hygiene problem down here."

The fly finally flew away and the man started down the hall again, leading them a short way and then turning a corner into a room.

"Stewey," said the bald man.

The Indian man sitting in front of a bunch of computer screens turned and his eyes widened with fear as he took in the bald man and the siblings behind him. There were moans coming from his computer and Dean smirked as he realized Stewey had been watching porn.

"What have I told you about keeping this place clean?"

As Stewey continued closing the porn websites, the bald man turned to look back at the siblings.

"Stewey Myers. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, Mr. Raimi," the bald man said, introducing Sam, Alex, and Dean to Stewey.

As Stewey continued closing out the websites, the bald man leaned over and flicked him in the back of the head. Stewey flinched, but turned his chair around and looked at the siblings.

"They're from headquarters. You give these folks whatever they need," said the bald man.

He shot Stewey a warning glance before nodding to the siblings.

"Thanks," said Dean, nodding to the bald man.

"So… Can I help you?" asked Stewey, watching as the bald man left the room.

"We're here to trace a number," said Sam.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with the phone number written on it. He handed it over to Stewey, who looked at it, confused.

"Where did you get this?"

"Off caller ID," answered Sam, sticking his hands into his pants pocket.

"No, no, no, that's impossible," said Stewey, looking up at the three of them.

"We know it hasn't been used in a while, a few years," said Dean.

"A few years? It's pre-historic, I mean, nobody's using this number anymore."

"Sure. But could you run it anyway?" asked Alex.

"Sure. Why don't I just rearrange my whole life first?" asked Stewey.

Alex scoffed and looked at Sam and Dean. Dean smirked and looked back towards Stewey.

"Listen, uh, Stewey. You got like, six kinds of employee violations going on down here, not to mention the sickening porn clogging up your hard drive. When one of my partners says run the number, I suggest you run the number," threatened Dean.

Stewey looked at Dean and then he looked past Dean to Alex and Sam. Sam stared him down and Alex gave him a smug smile. Stewey sighed, but turned around to face his computer screens. Dean stepped back to where Sam and Alex stood and he looked at them, giving them a huge smile. Alex nodded and Sam smiled. They watched as Stewey typed in a few things and then looked at his computer screen.

"Holy crap," said Stewey.

"What?" asked Alex, trying to make sense of what she was seeing on the computer screen.

"I can't tell you where the number comes from, but I can tell you where it's been going."

Stewey stood up and brushed past them to grab a paper from the printer.

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.

Stewey looked at the paper he held in his hands and turned to stand in between the siblings.

"10 houses in the past two weeks. All got calls from the same number," explained Stewey.

He handed the paper over to Sam, who began looking at it. Dean and Alex leaned over his shoulders to look at the paper as well, while Stewey walked back over to his computer chair, siting back down.

"So. Are we done here?" asked Stewey.

Dean gave Stewey a weird look and Stewey raised his eyebrows.

"'Cause I was sort of busy."

Dean nodded in understanding.

"Right."

He pointed at Stewey and winked and Dean led the way out of the room, his siblings following.

Sam parked outside of a small, yellow house and locked the doors of the rental car he was using. He jogged up to the front porch of the house and knocked loudly on the door. A man answered the door, his young son standing directly beside him, holding a bouncy ball.

"Hello?" asked the man, looking at Sam.

"Hello, sir. I'm with the phone company," said Sam.

"Uh, we didn't call the phone company," said the man, grabbing the ball his son had been bouncing on the floor.

"No, sir, we know. You see, we're calling you. You see, we've had a lot of complaints from the neighborhood lately."

"Um, complaints?"

"Yes, sir. Um, dropped calls, static. Maybe even strange voices on the other end of the line?"

"No, we haven't had any of that here."

"Nothing?"

"No."

"Okay. Well, we thought we'd check. Thanks," smiled Sam.

"Sure, no problem."

The man turned away from the door and smiled at his son. Sam looked up and noticed a teenage girl standing in the foyer, looking very scared and confused. Sam's head cocked to the side in confusion as she turned away quickly and followed her dad and her little brother back into the living room. Sam walked back out to his rental car, unlocking the doors and pulling the driver's side door open. Just as he began to climb inside, someone spoke from beside him.

"No way you work for the phone company," said the teenage girl, who Sam had just noticed inside the house.

She crossed her arms across her chest and gave him a smug smile.

"Sure I do," said Sam.

"Since when does a phone guy drive a rental or wear a cheap suit?"

Sam scoffed and messed with the keys in his hands before looking back up at the girl.

"Yeah, well. Maybe we're both keeping secrets."

"Why'd you ask my dad if he heard strange voices on the phone?"

"Why? Did you hear something?"

"No."

"Well, my mistake. Thought maybe you did."

"Well, I didn't, okay?"

Sam smiled politely at the girl.

"Okay. Sorry to bother you."

The girl nodded and looked away from Sam. Sam fiddled with his keys as he spoke again.

"Because you know, if you did, then I would've told you that I've been right where you're standing right now. Hearing things, even seeing things that couldn't be explained. But anyways."

Sam began to climb back into his car, but the girl stepped forward, stopping him once again.

"Hey, wait. Maybe… Maybe I've been talking on the phone. With, with my mom," said the girl.

"Well, that's not so strange," offered Sam.

"She's dead. Like three years now, dead."

Sam sighed.

"How often does she call you?"

"A few times. Started a week ago. I thought I was, like, crazy or something."

"Well, I can tell you one thing for sure. And you're gonna have to go with me on this, okay? You're not crazy."

The girl smiled slightly and nodded.

Sam was driving in his rental car when his phone rang. He answered and held the phone up to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"Dude, stiffs are calling people all over town," said Dean.

"Tell me about it. So what the hell's going on here, Dean?"

"Beats me, but we better find out soon. This place is turning into Spooksville."

"Yeah. Alright, I'll call you later," said Sam.

"Yeah," said Dean.

He hung up his phone and opened his car door, getting ready to call Alex and ask when she would be back to the car from ordering food. As he began dialing Alex's number, his phone rang. He didn't recognize the number, but he answered anyway.

"Yeah, what?" answered Dean.

Static made the phone call hard to hear. Dean waited for a response and he leaned against the hood of his car.

"Sam?" asked Dean.

"Dean. Dean, is that you?"

Dean stood up straight as his dad's voice came through on the other end of the call.

"Dad?" asked Dean.

Alex came strolling up to the car, a bag of food in her hands as she approached. She walked over to the passenger side and looked at Dean.

"Dean?" she asked, taking in the look on his face.

She rushed over to his side of the car and he looked at her, the phone still pressed to his ear.

"Dean, what's wrong?" she asked.

"It's Dad," whispered Dean.

Alex gasped.

Back in the motel room, Sam was sitting across from Dean and Alex.

"I mean, Dad? You really think it was Dad?" asked Sam.

Dean stood up and began pacing around the room, walking in front of Sam and Alex.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well, what did he sound like?" asked Sam.

Dean looked at him.

"Like Oprah."

Sam threw his hands up in frustration.

"It was Dad, he sounded like Dad. What do you think?" yelled Dean.

"Well, what did he say?" asked Alex.

"My name. Then the call dropped out."

"Why would he even call in the first place, Dean?" asked Sam.

"I don't know, man. Why are ghosts calling anyone in this town?"

"I mean, other people are hearing from their loved ones. Why can't we? It's at least a possibility, right?" asked Alex.

She sat up and crossed her legs, biting her lip as Sam and Dean looked at her.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Sam.

"Okay, so. What if it really is Dad?" asked Dean.

He sat down on his bed and looked over at his siblings, who turned sideways to face him. Sam and Alex said nothing.

"What happens if he calls back?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.

"What do I say?" asked Dean.

"Um, hello?" offered Alex.

"Hello? That's what you come back with, hello?"

She shrugged and Dean shook his head, standing up. He walked over to the door and grabbed his jacket from off of the couch. Once his jacket was firmly in his grasp, he looked back to his siblings.

"Hello?" he asked again.

Sam shook his head and licked his lips. Alex sighed and rubbed a hand over her face, a habit she had picked up from Dean. Sam walked over to his computer and sat down, getting online. Alex flopped back down on the bed and they were still in these positions when the door opened three hours later. Dean walked back into the room and looked over at Dean.

"Find anything?" asked Dean.

"After three hours, I've found no reason why anything supernatural would be going on here," answered Sam.

"Wow. You know, you'd think a Stanford education and a high school hook up rate of 0.0 would produce better results than that," shot back Dean.

Sam looked up at Dean, a sarcastic smile on his face.

"Hilarious."

"Sammy, you're just looking in the wrong places, pal."

"Oh, what are the right places, Dean?" asked Sam, looking back at his computer screen.

Alex plopped her body down next to Sam and looked at Sam's computer screen. Dean pulled a pamphlet out of his jacket pocket and held it up.

"Motel pamphlet. Billon, Ohio. Birthplace of Thomas Edison."

Dean threw the pamphlet down in front of Sam and Alex.

"Okay. And this means…?" asked Alex.

"Keep reading," said Dean.

Alex scoffed and read over Sam's shoulder as he held open the pamphlet. Sam and Alex's smiles broadened as they read on.

"You're kidding," said Sam, looking up at Dean.

Dean waggled his eyebrows.

Sam, Dean, and Alex were on a tour with some high school kids. Both of them had their hands stuffed in their pockets as they listened to the tour guide speak.

"And this is Thomas Edison's spirit phone. Did you know that Mr. Edison, while being one of America's most beloved inventors, was also a devout occultist? Ooooo," said the tour guide, trying to sound creepy.

"He spent years working on this, his final invention, which he was convinced could be used to communicate with the dead."

The tour guide used quotes around "communicate" and "the dead." Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Pretty spooky, huh?"

The tour guide glanced at her watch and waved her fingers around in a brief circle.

"And we're walking, we're walking…"

Sam, Dean, and Alex waited as the rest of the group followed the tour guide. They waited behind the group very subtly and once the whole group was gone, Sam pulled his EMF reader out of his jacket pocket. He took a quick glance around to make sure no one was lurking around and he held it up to the spirit phone.

"Anything?" asked Dean.

"Nothing," said Sam, shaking his head.

He turned off the EMF reader and put it back in his pocket as Dean and Alex looked at the spirit phone.

"So what do you think?" asked Dean.

"Honestly, it kinda looks like an old pile of junk to me," said Alex.

"It's not even plugged in," said Dean.

"Maybe it's like a radio tower, broadcasting the dead all over town," offered Alex.

"Could be," said Sam, looking at the spirit phone.

"I mean, you know, the caller ID's a hundred years old. Probably around the time this thing was built," said Dean.

"Yeah, but why would it start working now?" asked Alex.

Sam nodded in agreement with her.

"I don't know," said Dean.

That night, as Sam and Alex were sleeping peacefully in their motel room bed, Dean sat at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee in one hand. His cell phone rested directly in front of him and he just stared off into the darkness, not really looking at anything. A few seconds later, his phone rang shrilly. He glanced down at the caller ID, which read, "SHA33," the same number that had been calling people all over town. Dean picked it up quickly, opening it in one smooth motion and standing up, walking over towards the bathroom.

"Dad?" whispered Dean.

"Dean," said John.

Dean took a quick glance behind him to make sure Sam and Alex were still sleeping as he walked into the bathroom, leaning against the sink as he spoke to his dead father on the phone.

"Is it really you?" asked Dean.

"It's me."

Dean shut the bathroom door, locking it.

"How can I be sure?"

"You can't. Dean, how could you do it?"

"Do what?"

John sighed over the phone.

"Sell your soul."

"I was lookin' after Sammy like you told me to."

"I never wanted this. Never. You're my boy, I love you. I can't watch you go to hell, Dean."

"I'm sorry. I don't know how to stop it."

"Because if you break the deal, Sam dies, right?"

"What?" asked Dean, very confused, wondering how John had known that part of the deal.

"Well, I know a way out. For all of you."

"How?"

"The demon who holds your contract. He's here. Now," answered John.

Dean took in a deep breath at his father's words.

The next morning, Dean was fiddling around on Sam's computer while Alex sat beside him. Sam walked through the motel room door, his hands in his pockets. Alex looked over at him, but Dean kept his eyes on the computer.

"What's up?" he asked Sam.

"That girl, Lanie? Her mom's ghost spooked her out pretty bad last night," answered Sam.

"That sucks," said Dean, reaching for some papers that rested on the coffee table in front of him.

"Yeah, it does. What are you doing?" asked Sam, looking at his brother questioningly.

Alex shrugged.

"I think Dad's right. I think the demon is here," said Dean.

He finally found the paper he had been looking for and he stood up, walking around the coffee table to stand in front of Sam. He held the paper out to Sam and Alex quickly stood up as well, walking over to read over her twin's arm.

"What is this, weather reports?" asked Alex.

"Omens. Demonic omens. Electrical storms everywhere we've been for the past two weeks," explained Dean.

"I, I don't remember any lightning storms," said Sam.

Alex shook her head.

"Yeah, me either."

"Well, I don't remember either one of you studying meteorology as kids either. Now, I'm telling you, that bastard's been tailing me," said Dean.

He walked past them and walked over to his bed, where his duffel bag was lying open. He began rifling through it.

"And he's been following you because…?" asked Alex, trailing off with her eyebrows raised.

Dean sighed frustratingly.

"I guess I'm big game," he smirked.

"Okay, sure," said Sam.

Dean sighed once again and walked over, snatching the papers out of Sam's hands.

"Well, don't get too excited, guys. You both might pull something."

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Dean, look, we want to believe this…"

Dean cut his little sister off.

"Then believe it! I mean, if we get this sucker, it's Miller time."

"Yeah, that's another thing. Dad rattles off an exorcism that can kill a demon? I mean, not just send it back to hell, but kill it?" asked Sam, not believing his brother.

"I checked it out. This is heavy duty, Dark Ages. Fifteenth century."

Dean walked back over to the coffee table and handed Sam and Alex another piece of paper. Alex glanced at it briefly before sighing and nudging Sam with her elbow. Sam sighed, but looked at his brother.

"Yeah, we checked on it too, Dean. And Alex called Bobby, who also checked," said Sam.

"Okay. And?" asked Dean.

Alex bit her lip, glancing between Sam and Dean as Sam spoke once again.

"Look, it definitely is an exorcism, okay? There's just no evidence that it can kill a demon."

"No evidence it can't," shot back Dean.

"Oh, Dean, c'mon, man," sighed Sam.

"Hey, as far as I know, the only one of us that's actually been to hell is Dad, okay? Maybe he picked up a couple of tricks down there, like which exorcisms work," argued Dean, his voice rising as he became angry.

"Maybe it does, okay? Look, I hope it does too, but we just gotta be sure," argued Sam.

"Why aren't we sure?"

"Because we have no clue what's going on around here, Dean. I mean, some guy just blows his brains out, a little girl is scared out of her wits," argued Alex, throwing up her hands in frustration.

"Wow, a couple of civies are freaked out by some ghosts. News flash, Alex, people are supposed to be freaked out by ghosts," yelled Dean.

Alex sighed and shrugged her shoulders, not knowing what else to say.

"Dad tell you where to find the demon?" asked Sam.

Dean pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up.

"I'm waiting on the call!"

Sam and Alex nodded, Sam scoffing at Dean's obsession. Dean stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

"I told Lanie I'd stop by," whispered Sam.

He turned away from Dean and Alex watched his retreating form.

"Oh, good, yeah, no. You go hang out with jailbait. Meanwhile, I'll be here, getting ready to save my damn life," said Dean.

Sam sighed and walked away from him once again. Dean scoffed and stepped forward.

"You are unbelievable, you know that? I mean, for months, we've all been trying to break this demon deal. Now Dad's about to give us the freakin' address and you can't accept it?"

"Dean, please stop," whispered Alex, staring between her two brothers.

"The man is dead and you're still butting heads with the guy!" yelled Dean.

"That is not what this is about," said Sam.

"Then what the hell is it?"

"The fact is, we got no hard proof here, Dean. After everything, you're still just going on blind faith!" yelled Sam.

"Yeah! Well, maybe that's all I got, okay?" yelled Dean.

Sam and Alex looked at him sadly and Dean looked down at the ground.

"Please, just please, don't go anywhere until I get back, okay, Dean? Please," asked Sam.

"I'll be here, Sammy. Don't you worry about Dean," whispered Alex.

Sam sighed, but nodded towards her. He stopped in front of her and pulled her in for a hug. He kissed the side of her head and apologized for arguing with Dean. She nodded into his chest, acknowledging the apology, and he headed for the door after letting her go. Dean watched the tender moment, but his expression stayed the same as he watched Sam leave the motel room. His face was a hard, expressionless mask as he shook his head and sat down at the table. Alex sat down on her bed and looked at her brother, sighing.

Alex jumped as Dean's cell phone rang. She sat up and walked over to Dean, who was still sitting at the table. He flipped his phone open and held it to his ear.

"Dad?"

"Dean."

"Where's the demon?" asked Dean.

Alex took in a deep breath.

A few minutes later, Dean hung up the phone. He stood up and grabbed his jacket, heading for the door.

"Dean," began Alex, but Dean cut her off.

"Alex, don't start. Just please, let me do this," pleaded Dean.

"Dean, I don't think it's Dad," said Alex.

Dean looked at her.

"Alex, I have to do this. Nothing's gonna stop me," said Dean.

She sighed as he pulled her to him. He roughly kissed her forehead before heading out the door. Alex cursed under her breath and grabbed her phone, calling Sam.

Dean parked the Impala on an empty street, walking to the back of the car and opening the trunk. He pulled out one of his large duffel bags and lugged it onto his shoulder, slamming the trunk closed.

Sam rushed down the stairs of Lanie's house, telling her not to answer the phone or use her computer. As he was walking down the stairs, his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and cursed when he saw that it was Alex. He answered it quickly.

"Sammy, I don't know what to do, I have no clue where he is. I'm sorry," cried Alex.

"Alex, calm down. I'll be back as soon as I can, alright? Just try your best to figure out where he went."

Sam hung up his phone and stuck it back in his jacket pocket, looking back at Lanie.

"Where's Simon?" asked Lanie.

She looked at Sam, asking if he had seen her little brother. Sam's eyes widened and so did Lanie's.

Dean walked into an empty house, shutting the door behind him as he walked forward. He looked around, hearing a creak from up the stairs.

"Hello?" he called out, his voice deep.

No one responded, so he set his duffel bag down, getting straight to work. He pulled out a huge water jug that was full of water and placed a rosary inside the water, swirling it around gently. He set that off to the side of him and then grabbed an orange spray paint can from the duffel bag. He flipped the rug up in front of him and began spray-painting a Devil's Trap underneath the rug, so it wouldn't be easily seen. Once the trap was painted onto the hardwood floor, he glanced behind him to make sure no one was there.

Sam saw Simon about to step into the street, a huge yellow semi-truck only a couple feet away from hitting Simon. Sam rushed out into the middle of the street, grabbed Simon around the waist, and quickly spun around, falling to the median in the middle of the street as the truck blew past them, laying on his horn and glaring at them as he passed by. Sam was breathing heavily from his run and Simon looked up at him.

"Dean, it's not Dad," said Sam.

Sam and Alex were in Sam's rental car, Sam now on the phone with Dean as he drove.

"Then what is it?" asked Dean.

"A Crocata."

"Is that a sandwich?"

"It's some kind of scavenger, mimics loved ones and whispers, 'Come to me.' It lures you into the dark and then it swallows your soul."

Alex looked disgusted.

"Ugh, eww," she whispered.

"Crocata, right. Damn, that makes sense," said Dean.

"Dean, look, I'm sorry, man. I know-"

"Hey, don't these things live in filth?" asked Alex, interrupting Sam's conversation with Dean.

"Dean, hold on," said Sam into his cell phone.

He held the phone away from his ear as Alex asked him a question.

"What'd you ask?"

"I asked if these things live in filth," repeated Alex.

Sam nodded.

"Yep."

"Sammy, the flies in the phone company basement," said Alex.

Realization dawned on Sam's face.

"Dean, we know where it is. We're headed there now," said Sam, pulling his phone back up to his ear.

He hung up his phone after Dean had replied and threw it in one of the rental car's cup holders. He stepped on the gas pedal, accelerating the vehicle.

Sam led the way down a ramp as they walked beside the phone company's building. Alex was beside him as they stopped and peeked into a covered grate, slats covering the window. The Indian man, Stewey, sat at his computer, staring at his computer screens with his back turned to them. A noise sounded from above them, so Sam and Alex both looked up and over. They saw nothing, but when they looked back into the room where Stewey was sitting, they saw him walking towards the exit. Sam quickly ushered Alex up the ramp and they hid behind one of the many vans out front of the building as Stewey walked outside. Sam was calling Dean, but Dean's voicemail picked up.

"Dean, we're in the parking lot, he's here. Hurry," whispered Sam.

Sam nodded towards Alex as he walked around the other side of the van. They watched as Stewey began unlocking his car. Sam rushed out from behind the van and slammed Stewey into his vehicle. Stewey cried out in pain as he was slammed forcefully into the side of his own car, Sam holding a knife up to his neck.

"Ow, what the hell?" cried out Stewey.

"We know what you are," said Sam.

"And we know how to kill you," threw in Alex, standing beside Sam.

"Wait, wait. If we're overcharging you for the call waiting or something, I can fix that," pleaded Stewey.

Sam's glare changed to a mask of confusion as he looked back at Alex. She shrugged and Sam turned back to Stewey. Suddenly, the bald man who had led them down to Stewey a few days earlier, Clark, appeared behind Alex. She heard him breathing and turned just in time for him to smile at her evilly. He brought a baseball bat up and hit her in the side of the head, knocking her unconscious.

"Alex!" cried Sam, letting go of Stewey.

He glared at the man and the man smirked at him. He brought his baseball bat up once again and hit Sam in the head as well, knocking him down to the ground next to Alex's unconscious form.

Sam awoke to the sounds of someone whimpering and Alex whispering his name. His hands were tied behind his back and he lifted his head slowly. Alex was sitting to the right of him, blood caked in her blonde hair from the wound on her head. Stewey was whimpering to Clark as Clark walked behind him, smirking. Sam saw a small knife in Clark's hands as he grabbed one of Stewey's shoulders, getting ready to kill him.

"Wait, wait!" cried Sam.

"You're awake," said Clark.

He reached down with his knife and pressed it onto Stewey's leg. Sam and Alex flinched, but Clark didn't do anything to Stewey yet.

"Just let him go," pleaded Alex, struggling to break free.

"I would. I really would. If only I'd had more than a salad for lunch," said Clark.

Clark raised his arm up high into the air, his hand clutched around the blade.

"But you see, I'm starving," finished Clark.

"No!" cried out Sam and Alex, as Clark brought down his arm, stabbing Stewey straight into the middle of his heart.

Stewey's head lolled forward as blood dripped from his mouth. Clark smirked and Alex grimaced as Clark opened his mouth wider, revealing a scary set of sharp and long teeth. His mouth was very large as he spun Stewey's chair around to face him. Alex and Sam briefly looked away as Clark leaned forward and sucked the soul from Stewey's body. Once he was finished, he closed his insanely large mouth, made a disgustingly emphasized swallowing sound, and wiped his chin off with the side of his arm. Clark cracked his neck in a way that was not human and smirked at the two twin siblings.

"You know, some calls I make, some calls I take. But you have to admit, I had you guys fooled for a while. All that Edison phone crap."

Clark chuckled, pointing a finger at them as he did so. He walked over to a blinking box, where all of the phone wires were held. He put his hands up to the box and closed his eyes, leaning his head back and looking at Sam and Alex.

"What are you doing?" asked Sam.

"I'm killing your brother. Or maybe I'm killing another guy. We'll just have to see how it goes," said Clark.

Once he was finished with the telephone box, he walked back over to Stewey and pulled the bloody knife from Stewey's chest.

"You know, mimicking our dad. That's one hell of a trick," said Sam.

Clark smiled at Sam, pushing Stewey's chair away from them. Alex watched as Clark walked over to Sam, holding the bloody knife above Sam's chest as he spoke to him. Alex's wrists were bloody from trying to free herself, but she was getting much closer. She knew Sam had also been trying to free himself as well.

"But Dean's not gonna fall for this," said Alex, smirking at Clark.

"Yeah, he's not gonna kill that guy," chimed in Sam.

"Then the guy kills him," answered Clark, a smug smile on his face.

Dean waited around the corner of the foyer as he heard a car pull into the driveway. He opened the jug of holy water. After a few minutes, he didn't hear any footsteps, so he ventured away from the wall. He had just stepped into the middle of the hallway when a man came bursting into the house through the back door, his shotgun aimed at Dean. He shot it off and Dean quickly ducked, his jig of holy water flying all over the stairs as he let go of it. He fell into a corner of the room as the man reloaded his shotgun. Dean looked at the holy water dribbling down the stairs and took a gamble. He ran straight towards the man, knocking him into the wall and causing his gun to go falling to the floorboards. Dean landed a punch on the man's jaw, cheek, and head before kneeing him in the stomach as well. Dean ran over to the fallen shotgun, but just as he went to grab it, the man tackled him over onto the kitchen table. The man began punching Dean in the face repeatedly until Dean grabbed a hold of the man's upper arms. Dean sat up, still holding the man's upper arms, and head-butted the man, directly in the forehead. Once the man was on the ground, Dean continued kicking him in the stomach.

"You know, technology makes my life so much easier," said Clark.

He walked over to Alex and placed the bloody knife at her left temple, brushing a fallen strand of her hair back into its rightful place behind her ear. Alex flinched away from his touch and Clark just smirked.

"Used to be I'd have to hide in the woods. It would be days, weeks. Whispering to people, trying to draw them out into the night. But they had community. They all looked out after each other. I mean, I'd be lucky to eat maybe one, two souls a whole year. But now, when I'm hungry, I simply make a phone call. You're all so connected, but you've also never been so alone," smirked Clark.

He stopped in front of Alex, his mouth opening to suck out her soul, when Alex finally broke free of her bonds. She tackled Clark to the ground, the knife falling from within his grasp as she tackled him. Sam still struggled with his bonds as he watched Clark throw Alex over against the wall. Clark picked up his knife quickly and lunged towards Alex.

Dean tackled the man through a set of glass doors leading into a larger, nicer dining room. He grabbed the man's pistol from the man's waistband and unloaded it, kicking the ammunition to one side and the gun all the way on the other side. The man was on his hands and knees on top of the rug. Dean flipped a corner of the rug up, revealing the Devil's Trap he had painted underneath it. The man looked at the trap curiously, confused. Dean pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, the one that had the exorcism written on it.

"What is this?" asked the man.

"Your funeral," answered Dean.

The man stood up as straight as he could manage as Dean held the paper out in front of him, beginning to speak the Latin fluently. The man looked down at the trap one more time before stepping over the orange lines. Dean held the paper down to his side as the man stood only a few steps in front of him now.

"Did you do this to my daughter too?" asked the man.

"How the hell'd you get out?" asked Dean, staring at the man in complete shock.

"Did you do this to my daughter too?" yelled the man, the blood pouring from his broken nose and his mouth all kinds of bloody as well.

"Wait a minute, this is one huge mistake," cried out Dean.

"You killed her. You killed her!" whispered the man.

He grabbed Dean and began shoving him backwards, back into the living room.

"Wait, wait!" cried Dean.

Sam had grabbed Clark just as he had lunged for Alex, having finally broken free of his bonds. Sam was struggling to keep Clark's knife away from his as Clark pushed forward. Clark used his other, free hand and swung it around, punching Sam in the jaw. Alex cried out and lunged towards Clark. She jumped on his back and grabbed him around the neck, giving Sam enough time to catch his breath and regain his balance. Clark threw Alex off of him easily and Alex fell to the ground a few feet away from Clark and Sam. Clark and Sam were at a standoff now, Sam with his fists raised to defend himself and Clark with his knife. Clark ran for Sam and Sam deflected Clark's attack. Sam gained somewhat of an upper hand and backed Clark up, holding onto Clark's wrist that held the knife. Alex watched as Sam kept backing Clark up into a bulletin board. This bulletin board had some sort of metal poles sticking out from it. Just as Clark's head became close enough to one of the metal sticks, Sam gained the upper hand. He deflected Clark's knife hand and punched Clark in the face, causing him to fall backwards and impale himself on one of the metal poles. Blood spurted onto the metal stick and all over the bulletin board. A dribble of blood came out of Clark's mouth as Sam exhaled heavily, exerted from the fight he had just had.

The man was on top of Dean, punching him in the face as he yelled at him.

"She was nine years old!" he cried, landing a punch onto Dean's jaw.

"Stop! I didn't kill your little girl!" yelled Dean, trying to deflect the man's many punches to his face and torso.

Dean managed to turn himself around somewhat and grabbed the man's abandoned shotgun from beside him on the floor. He used it and shoved the butt of the shotgun into the man's face, knocking him backwards and onto his ass.

"You gotta believe me!" cried Dean.

He stood up with the shotgun still in his hands and the man looked up at him, tears beginning to form in his eyes and his face looking defeated.

"I don't know what in the hell I'm doing here, but I definitely did not kill your daughter," said Dean, staring down at the defeated man.

He threw the gun down beside the man and walked out of the man's old house.

Dean was in the bathroom, groaning and holding a slightly wet towel up to his face as he heard the motel room door open and close once. He waited, listening, as Sam and Alex came and stood in the doorway of the bathroom. Sam gave him a look and Dean smirked.

"I see they improved your face," said Dean, motioning to the cut on one of Sam's cheeks.

Sam scoffed briefly.

"Yeah, right back at you," he said.

Dean slightly nodded and threw his somewhat bloody towel down into the white sink, walking past Sam and Alex and back into the actual motel room.

"So a Crocata, huh?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex sighed.

"Yep," answered Alex.

"Well, that would explain the flies," said Dean.

Sam's eyebrows rose.

"Yeah, it definitely would."

The three of them sat down on the edge of their beds.

"Hey, um. Look, I'm sorry it wasn't Dad," said Sam, looking at his older brother.

Dean smirked.

"Yeah, well. I gave you one hell of a time on this one. Look, you were both right. I wanted to believe so badly that there was a way out of this. I mean, I'm staring down the barrel of this thing. You know, hell. For real, forever, and I, I'm just… I'm scared, guys. I'm really terrified and scared," whispered Dean.

"We know," whispered Alex.

"The only person that can get me out of this thing now is me," said Dean.

"And me," said Sam.

"Me too," said Alex.

Dean looked over at the both of them.

"And me? Me too?" he asked.

The twins looked at him, confused.

"What?" both Sam and Alex asked him.

"I'm having a deep revelation over here and the only responses you two can come up with are 'And me' and 'Me too?' Really?" asked Dean, his tone joking.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess," she said, flopping back down on the bed she shared with Sam.

"Do you want a poem or what?" asked Sam, smirking.

Dean rolled his eyes.

"C'mon, man. The moment's gone."

Dean grabbed the TV remote and flipped on the power button. Noises from some old, black and white TV movie filled the previously silent room, and Alex watched Dean hand Sam a beer. She sighed in contentment for now, but knew that Dean's time was cutting it close and that soon, he would be long gone.

A few short days later, Alex stood next to Sam as Dean threw a bucketful of holy water onto a man, who screamed as the demon possessing his body was harmed by the holy water.

"You ready to talk?" yelled Dean.

The man groaned once more.

"I don't know. I don't know anything."

Dean smirked.

"Oh, did you two hear that? He doesn't know anything, apparently."

"Yeah, we heard," said Sam.

"I'm telling you the truth," said the man, looking over at Dean.

"Oh, you are? My God, then I owe you an apology. Allow me to make it up to you," said Dean.

He stepped over to the man, grabbed his chin with his free hand, and poured the remainder of the holy water directly into the man's open mouth. The man screamed in absolute agony.

"I'm gonna ask you one last time. Who holds my contract?" yelled Dean.

The man looked up at them, his eyes as black as night with an absolutely evil smile on his face. He chuckled and the three siblings looked at him curiously.

"Your mother. Yeah, she, uh, showed it to me right before I bent her over," said the demon, his eyes going back to a normal, human color.

Dean leaned forward, putting his hands on the armrests of the man's chair. He was only inches away from the man's face, his eyes full of absolute and complete hatred.

"I want a name. Or els-"

"Or what? Hmm? You gonna squirt your holy water in both ends? Please, that's like a flea bite compared to what's coming for me if I tell you shit."

Dean stood up and backed away from the man.

"I mean, you can do what you want. The only thing I'm scared of is the demon holding your ticket," finished the man.

Dean looked at the man for a few seconds longer before glancing over at Alex and Sam. Sam looked at Alex as well and she sighed. She stared at the demon as she began speaking Latin, the exorcism just flowing off of her tongue as if she had been speaking it all of her life. Dean walked in a circle around the man as his body began flailing around. Dean finally made his way behind Alex as she finished the exorcism, sending the demon straight back to hell.

"And you ran the prints twice? You're sure?" asked Sam.

He was on the phone, Alex curled up into an armchair as she watched Sam pace around the room. As Sam's conversation began coming to a close, Alex heard the front door open and then close, knowing Dean would walk into the room any second now.

"Okay. Thanks, yeah, I'll tell the lieutenant," finished Sam.

He watched as Dean entered the room and he hung up his cell phone, sliding it back into his pocket.

"Bury the body?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, poor schmuck. It's like these demons ride 'em hard just for kicks," answered Dean.

He grabbed a beer, popped the cap off of it, and walked over to sit on the small loveseat next to Alex's armchair. He groaned as he sat down and took a pull from his beer.

"What was that phone call about?" he asked, looking over at Sam.

"Remember that thing in the paper yesterday?" asked Sam.

"Um, stripper suffocates dude with thighs?" questioned Dean.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"No, Dean, the other thing," she said.

Dean nodded.

"Right. A dude walks into the ER, keels over dead, and his stomach's ripped out," stated Dean.

Sam leaned against the fireplace against one wall of the small living room.

"His liver, actually, but, yes. Well, I just found out something pretty damn interesting," said Sam.

"What?" asked Alex and Dean.

"The dead body? Covered in bloody fingerprints, but not the victim's," said Sam.

Dean looked at him questioningly, but Alex shivered with a groan of disgust as she wrinkled her nose.

"Those fingerprints match a guy who died in 1981," finished Sam.

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Really? So, what are we talking, uh, the walking dead? The walking, killing dead?"

"Maybe," said Sam, shrugging.

"Eww, zombies," muttered Alex.

"Yes, zombies. Sounds great to me!" said Dean, standing up from his seat on the couch.

About a day later, the siblings were talking to the coroner who had completed the final examination of the victim's body a day earlier.

"Yep, the rest of the body was intact, the liver was the only organ missing," answered the coroner.

"Now, where the liver was ripped out, did you happen to notice any teeth marks?" asked Dean.

The coroner gave all of them a very strange look.

"Can I see your badges?" he asked them, after a short pause.

"Of course. Sure," said Sam.

They all showed him their badges and the older gentleman sniffed as he looked at the badges.

"Fine. So you're cops and morons," he said, still staring at the three of them.

"Um, excuse me?" asked Alex, her eyebrows raised.

"No, no, we're very intelligent," said Dean, stuffing his badge back into his jacket pocket.

"The liver was not ripped out," said the coroner, beginning to walk towards the back of the hospital morgue.

The siblings followed him quickly as he opened the last slot's door, pulling out the silver sliding table that held the corpse. The corpse was still covered by a clean, white sheet until the coroner lifted it up to reveal the incision on the corpse's right side.

"It was removed. Surgically. By someone who knew their way around a scalpel."

He looked at the three siblings as they stared at the incision on the dead man's body, all of them raising their eyebrows in slight shock.

"Didn't you read my report?" he asked with a smug smile on his face.

"Well, of course we did," scoffed Alex.

"Yep, it was really riveting. Just a real page turner. Absolutely delightful," said Dean, smiling and chuckling.

"Are you finished?" asked the coroner.

"I think so," said Dean, his smile fading.

"Then please, go away."

"Sure," said Sam.

"No problem," said Alex.

They turned and walked out of the morgue, the coroner pushing the corpse back into its compartment as they left.

"Well, I don't think this is zombies anymore. This is more like organ theft. And there's a man missing one of his kidneys right upstairs," said Alex, as they left the morgue and walked down a hallway.

She skipped ahead of her brothers slightly and Dean chuckled as he watched her walk away and head upstairs. Sam chuckled too.

"Damn, she's pretty good at this, Sammy."

"Yeah, I know. You taught her well. You taught both of us well," said Sam.

He smiled at his older brother, patting him on the shoulder gently. Dean smirked and they followed Alex up the stairs to the second floor.

"Sir, what's the last thing you remember?" asked Sam.

"Feeding my meter," said the man.

He was very snarky towards them and Alex sighed.

"I was jumped from behind and then I wake up, strapped to a table. And then the worst pain you could ever possibly imagine, only ten times worse. And then I blacked out again, thank the Lord. And then I wake up, screaming, in some no tell motel in a bathtub full of ice!" answered the man, sighing once he was finished telling his story.

"Um, do you remember anything about the surgery, sir? What the guy looked like, any small details about the room?" asked Alex.

"Um, let me think about that. Yeah, one thing is coming back to me. You know what, I remember getting my kidney cut out of my body!"

The man glared at Alex and Dean glared at him as well, warning him with his eyes.

"Well, thanks for your time, sir," said Sam.

He put away his small spiral notebook and he followed his siblings out of the man's hospital room.

Back in the motel room, Sam was on his laptop, Dean was chowing down on a hamburger, and Alex was sitting at the table with them, her legs crossed underneath her as she flipped through some pages about demons, trying to save Dean from his deal.

"So I think I've got a theory," said Sam, scrolling down one internet page.

"Yeah?" asked Dean, never taking his eyes off of his hamburger.

"Yeah, I talked to Mr. Giggles' doctor. Turns out his incisions were sewn up with silk," said Sam.

"That's really weird," said Alex.

"Yeah, well, nowadays it is," said Sam.

He turned the computer screen towards Dean and Alex before he finished talking.

"Silk used to be the suture of choice back in the early nineteenth century. But it was really problematic. Patients would get massive infections, the death rate was insane."

"Good times," said Alex, scrolling through the many pictures located on the website they were on.

"Right. So doctors, they had to do whatever they could to keep infections from spreading. One way was maggots," said Sam.

Dean and Alex both looked disgusted, Dean with a huge mouthful of hamburger meat in his mouth.

"Dude. I'm eating," said Dean, holding up his hamburger to Sam.

"Yeah, well, it actually kind of worked because maggots, they eat bad tissue and then they leave good tissue. But get this. When they found our guy, his body cavity was stuffed full of maggots," said Sam.

"Dude. I'm eating," repeated Dean, now glaring at Sam.

Alex looked disgusted as she glanced at Dean's hamburger.

"Alright, so, let me get this straight. So people are getting killed, some organ theft, a little antique old surgery. So why does this all sound familiar?" asked Dean, taking a drink from his chocolate milkshake.

Dean's face turned to one of profuse thought as he tried to figure out why this story was so familiar. Alex quickly grabbed his milkshake from beside his elbow and took a large gulp from it before Dean could notice. Sam shook his head, laughing and smiling as he watched Alex place the milkshake back down next to Dean's arm, who was still thinking deeply about the familiar story.

"It sounds familiar because you've heard it before. When you were a kid. From Dad," said Sam.

Sam brought their father's journal into his grasp from the middle of the table and began flipping through it. Once he had found the page he was looking for, he placed the journal on top of the laptop, causing the laptop's lid to slam closed as the journal now rested on top of it.

"Doc Benton. Real life doctor, lived in New Hampshire, brilliant. And obsessed with alchemy. Especially, how to live forever," said Sam.

"Oh, yeah, I remember this," said Alex, looking through the pages of her father's journal with Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Yep! So in 1816, Doc abandons his practice…" Sam trailed off.

"Right, yeah. Nobody hears from him for, like, 20 years, and then, all of a sudden, people start showing up dead," finished Alex.

"Dead or missing an organ or a hand or some other kind of part," said Dean.

"Because whatever he was doing, it was actually working. He just kept on ticking. Parts would wear out, and then he would replace them," said Alex.

"But I thought Dad hunted him down and pulled his heart out?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam.

"Yeah, I guess the doc must have plugged in a new one," shrugged Sam.

Dean set the journal back down on the top of the table and picked up his hamburger once again.

"Alright, so. Where's he doing the deed?" he asked.

"Um, well, according to this, Benton's picky about where he sets up his lab. He likes dense forests, with access to a river or a stream. Some kind of fresh water," answered Sam, looking back into their father's journal to answer Dean's questions.

"Why?" asked Dean, around his large mouthful of food.

"Because that's where he likes to dump the bile and intestines and fecal matter," said Sam, laughing as Dean hardly managed to swallow the food he had in his mouth.

"You lost your appetite yet?" asked Alex, smirking over at him.

Dead gagged slightly for a few brief seconds, but then he picked up his hamburger once again and took a large bite out of it, smirking around the food at Sam and Alex. Sam shook his head, smiling at his older brother's antics, while Alex smacked the back of Dean's head gently, laughing as well.

Dean, Alex, and Sam were kneeling down in front of one of their beds, Sam pointing to an area of a local map that he had circled profusely.

"These are old hunting cabins. They've been abandoned for years," said Sam.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" asked Dean, looking over at his brother.

As Sam looked back at Dean, Dean's cell phone rang. It vibrated loudly against the table that it was resting on. Dean stood up from his kneeling position quickly and grabbed his cell phone. He checked the caller ID before answering, flipping the phone open and holding it up to his ear.

"Bobby?" asked Dean.

"Hey. I think I've finally got a lead on Bella," answered Bobby in response to Dean.

"I'm listening."

"Rufus Turner. He's a hunter, well, he used to be. But now he's more of a hermit, mostly. Does a little selling on the side, but anyway. I put the word out on Bella months ago. He just called and said a woman got in touch wanting to buy some things," said Bobby.

"And he thinks it's Bella?" asked Dean.

"Pretty sure thing. Went by the name of Mina Chandler."

"She's used that before. Well, that's kind of a sloppy move, isn't it? Getting in contact with one of your old friends?"

"Friends? I haven't laid eyes on the man in upwards of 15 years. He's certainly not the Christmas card type. I doubt that she knows I know him, honestly. Canin, Vermont," finished Bobby.

"Thanks, Bobby, we're on our way," said Dean.

"One other thing. Take a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue."

"Okay?"

Dean listened as Bobby hung up from their call and he shook his head as he glanced at his phone for a brief second before closing it and throwing it back down onto the table. He grabbed a duffel bag and began stuffing his clothes into it as he glanced back at his siblings.

"Come on, we're going after Bella," said Dean.

"Um, what? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on just a second," said Sam.

"Come on, get your stuff together," said Dean, throwing a large pile of his clothes into his duffel bag.

"Look, I think maybe we should stay here and finish this case," argued Sam.

Dean chuckled, looking at Sam and Alex as he shrugged on his jacket.

"What, are you insane?"

"Dean, there's no way she still has the Colt, that was months ago. She probably sold it the second she got it," said Sam.

Dean stopped for a second, but then he continued moving around the room, collecting his stuff.

"Well, then I'll kill her. Win-win."

"Dean-" began Sam.

"Sam, we're going."

Alex sighed and crossed her arms across her chest.

"No," she whispered.

Dean stopped what he was doing and looked at her, his eyebrows raised. Sam stared at her as well, taken off guard that she was standing up to Dean.

"Why the hell not?" yelled Dean.

"Dean, this. This here, now. This is what's gonna save you," said Sam.

"What, chasing some Frankenstein?"

"No. Chasing immortality," said Alex.

Dean looked taken aback, so Sam continued on explaining, a gleam in his eyes now.

"Look, Alex and I already discussed this and we agree. We're on the same page. Benton can't die. If we find out how he did it, we can do it to you!"

"What in the hell are you talking about?" asked Dean.

"You have to die before you go to hell, right? So, if you can never die…" trailed off Alex, taking her bottom lip in between her front teeth as she stared at her oldest brother.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second. Did… did you guys know that this was Doc Benton from the jump?" asked Dean, stepping closer to the two of them with every single word he spoke.

Alex looked down at the floor and Sam briefly hesitated before answering.

"No," he said.

Dean stared at them and Sam sighed in defeat.

"Look, we were both hoping-"

"So the whole zombie thing, you guys were just lying to me?"

"Neither one of us wanted to say anything until we were sure, Dean. All we're trying to do is find an answer here," said Alex.

"No, no. What you're trying to do is chase Slicy McHacky over here. And to kill him? No, you just wanna buy him a freaking beer, you want to study him," argued Dean.

"We were just trying to help," whispered Alex, looking back down at the floor once again.

"Well, neither one of you were fucking helping! You forget that if I welch on this deal, Sam, you die. Then we would both leave Alex alone in this world with no one to fucking turn to! No, it's just like Bobby's been saying. We kill the demon who holds this contract. It's our best bet," said Dean.

He walked back over to his bed and grabbed his things, glaring at the both of them. They all stayed silent until Dean zipped up his duffel bags.

"So are you two coming or not?" he asked them.

Sam looked at Alex.

"No. We're staying here," answered Sam.

Dean stared at them.

"No. You're not. 'Cause I'm not letting either one of you walk out into the woods alone to track some organ stealing freak!" yelled Dean.

Sam chuckled and placed his hands on his hips.

"Oh, you're not gonna let me? How are you gonna stop me?"

Dean sighed and walked away from them, grabbing his duffel bags from off of his bed.

"Well, I'm going. So if you guys are gonna stay, stay."

Sam nodded and Alex looked at him sadly. Dean nodded at the both of them one last time before slinging his duffel bags onto his shoulders. He brushed past Sam without looking at him, but stopped and took a quick glance at Alex. He walked past her without doing or saying anything. He opened the door and paused in the doorway, turning to look back at them.

"Sammy, Alex. Please be careful," he warned them.

"You too," whispered Sam, nodding at him.

Dean stared at them for a moment longer and then he grabbed the doorknob, shutting the door behind him as he left. Sam sighed and glanced at Alex, who was holding back tears as she looked up at her twin brother. Sam looked at her sadly and pulled her into his chest.

A few hours later, Sam put the Jeep he and Alex had rented into park. They were in the middle of the woods and Sam took out the map they had been looking at earlier when Dean was still around. He and Alex climbed out of the car, Sam holding the map and Alex holding her flashlight as they began walking through the woods. Sam clicked the remote, locking the car as he and Alex took off into the woods.

As night began to fall, Sam and Alex entered a very old, abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods. The wooden door creaked open as Sam pushed it open and Alex followed him inside of the cabin. They walked through the small room, flipping through open books that were out on small end tables and shining their flashlights in every corner of the room. Sam found a desk in the corner of the room and saw a small, red leather bound book. The symbol on the front was the symbol for alchemy, so Sam quickly grabbed the book and stuffed it into his jacket. He looked over at Alex, who was standing in one corner of the room, looking down at the floorboards with her head cocked to the side curiously. Sam walked over to her and stood beside her.

"Hmm, I wonder what it is," said Alex.

"Well, we might as well find out," suggested Sam.

"Let's do it," said Alex.

Sam crouched down and pulled open the door, revealing a wooden set of stairs. Spider webs and cobwebs adorned the sides of the stairs as Sam led the way down the creaky, rickety old stairs, Alex following right behind him. Sam stopped on the third step from the top shining his light down into the room, crouching down in hopes to see what was actually down there before he continued. He kept walking after a few seconds, being very cautious as he walked. He reached the landing and helped Alex step down onto the cement floor. They looked ahead and Alex turned away, hiding her head into Sam's chest as she saw a dead man, covered in blood, lying on a rolling gurney table. Sam held her for a minute or two until she had calmed down, taking deep breaths so she could move forward into the room. Sam and Alex walked over to the body, Sam reaching out and holding two fingers up to the man's neck once they were close enough to touch him. His body was as cold as ice and Sam shook his head when his fingers touched the man's cold, dead skin. Sam took in a deep breath as he looked towards the wall on the other side of the room. Alex was huddled close to his side as they walked forward. A window was boarded up very crudely, some moonlight managing to shine through the slats of wood very easily. Pictures adorned the walls, some of faces and some neither Sam nor Alex could make out. As Sam continued looking at the pictures, Alex looked off into the corner of the room and saw another body there. This body looked alive and Alex swore she heard an intake of breath from the person.

"Sammy, over there," whispered Alex.

Sam looked away from the wall of pictures, so he and Alex slowly made their way over to a woman, who was lying on a silver gurney similar to the one they had just previously seen on the other side of the room. Alex groaned gently with disgust as she glanced at the woman's forearm. Blood was covering her forearm, maggots crawling all over her bloodied arm. Alex held back the bile she wanted to expel at the sight of this woman's arm. As Sam leaned over the woman, ready to reach out and check her pulse, the woman's eyes popped open and she gasped for breath. Her eyes were wide as she looked over at Alex and Sam. Sam put a hand to the woman's hair and held a finger up to his lips.

"Shh, shh, shh, okay? I'm gonna help you, we're gonna help you," whispered Sam.

He and Alex began looking around and Alex grabbed a white, dingy towel off of some sort of tray/table looking thing. She handed it to Sam, who gently set it down on the woman's arm. The woman squealed quietly in pain and Alex flinched for the poor girl.

"Shh, shh, I'm sorry," whispered Sam.

Both Alex and Sam froze as they heard the doors creak from upstairs and they knew Doctor Benton must have come back then.

"Shh, shh," pleaded Sam, looking at the struggling woman.

"Sammy, we've gotta move her. Now," whispered Alex.

Sam nodded and he and Alex worked together quickly to unchain and untie the poor woman. They got her off of the table she was resting on and Sam picked her up in his arms, bridal style. Alex listened as the floorboards creaked above her, indicating that the doctor was, in fact, home and was walking directly above them. Alex pulled the almost rotted wood off of the window downstairs and quickly climbed out of it. Sam handed her the woman, who managed to climb out herself, with some of Alex's help. The woman whimpered as Sam launched himself out of the room and through the window. Once they were all safely outside of the house, Sam grabbed the woman and pulled her back up into his arms. They all ran for the Jeep, Sam unlocking the doors as they approached. He ran over to the passenger side and Alex opened the door, watching as Sam put the whimpering woman into the passenger seat. She groaned even more as the pain from her arm worsened.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," chanted Sam.

Alex climbed into the backseat of the Jeep as Sam dashed over to the passenger seat. The woman fell over, her head resting slightly on Sam's chest, as Sam stuck the key in the ignition, starting the car.

"It's starting, it's starting," he whispered to the woman.

As he reached over to put the car into drive, his window was shattered by Dr. Benton. Alex screamed in terror as the woman in the passenger seat shrieked along with her. Dr. Benton grabbed the back of Sam's head and slammed it into his steering wheel two times. Sam managed to grab the gearshift and shifted the car into reverse. Dr. Benson slid across the hood, but fell off as Sam reversed his vehicle. The doctor was lying on the dead grass a few feet in front of the vehicle, the headlights shining onto his hideous features. Sam stared the man down and then pushed the gearshift into drive. He accelerated and ran over Dr. Benton as he drove out of the woods as fast as his car would allow him to.

Dean grabbed Bella from behind as soon as she walked into her own motel room. He slammed her up against the wall beside the door, his arm holding her in place as he rested it on the top of her chest, right along her collarbone. His gun was aimed directly into her face.

"Where's the Colt?" he growled out.

"Dean," said Bella.

"No extra words."

Bella sighed.

"It's long gone. Across the world by now," answered Bella.

Dean took his arm away from her chest. He flipped on the lights using the top of his gun and pulled Bella close to him.

"What in the hell are you doing?" she asked him, their faces only inches apart.

"Don't flatter yourself," said Dean, holding up the gun he had just removed from her waistband.

"Don't move," said Dean, pointing his gun at her with his eyebrows raised.

He began pulling out the drawers of her dresser, looking for the Colt.

"I told you already, I don't have it!" argued Bella.

"Oh, yeah, 'cause I'm really gonna believe your word."

Dean moved away from the dresser against the wall and began rummaging through the ones by her bed. As he wasn't looking, Bella slid against the wall and over to the door, reaching for the handle inconspicuously. As she tried to grab for the handle, a shot was blasted through the door directly above her head and to the left. She gasped and looked back at the hole that was now in the door right above her head.

"Don't move," repeated Dean, holding up his gun that he had just shot off above her head.

Bella took in a few deep breaths to catch her breath and she looked over at Dean, flipping a few strands of hair behind her shoulders and sighing as she looked over at him. Dean glared back at her and then turned his attention to her Louis Vuitton suitcase. He lifted it onto the bed and began unzipping it as Bella sighed.

"It's really gone. Get on a plane, if you must. Track down the buyer, you might catch up to him eventually," said Bella.

She watched as Dean sighed and walked over to her, abandoning his search through her luggage and standing directly in front of her. He held his gun up to her forehead and she stared down the barrel of his gun, literally.

"Are you going to kill me? Because you're not really the cold-blooded type," said Bella, calmly.

"What, you mean like you? You know what, that's true. You see, I couldn't imagine killing my own parents," said Dean.

Bella smirked slightly, just a small smile playing on the edge of her pouty lips.

"I have no clue what you're talk-"

"Yes, you do. You were… what, 14? Your folks died in some shady car accident. The police suspected a slashed brake line, but it was all way too crispy to tell. So, it's little Bella… oh, I'm sorry, I meant Abby, inheriting millions," said Dean.

"How did you even-"

"That doesn't matter," said Dean, staring at Bella coldly as she looked down at the floor.

Her smirk was long gone, just a sad young woman looking down at the floor. After a few minutes, though, Bella looked back up at Dean, her smirk back once again, in full force.

"They were lovely people. And then I killed them, but I also got rich. I can't be bothered to give a damn, honestly. Just like I don't care what in the hell happens to you," said Bella.

Dean lunged at her and pushed her up against the door, her back slamming into it. Bella grunted as her back hit the door. He stared into her cold eyes, the tip of his gun pressed against her chin.

"You make me sick," he told her.

"Likewise," she said in return.

He looked into her eyes one last time before stepping away from her.

"You're not worth it," he said to her.

He shoved her out of his way as he left her motel room, noticing the motel room receipt she held in her hands that she had stolen from within his jacket pocket.

Sam grabbed his cell phone from off of the end table that was resting beside his bed. He checked the caller ID and immediately hit answer.

"Dean," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Did you get the Colt?" asked Sam.

"Well, what do you think?" barked back Dean.

"So does that mean Bella is, uh…?"

"No. She deserves to die a dozen times over, but I couldn't do it."

"Dean."

"I'm really screwed, Sammy."

"No, you're just…"

"But you were right, you know? Bella was a goose chase… The Colt's gone and this time I'm really screwed, Sam."

"Maybe not," said Sam.

He stood up from his seat on the bed as he spoke to Dean on the phone.

"Dean, Alex and I, we, uh, we found Benton's cabin."

"Well, okay. Was he there?" asked Dean.

"Yeah."

"Did you kill him?"

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"Dean, please, just listen for a second. I found his lab book. It has the formula."

"What, the live forever formula?"

"Yeah," said Sam, disbelief coloring his tone.

"Great, let me guess. I've probably gotta drink blood out of a baby's skull or something as equally disgusting, right?" asked Dean.

"No, that's the thing! It's not black magic. There's no blood sacrifice or anything, it. It's just science, Dean. Very, very, extremely weird science, but…"

"Wait, wait, wait, what are you saying? You think…?"

"Dean, I think it might be doable. I mean, I know we've hit a lot of walls, but I, I mean, I think this formula, I think it might be it. This could save you," said Sam.

"Um, okay. Okay, so this formula…"

"Right, well, we're not in the clear yet. There's still things that I don't get-"

Sam's phone fell to the floor as Dr. Benton grabbed him from behind, holding a white cloth soaked with chloroform up to Sam's mouth.

"Sam?" asked Dean.

Dean heard Sam's struggle against the doctor through the phone.

"Sammy?" he asked again.

Dean hung up as he realized what was happening and he accelerated the Impala as fast as it would go.

Alex walked back into the motel room. She had been doing laundry when Sam was kidnapped and she had no idea he was even gone. She unlocked the motel room door, carrying her bag of laundry over her shoulder and stepped inside. She looked around, beginning to panic when she saw that Sam wasn't there. She spotted his Blackberry lying beside one of the table legs and she rushed over to it, picking it up.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she yelled.

She took Sam's Blackberry in her hands and used the trackball to scroll through his most recent calls. As she found Dean's number and began to hit redial, the motel room door was kicked open. Alex crawled away from the intruder, taking in a deep breath to prepare for her loud scream, when she looked over and realized it was Dean standing in the doorway and not Doctor Benton. She sighed in relief as Dean took four huge, long strides to get over to her. He yanked her up and into his arms, wrapping his arms around her little frame as she cried sobs of relief. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair as he held her, closing his eyes. He sank down to the floor with her in his lap as he whispered words of encouragement into her ear. He leaned against the end of one of the beds as he sat with Alex.

"Alex, thank God you're alright. I was so worried that he had gotten a hold of you too," whispered Dean.

Alex nodded into his chest and she sat back out of his hold, wiping her tears on the back of her arm and looking directly at his face.

"Dean, we have to go help Sammy. We have to save Sammy right now. C'mon," said Alex.

She stood up and grabbed her jacket from off of one of the many chairs and followed Dean outside to the Impala, directing him to the cabin in the middle of the woods where Benton was located.

Dean and Alex crept downstairs as slowly and as quietly as possible, listening to Dr. Benton speak to Sam. As Dr. Benton leaned over Sam to remove one of his eyeballs, Dean quickly pulled out his gun and shot Dr. Benton three times, straight through the chest. The doctor turned to face the both of them, severely annoyed.

"Shoot all you want," he said.

Dean continued shooting him as Dr. Benton walked closer to him. He didn't even look at Alex as he shoved Dean across the room. Alex ran over to Sam and began helping him get free. Dean fell into a cabinet and a tray full of glass equipment, shattering the glass as he fell in between the cabinet and the tray. The doctor leaned over to Dean, grabbing him by the collar of the shirt as Dean plunged a knife directly into the doctor's heart. The doctor looked down at the knife protruding from his chest. The doctor chuckled and smiled.

"A knife," he laughed.

He stood up from his hunched over position and grabbed the handle of the knife that was still protruding from his chest.

"What part of immortality do you folks not really understand?"

Doctor Benton stood up, still chuckling to himself.

"Pity about the heart, though. It was a brand new one."

"Good. Then it should be pumping nice and strong," said Dean.

He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a small bottle of chloroform.

"I found this nice little bottle of yours upstairs. I dipped that knife in it right before I came down here. Your heart should be pumping this stuff all throughout your body as we speak."

"No, no," cried the doctor, horrified, as he fell over onto the floor, knocked out cold from the chloroform.

Dean grabbed the doctor and dragged his unconscious body over to the table that Sam had previously been strapped down to. All three of the siblings helped strap him down and then they waited for him to wake up. Doctor Benton stirred after a few moments and he looked over at Dean, who was somewhat leaning over him with a huge smile on his face.

"Please," whispered the doctor.

"What, you've been killing poor bastards for over 150 years and now you have some weird final request? No, so shut up," said Dean.

He grabbed some weird tool, examining it, as Alex and Sam looked on. The doctor continued talking to Dean, trying to reason with him.

"I can read you the formula. You know, immortality, forever young. Never die," whispered Dr. Benton.

"Dean," whispered Sam, looking at his older brother.

"Sam," warned Dean, glaring over at him.

Sam cocked his head over to the side of the room and the siblings left to converse with one another briefly.

"What?" asked Dean, once they were safely away from Dr. Benton.

Sam sighed.

"I mean, we're talking hell in three weeks or needing a new pancreas in like, half a century," reasoned Sam.

"Yeah, but we can't exactly get those at a quickie mart!"

"Yeah, well, it's not perfect, but it certainly buys us more time until there's something better. We just need time, Dean, please, just… just think about it," pleaded Sam.

Dean nodded, looking back towards where the doctor was strapped down. He glanced from Alex to Sam, Alex shaking her head towards him. Dean sighed and looked over at Sam as he gave him his final answer on the matter.

"No."

"Dean. Don't you wanna live?" asked Sam.

"What he is isn't living. Look, this is simple," argued Dean.

"Simple?"

"To me, it is, okay? Black and white, human versus not human. What the doc is, is a freaking monster," said Dean, stepping away from his siblings and back into the room where the doctor was still lying, trapped.

"I can't do it. I would rather go to hell," finished Dean, grabbing the small bottle of chloroform again and pressing it against a small white cloth.

He pressed the cloth to the doctor's face and looked over at his siblings.

"Now, I'm gonna take care of him. So you two can either help me or not," said Dean.

He removed the cloth from the doctor's face once he was fully knocked out. They buried him in a huge metal box that was chained together and threw his book of formulas on top of it. They heard the doctor pleading with them as they buried him, throwing dirt on top of the box that was 12 feet under the ground.

The next night, Dean called their previous motel room phone, knowing Bella would be there by now.

"Hiya, Bella. Here's a fun fact for you, I could feel your hand in my pocket when you tried to swipe my motel room receipt," said Dean, as soon as she had picked up the motel room phone.

"No, no. You don't understand," said Bella.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I understand perfectly. See, I noticed something very interesting in your motel room. Something tucked above the doorframe? An herb? Devil's Shoestring. Well, there's only one use for that. Holding hell hounds at bay. You see, you know what I did? I went back and took another look at your parent's obit. It said that they died ten years ago today. You didn't kill them. A demon did your dirty work, so you made a deal. Didn't you, Bella? And now, it's come due."

Dean heard Bella's sniffles and tears through the phone as he continued speaking.

"So is that why you stole the Colt? Huh? Trying to wiggle out of your deal, our gun for your soul?"

"Yes," answered Bella, through her tears.

"But stealing the Colt wasn't quite enough, I'm guessing," said Dean.

"They changed the deal. They wanted me to kill Sam," cried Bella.

"Really? Wow, demons, untrustworthy. Huh, shocker. It's, uh, kind of a tight deadline too. Um, what time is it again? Oh, look at that. Almost midnight," said Dean.

Bella's tears turned into full out sobs as she watched the clock turn from 11:57 to 11:58 PM, sitting on one of the empty motel room beds in the Winchesters' previous motel room from the night before.

"Dean, listen, I need help."

"Sweetheart, we are weeks past help," answered Dean.

"I know I don't deserve it," she cried.

"You know what, you're right, you don't. But you know what the bitch is? If you would've just come to us sooner and asked for help, we probably could've taken the Colt and saved your sorry ass."

"I know, and saved yourself. I know about your deal, Dean."

"And who told you about that?"

"The demon that holds it. She holds mine, too. She says she holds every single deal."

"She?" questioned Dean.

"Her name's Lilith," answered Bella.

"Lilith? Why should I believe you, though?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam and Alex, with his eyebrows raised.

Bella shook her head.

"You shouldn't, but it's definitely the truth."

"This can't help you, Bella. Not now, why are you telling me this?"

"Because, just maybe, you can kill the bitch," answered Bella, her tears subsiding as she found some resolve.

Dean paused for a brief second before responding to Bella's comment.

"I'll see you in hell," he said.

He hung up his cell phone and threw it into one of the front cup holders, sighing as he threw it.

Dean woke with a jolt, lifting his head up from the table he was sitting at. He pulled his cheek from the map that he had laid out on the table as Sam and Alex walked into the room, smirking at him.

"Dig up anything good?" asked Sam.

Dean glanced down at the book that was resting in front of him and saw that it was open to a page with a picture of hell hounds staring back at him. He shut the book before looking up at his siblings.

"No, nothing good," said Dean.

"Well, Bobby has. Finally," said Sam, a huge smile on his face as he looked at Dean.

"Yeah, a way to find Lilith!" said Alex.

"Wow. With just, uh, 30 hours to go," smirked Dean.

Alex sighed as she and Sam sat down on either side of Dean at the table.

"Hey, uh, Dean. Look, we're cutting it close, I know. But we're gonna get this done. I don't care what it takes, Dean. You're not going to hell. Alex and I aren't gonna let you. I swear. Everything is gonna be okay," promised Sam.

"Yeah. Okay," said Dean in response.

Bobby set a large contraption down over the top of a spread-out map. Candles were spread out all over the table as Sam, Alex, and Dean stood on one side of the table, Bobby standing on the other side. Bobby looked at them all, nodding, as he began speaking Latin, the contraption spinning around slowly in a circle over the top of the map. They watched as the spindle on the end of the contraption stopped over the state of Indiana. Bobby leaned over to read the map.

"New Harmony, Indiana. We have a winner," said Bobby.

"Alright. Let's go," said Sam.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on there, Tex," said Dean.

"What's the problem?" asked Sam.

"The problem? Oh, where do I begin? First of all, we don't know if Lilith actually holds my deal. I mean, we're going off of Bella's intel here. And when that bitch breathes, the air comes out crooked, okay? Second, even if we could get to Lilith, we have no way of ganking her. And third, Sam, isn't this the same Lilith that wants your head on a pipe? So, should I continue?" asked Dean, looking at Sam.

Bobby chuckled.

"Well, ain't you just bringing down the room?"

"Oh, well, it's a gift," said Dean, smiling sarcastically.

"Look, I'm sorry, but what are we supposed to do then, Dean?" asked Sam.

"Just because I gotta die doesn't mean anyone else has to, okay? Either we go in smart or we're not going in at all!" yelled Dean.

"Okay, fine then. If that's the case, I have the answer," said Sam, crossing his arms over his chest.

"You do?" asked Dean, looking at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, a surefire way to confirm it's Lilith and a way to get is a bonafide demon killing genius," said Sam.

"Damn it, Sam, no," argued Dean.

He walked away from the table, his backs to all of them, as Sam spoke up.

"Dean, we are so past arguing. I'm summoning Ruby," said Sam.

"The hell you are! We have enough problems as it is!" yelled Dean.

"Exactly!"

Sam walked over to Dean, standing directly in front of him now.

"And we've got no time and no choice, either!"

"C'mon, man, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, okay? She told you that she could save me, huh? Lie. She seems to know everything about Lilith, but forgot to mention, oh, right, Lilith owns my soul!"

"Okay, fine, she's a liar. She's still got that knife!" yelled Sam.

Alex, who was still standing at the table with Bobby, looked at her father figure. Bobby sighed, nodding.

"Dean. Sam and Alex are right," said Bobby.

"No! Damn it!" yelled Dean.

Bobby stared at him, his eyebrows raised. Dean took in a few deep breaths to gather himself before he spoke again.

"Just, no. We are not gonna make the same mistakes all over again. If you guys wanna save me, find something else."

Dean went and sat down at a smaller desk in the corner of the room. Bobby grabbed his jacket from beside him and began shrugging it on.

"Where are you going, Bobby?" asked Alex, watching him put on his jacket.

"I guess to… find something else," answered Bobby.

He shrugged and Alex shrugged back at him, sighing. She watched Bobby leave the house, hearing the front door slam closed as he left them alone. Sam closed his eyes, sighing as well.

A few hours later, Alex watched as Sam left the room, knowing he was going to summon Ruby in the abandoned barn out back. She sighed and trudged up the stairs to find Dean, who was sitting in Bobby's study, staring out into nothing. His head snapped over to look at her as she entered the room. She walked over to stand in front of him.

"Sam's out back, summoning Ruby," whispered Alex.

She bit her lip as she looked over at Dean. He sighed and cursed under his breath.

"Fuck," he muttered.

He stood up and grabbed his jacket from off of the chair he had been sitting in. He threw it on and then looked at her, smiling softly.

"Thanks, baby girl."

Alex nodded and he grabbed her hand, pulling her along with him as they headed for the barn out back.

Alex and Dean stood in the shadows as they listened to Ruby. She told Sam that he could save Dean by using his psychic powers. She told him that his powers were only dormant, not officially gone. Dean sighed and nodded at Alex, deciding it was time to make themselves known.

"So that's you, huh? Our slutty little Yoda," said Dean, as he and Alex walked over to join Sam and Ruby.

"Dean," said Ruby, her eyebrows raised.

She looked over at him, her smile huge and fake.

"Charming as ever," she told him.

"Oh, I knew you were bound to show up. 'Cause I knew Sam wouldn't listen. But you're not gonna teach him a damn thing, do you understand me? Over my dead body," threatened Dean, standing directly in front of Ruby now.

"Huh. Well, you're right about that," said Ruby.

"But what you are gonna do is give me that knife. And then you can go crawl back into whatever slop you came from and never bother me or my siblings again, are we clear?"

"Your brother is carrying a bomb inside of him and we'd be stupid not to use it. Actually, Alex is too, but Lilith knows that she'll never do anything with it," said Ruby, looking past Dean to glare at Alex for a split second.

"Dean, look. Just hold on-"

"Sam. Don't. C'mon, man, what are you, blind? Can't you see that this is a huge trick?"

"That's not true," said Ruby, but Dean just ignored her.

"She wants you to give in to this whole demonic, psychic whatever, okay? I mean, hell, she probably wants you to become her little, anti-Christ superstar," said Dean.

"I want Lilith dead. That's all," said Ruby.

Dean raised his eyebrows and smiled at her sarcastically.

"Why?" he asked her.

"I've told you why!"

"Oh, right, yeah, because you were human once. And you liked kittens and long walks on the beach," said Dean.

"You know what, I am so sick of proving myself to you. You want to save yourself, this is how, you dumb, spineless, dick," said Ruby.

Dean turned away from Ruby for a split second and looked back at Alex. His eyes widened as he saw her brush past him angrily and throw a hard right punch straight onto Ruby's nose. Ruby's head flew back and Alex went to hit her some more, but Dean grabbed her around the waist, holding her back. Sam looked on in complete disbelief as Ruby glared at Alex, blood all over her hands and her face. Ruby charged toward Alex, but she couldn't move after more than a few seconds. She looked up and saw that she was stuck in a Devil's Trap, prohibiting her from moving. Dean finally let go of Alex's waist and Alex smirked at Ruby, pulling out Ruby's knife from within her grasp.

"Like I said. We knew you'd come," said Dean.

"Wait. You're just gonna leave me here?" asked Ruby.

"Let's go, Sam," said Dean, completely ignoring Ruby's question.

"Oh. Oh, so you're just too stupid to live, is that it?" asked Ruby, watching as Dean began walking up the stairs.

"Then fine! You deserve hell! And I wish I could be there, Dean. I wish I could smell the flesh sizzle off of your bones! I wish I could be there to hear you scream!" yelled Ruby, as he disappeared up the stairs, Alex and Sam right behind him.

"Well, I wish you would shut your pie hole, but we don't always get what we want," muttered Dean.

Dean, Alex, and Sam were gearing up for battle, loading guns and cleaning them as they stood at the kitchen table. Sam sighed as he finished with one gun.

"Are we just gonna let Ruby rot down there?" he asked them.

"Well, yep, Sam. That's the idea," answered Dean, never looking up from his work.

"Dean, what if, uh… What if Ruby's right? What if I can take out Lilith?" asked Sam.

"What, do you think you're gonna give her the Carrie stare and Lilith goes poof?" asked Dean, staring at Sam.

"I don't know. Don't look at me like that. I don't know what Ruby meant. You know, maybe we should just go ask her," volunteered Sam.

"Sammy, you wanted the knife and I got you the knife," said Dean, turning away from Sam.

"Dean, just listen to me for a second. Last time, Lilith snapped her fingers and put 30 demons on our asses and now all we got is one little knife? Like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all," argued Sam.

"Yeah, well, this ain't smart," said Dean, turning back around to look at Sam.

"We've got one shot at this, Dean, just one. So if there's a surefire way, then maybe we should just talk about it," said Sam.

Alex sighed and bit her lip, hating that they were arguing when they needed to be focused on saving Dean.

"Sam. We are not gonna make the same mistake all over again," said Dean, stepping closer to his brother.

"You said that, but what does that even mean?" asked Sam, shaking his head with his eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Don't you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, Dean's deal, and now this? I mean, every single time one of us is up the creek, the others are begging to sell their soul," said Alex, finally speaking up.

Dean nodded.

"That's all this is, man. Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it's paved with and you definitely know where it's going," said Dean, turning away from Sam once again.

Sam sighed.

"Dean. What are you afraid is gonna happen? This is only me, I can handle it. And if it'll save you…" trailed off Sam, sitting down next to his brother.

"Why even risk it?" asked Dean.

Alex sat down on Dean's other side and answered his question.

"Because you're our brother."

"And because you did the same thing for me," whispered Sam.

Dean scoffed.

"I know. And look how that turned out. Look, all I'm saying…"

Dean trailed off, collecting his thoughts before continuing on.

"Sammy, all I'm saying is you're my weak spot."

Sam looked at him and Dean gave him a gentle half-smile.

"You are. I would do anything to protect you and Alex. And I'm your weak spot, I am."

"We're family," said Sam.

"I know. And those evil sons of bitches know it too. I mean, what we'll do for each other or how far we'll go, they're using it against all of us," said Dean.

"So, what? We just stop looking out for each other?" asked Alex, somewhat laughing as she spoke.

"No, we stop being martyrs. Man, we stop spreading it for these damn demons. We take this knife," said Dean, grabbing the knife from where it was placed beside him, "and we go after Lilith our way, the way Dad taught us to. And if we go down, then, uh, we go down swingin'," said Dean.

He looked between his siblings.

"So, what do you think?"

Sam and Alex looked at each other, exchanging small smirks before Sam spoke up.

"I think you probably should've been jammin' 'Eye of the Tiger' right there."

Dean rolled his eyes and turned around, setting Ruby's knife back down.

"Oh, bite me."

Dean stood up, messing with a few items behind him.

"You know, I totally rehearsed that speech too."

Alex and Sam chuckled, wide grins spreading across their faces.

So, Indiana, huh?" asked Sam, after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah, where Lilith is on a short leave," said Alex.

"Yeah, I guess," said Sam, raising his eyebrows.

Dean stopped what he was working on and glanced between his siblings.

"So, tell me something. What does a demon do for fun?" he asked them.

Sam just shrugged, but Alex shivered.

"Ugh. Honestly, I don't think any of us really want to know what fun means for a demon," said Alex.

Dean nodded and began packing up a duffel bag with a multitude of items, preparing for the treacherous task ahead of all of them. Alex exchanged a look of sadness with Sam, knowing Dean's hours were slowly ticking away and they weren't any closer to stopping them.

Dean looked confused as the Impala wouldn't start. He kept turning the key, but nothing was happening. Alex and Sam looked worried, wondering what Dean was going to do when Bobby knocked lightly on Dean's window. He held up a part of the Impala that was missing from under the hood and Dean sighed.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Bobby.

Dean sighed, but opened his door, climbing out of his car along with Alex and Sam. Sam walked over from the passenger side to stand on the other side of Alex, who had Dean on her right side. Bobby stood in front of them all.

"We got the knife," answered Dean, shrugging his shoulders at Bobby.

Bobby nodded, his eyebrows raised.

"And you intend to use it without me? Do I look like a ditchable prom date to you?" asked Bobby.

"No, Bobby, of course not," offered Sam.

"This is about me. And Alex and Sam. Okay? This isn't your fight," argued Dean, looking at Bobby.

"The hell it isn't," said Bobby, stepping forward and getting right up into Dean's face. Dean had to step back in order to even keep looking Bobby in the eye.

"Family don't end with blood, boy. Besides, you need me," said Bobby, finally stepping back from Dean.

"Bobby," warned Dean.

"You're playing wounded. Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had so far?"

Sam and Alex looked confused, their eyebrows pulling together as they looked from Bobby over to Dean's face. Dean looked at them and shrugged.

"How's you know?" he asked Bobby, looking back at him.

"Because that's what happens when you have hell hounds hunting down your ass. And because I'm smart," answered Bobby.

Dean nodded, looking down at the ground below his feet. Bobby held up the part he had stolen from the Impala and Dean grabbed it from his hands.

"I'll follow," said Bobby, walking away from them and heading for his own vehicle.

Dean glanced at his twin siblings before heading for the hood of the Impala, to quickly put the part back into its place.

"And don't be stopping to pee every 10 minutes, either," called out Bobby, looking over his shoulder at all three of them.

Dean looked back at Alex, who shrugged.

They had been on the road for a few hours. Once night had fallen, Alex had curled up in the backseat. Her shoes were lying on the floor of the car from when she had kicked them off of her tiny feet and her socks were mismatched, one black and the other white. One was Sam's and one was Dean's. Sam's leather jacket was across the top half of her body, covering her arms. She rolled over to face the back of the seats and her breath blew a strand of her hair into face, landing on her cheek. Sam glanced back to see her, chuckling when he saw her mismatched socks and realized they weren't even her own socks. He turned back around to face the front, glancing at Dean as he did so. He sighed and looked out the windshield.

"Hey, Dean?" whispered Sam.

"Yeah?" asked Dean.

"You know, if this doesn't, uh… If this doesn't go the way we want, I want you to know-"

"No, no, no, no, no."

"No what?"

"You're not gonna bust out the misty goodbye speech, okay? I mean, if this is my last day on earth, I do not want it to be socially awkward."

Sam sighed and looked out his passenger side window. Dean glanced at his brother and sighed, as well.

"But you know what I do want."

Dean leaned over slightly and switched on the radio. Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" played through the speakers of the car, somewhat quietly so as not to wake up Alex. Dean closed his eyes for a split second, nodding his head to the rhythm of the music. Sam raised his eyebrows and looked over at Dean.

"Bon Jovi?" asked Sam.

"Bon Jovi rocks. On occasion," answered Dean.

Sam scoffed and looked back out his passenger side window. Dean began singing along with the song, loudly and very off key. Alex stirred in the backseat, waking up slightly and she groaned as she heard Dean's awful singing. Dean smacked Sam's shoulder and Sam looked over at him.

"Come on," urged Dean.

Sam looked at him for a few seconds and then joined in, singing the background part as Dean sang the lead vocals. Sam smirked and looked over at his older brother, joining in the main vocals. Alex sat up in the backseat and smirked at her brothers, chiming in with the singing. After the song had ended, they were sitting in comfortable silence when they heard police sirens coming from behind them. Sam looked over at Dean, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Are we getting pulled over?" asked Sam.

Dean looked in his side-view mirror.

"Ah, I got a busted taillight. It's not like we're in a hurry or nothing," said Dean, rolling his eyes as he pulled over on the side of the road.

The cop pulled his car up behind them, shutting off his sirens, but leaving his lights flashing red and blue. Dean shut off his headlights and rolled down his window as Sam reached inside the glove compartment, handing Dean the proof of insurance papers. Dean grabbed the papers from Sam as the officer walked up to his window.

"Problem, Officer?" asked Dean.

"License and registration, please," said the officer, sounding bored.

Dean handed the man the papers and his license.

"You do realize you have a taillight out, Mr… Hagar."

The man looked down at Dean, his flashlight shining off to the side of Dean's window.

"Yes. Yes, sir. Uh, you know I've been meaning to, uh, take care of that. As a matter of fact…"

Dean trailed off and opened his car door quickly, slamming it into the officer's legs. The officer groaned in pain and stumbled backwards as Dean launched himself from the car, punching the officer directly in the face.

"Dean!" yelled Alex and Sam, climbing out of the car quickly.

They ran over to him as he punched and kicked the man all the way back to his police cruiser. Dean pulled Ruby's knife from his waistband and stabbed the man directly in the throat. Bobby pulled up behind the police cruiser and ran over to the siblings, looking down at the dead police officer with wide eyes.

"What the hell happened?" asked Bobby, looking over at Dean.

"Dean just killed a demon," said Alex, her eyes wide, as well.

"How'd you even know?" asked Sam.

"I just knew. I could see its face. His real face, under that one," answered Dean.

About an hour later, they were all stationed in a brand new house, still being built, across from the house where Lilith was staying. Dean watched as a little girl smiled at the adults around here.

"It's the little girl. Her face is awful," whispered Dean.

"Alright, then, let's go. We're wasting time," said Sam, beginning to move towards the door to head downstairs.

"Wait," said Dean, grabbing Sam's arm and spinning him around to face him.

"For what? For her to kill the rest of them?" asked Sam.

"And us too, if we're not careful," said Dean.

He looked back out towards the window and urged Sam to look, as well.

"Look. See the real go-getter mailman on the clock at 9 PM? And Mr. Rogers over there," said Dean, pointing out the neighbor.

"Demons?" asked Alex, looking at the people Dean had pointed out to them.

"Yes," answered Dean.

"Um, okay fine. We ninja past those guys and then sneak in," answered Sam.

"And what, put a Columbia necktie on a three year old girl? C'mon," said Dean, looking at his brother.

"Look, Dean, I know it's awful," said Sam.

"Uh, yeah, you think?"

"This isn't just about saving you, Dean. This is about saving everybody," said Sam.

"She's gotta be stopped, son," reassured Bobby, from behind Dean.

Dean glanced back at Bobby. He looked at Alex as well, who was biting her lip in nervousness. She nodded slightly and Dean looked back out the window.

"Ah, damn it," said Dean.

Dean knocked a garbage can across the street from where the mailman was standing. He watched as the mailman stopped sorting through the mail and his eyes turned black as he spotted Dean. Dean began running as the mailman chased after him. Dean jumped over a small gate into the backyard of the house they had previously been standing in and he ran around the corner of the house. A few seconds after Dean had run around the corner, the demon mailman followed him and Sam grabbed the man, stabbing him in the stomach with Ruby's knife. The man groaned as Sam stabbed him and Dean covered the man's mouth as he cried out. Sam pulled the knife from the man's stomach and he watched as the life drained from him.

Bobby finished chanting, throwing his rosary into the pipelines of the neighborhood. The rosary floated down the pipes, which Bobby had just turned into holy water.

Sam pulled Ruby's knife from Mr. Rogers, the neighbor demon that Dean had spotted earlier. He wiped the blood off of the knife using his jacket sleeve and Dean grabbed the man's legs, pulling him into his opened garage door. Alex stood beside Sam and she watched as Dean came back over to them, leading the way over to a chain-link fence. As he approached the fence, Ruby came from out of nowhere and threw Dean against the fence, his cheek pressing into the cold metal.

"I'd like my knife back please. Or your neck snaps like a chicken bone," threatened Ruby.

Sam and Alex ran up to them then and Sam grabbed Ruby's shoulder, holding her bloody knife up to her cheek.

"He doesn't have it. So take it easy," said Sam.

Sam pulled Ruby off of Dean and Ruby stepped away from him, leaving Dean free to walk away from the fence and face Ruby.

"How'd the hell you get out?" asked Alex, glaring at Ruby as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What you don't know about me could fill a book," answered Ruby.

Dean stared at her and then his face turned to one of shock.

"Whoa," he said.

"What?" asked Ruby.

"Nothing, I just, it's something I couldn't see before, but you are one ugly broad," said Dean.

Ruby rolled her eyes and looked over at Sam and Alex.

"Sam. Give me the knife before you hurt yourself."

"You'll get it when this is over."

"It's already over. I gave you the way to save Dean and you shot me down, so now, it's too late. He's dead and I'm not gonna let you die too."

"Try and stop me and I'll kill you. Bitch," said Sam.

"Hit me with your best shot, baby," said Ruby, stepping closer to him.

"Whoa, hey, guys. Hey. Have your little catfight later," said Alex, stepping in between the two of them.

Sam and Ruby looked at her, so she pointed over to Dean, who was looking at the houses that rested beyond the chain-link fence. People were standing on their front porches, all of their eyes as black as the night they were blanketed in currently. They all began walking towards the siblings and Ruby.

"So much for the element of surprise," said Dean, his eyes still on the demons.

"No. Run. Run. Run!" said Sam.

Sam led the way, Ruby and Alex behind him with Dean bringing up the rear. The demons began running after them. Sam began unlocking the door of the house they were currently at as the demons inched closer to them.

"Where the hell's Bobby?" whispered Dean, looking out at the demons that were coming closer.

Suddenly, as the demons ran onto the front lawn, the sprinklers turned on. The demons began yelling and screaming in pain as the holy water hit them. The demons that weren't yet on the front lawn stopped in the middle of the street, listening to the screams of pain from their companions. Dean smirked at all of the demons as they screamed in agony. Sam finally managed to get the door unlocked and pushed it open, ushering Alex and Ruby inside before following them inside. Dean chuckled and laughed at the demons on the front lawn before stepping inside, closing the front door behind him. They all cringed as they saw a dead body right in front of them, blood on the hardwood floors and flies buzzing all over the body.

"You think Lilith knows we're here yet?" asked Dean.

Ruby and Sam nodded.

"Mmm hmm," said Alex.

They stepped into the foyer, which led into the living room and Sam breathed heavily, on the lookout for Lilith. A door opened from behind Dean and he spun around, grabbing the man that was headed towards him. He put a hand over the man's mouth and told him to be quiet.

"Ssh, we're here to help you, okay? Now, I'm gonna remove my hand and we're gonna talk nice and quiet, alright?"

The man nodded, his eyes wide, and Dean slowly removed his hand.

"Sir, where's your daughter?" asked Sam.

Dean still had one of his arms around the man's shoulders as the man answered Sam's question.

"It's not… It's not her anymore."

"We know, but where is she?" asked Alex, standing in between Ruby and Sam.

"Upstairs, in her bedroom."

"Okay, okay, okay. Now, you listen to me. I want you to go downstairs into the basement and put a line of salt at the door behind you. Do you understand me?" asked Dean.

"Not without my wife," whispered the man, shaking his head.

"Yes, without your wife," said Dean.

"No," said the man, shaking his head profusely.

Dean elbowed the man in the face, knocking him out cold. He threw the man over his shoulder and looked at his siblings and Ruby, rolling his eyes. He carried the man down to the basement, drawing the line of salt at the basement door once the man was safely inside as his siblings and Ruby walked up the stairs to find Lilith.

Sam held the knife firmly within his grasp while Ruby opened a door at the end of the hallway. She opened it slowly and walked inside, disappearing around the corner. Sam followed Alex down the opposite end of the hallway, to the door at the other end. She took a deep breath as she reached for the door knob, looking back at Sam, who nodded encouragingly. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside, Sam walking in directly behind her. They stood in the doorway as they took in the room. A canopy bed was in the middle of the room, the deep purple canopy hanging down around the two figures that were resting in the middle of the bed. One figure was an adult woman and Sam and Alex inched closer to the bed. They headed for the side of the bed where the little girl was sleeping, Sam now leading the way since he held the knife in his hands. He reached for the canopy, slowly pulling it open. The woman was taking in shallow breaths, terrified of not only her own child, but of Sam and Alex as well. She looked over at the both of them with wide eyes and nodded to them.

"Do it," she whispered to Sam, taking in the knife he was holding.

Alex held her breath as Sam nodded to the woman and inched closer to the little girl. The child stirred slightly, murmuring in her sleep and the woman glanced down at her child.

"Do it," she mouthed.

Sam took in a deep breath, leaning towards the little girl, who was moving around. As Sam reached down, the knife in his hands, the little girl awoke and looked at Sam. She screamed as she saw the knife in Sam's hands, ready to stab her. Suddenly, Dean rushed into the room and grabbed Sam's arm, stopping him from killing the little girl. Alex stepped backwards.

"It's not her! It's not the little girl anymore!" he yelled.

The little girl began crying and leaned into her mother, crying into her shoulder as they all looked on.

"Alright. No matter what you hear, you, your husband, and your daughter stay in the basement," said Dean, leading the mother downstairs.

The mother nodded and she helped her daughter down the stairs, Dean shutting the door behind them. Sam, Alex, and Ruby walked forward into the living room.

"So, I hate to say I told you so, but…" began Ruby.

"Alright, then, where is this bitch?" asked Alex, completely ignoring Ruby's rude comment.

"I don't know," said Sam.

They walked around the corner and stepped into the living room. Sam sighed and looked at Ruby.

"Okay, fine. You win. What do I have to do?" asked Sam.

"Sam, stop," said Alex, looking at her twin brother.

"What do you mean?" asked Ruby, cocking her head to the side and looking at Sam.

"For Dean. What do you need me to do?" asked Sam.

Deans stepped into the room then and grabbed Sam, spinning him around to look at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked Sam.

"Just shut up for a second," said Sam, pulling away from Dean's hold and looking back at Ruby.

"Ruby," said Sam.

"Look, Sam, you had your chance. You can't just flip a switch. We needed the time," said Ruby.

"Well, we've gotta do something, there's gotta be a way. I mean, whatever it is, I'll fucking do it!" yelled Sam.

Dean walked over to Sam and grabbed him, trying to pull him away from Ruby. Sam tried to fight him off as Dean managed to turn him around to face him.

"No, Dean, don't! I'm not gonna let you go to hell!"

"Yes, you are!" yelled Dean.

The boys finally stopped struggling and they stared at each other, both of them breathing heavily from their struggle.

"Yes, you are. I'm sorry. I mean, this is all my fault. I know that. But what you're doing, what you're trying to do, it's not gonna save me. It's only gonna kill you," said Dean.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" asked Sam, tears building up in his eyes.

The room was silent, minus the grandfather clock ticking. Alex was already crying as she finally realized that there was no way they were going to save Dean. She was looking between her brothers.

"Keep fighting. Take care of my wheels. Take care of our baby sister," said Dean, looking back at Alex.

He reached out to her and grabbed her, pulling her under his arm.

"Sammy, remember what Dad taught you, okay?"

Sam nodded, more tears forming in his eyes.

"And remember what I taught you, alright?" finished Dean.

Sam nodded, the tears finally falling out of his eyes and down his face. Dean smiled down at Alex, and pulled her in front of him. He closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head and then kissed her forehead just as the clock struck midnight. Alex wrapped her arms around Dean tighter as she felt his tears hit the top of her head and she began sobbing. Dean let go of her and handed her over to Sam, who pulled her into his embrace as his tears began falling rapidly. Dean looked over at the grandfather clock and then at his siblings, who were both looking at him, the tears streaming down their faces. Dean smiled at them sadly.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy," said Ruby, who was standing over by the fireplace.

Dean turned around as he heard the sounds of dogs whining and barking. He sighed and his smile faded.

"Hell hounds," he whispered.

"Where?" asked Sam, turning around to look behind him.

"There," said Dean, smiling sadly.

Both Alex and Sam were looking where Dean's gaze was held, but they couldn't see anything. The only thing they saw was an old man's dead body. As Dean saw the dog rear back to begin running towards them, he yelled.

"Go!"

They all took off running into the next room, running down a short hallway and into a study. Sam and Ruby slammed the doors closed quickly and held them closed as Dean poured a black powder along the door. Alex stood back as Dean finished pouring the powder along the doors when suddenly, the dogs stopped barking and the doors stopped slamming. Dean rushed over to the windows and poured the black powder along the window sills as well. Alex stood in the middle of the room, biting her lip, as Ruby walked up to Sam.

"Give me the knife. Maybe I can fight it off," said Ruby.

"What?" asked Sam, looking confused and breathing heavily.

"Come on! That dust won't last forever!" yelled Ruby.

Sam and Alex looked at her, confused, as Dean finished pouring the black dust along the windows. Sam looked at the knife in his hands and began handing it over to Ruby when Dean spoke up.

"Wait!"

"Do you want to die?" asked Ruby, glaring back at Dean.

"Sam, that's not Ruby. She's not Ruby!" yelled Dean.

His eyes widened as Sam looked back at Ruby, ready to stab her. Ruby flung her palm up and Sam flew against the wall, the knife falling from his grasp. Alex ran over to grab it, but Ruby saw her moving and slammed her up against the wall as well, right next to Sam. She flung Dean onto the table in the corner of the room and he groaned as he slightly sat up, looking at Ruby. Ruby cocked her head to the side, looking over at Dean.

"So how long have you been in her?" asked Dean, attempting to break free, but struggling against Ruby's demonic hold.

"Not long. But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty," said Lilith, her eyes turning a pale, milky white as she looked down at her adult body and then back over to Dean.

"Then where's Ruby?" asked Sam, looking at Lilith with his eyes full of pure hatred.

"She was a very bad girl," said Lilith, her eyes turning back to a normal color as she answered Sam's questions.

"So I sent her far, far away," finished Ruby, cracking her neck at awkward angles that made Alex cringe with absolute disgust.

"I knew I should've seen it before. But you all look alike to me," said Dean, smirking at Lilith.

She looked at Dean, but then her head snapped over to look at Sam.

"Hello, Sam," said Lilith, as she walked towards him slowly.

"I've wanted to meet you for a very long time."

She cocked her head to the side and grabbed Sam's face, leaning towards him and kissing him full on the lips. Sam closed his eyes, cringing in disgust. Alex and Dean cringed in disgust as well. Once she finally pulled away from him, she smiled.

"Your lips are soft," said Lilith.

Sam pulled his chin from her grasp and looked up towards the ceiling, away from her.

"Alright. So you have me now. Let my brother go," said Sam, looking down at her.

"Silly goose. If you wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want."

She tsked her tongue, shaking her head at him.

"And you don't."

"So is this your big plan, huh? Drag me to hell? Kill Sam and Alex, and then what? Become Queen Bitch?" asked Dean.

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow," said Ruby, smirking over at Dean.

She smiled even wider as she stepped away from Alex and Sam and walked over to the doors, turning the door handle as she smiled over at Dean.

"Sic 'em, boys," she said, pulling the doors open.

Sam and Alex looked over at their older brother, fear in their eyes as the hell hounds burst into the room, Lilith laughing as she watched them enter the room. They grabbed Dean by the leg, pulling him from the table and onto the floor. Lilith continued laughing as Dean moaned and groaned in pain, the hell hounds ripping his flesh apart.

"No, no! Stop!" cried Alex, crying as she looked over at Lilith laughing.

Lilith stopped laughing and looked at Sam and Alex. The hell hounds tore up Dean's leg and punctured his chest as he tried crawling away.

"No, no!" cried Sam.

Alex closed her eyes as she heard her oldest brother screaming, not able to watch him die. Sam threw his head back against the wall, looking up and away from Dean. Dean was turned over and the hell hounds tore into his chest, blood bursting and spurting up into the air. Sam was still watching, crying.

"No, no," he cried, as he looked on.

"Stop it! No!" yelled Sam, looking over at Lilith.

"Yes," said Lilith, looking at Sam.

Her eyes turned milky white and she threw up her palm, a bright, white light bursting from her palm. Sam and Alex cringed, falling from the wall and onto the floor. Sam crawled over to Alex and shielded her in his embrace, both of them closing their eyes as the bright, white light washed over them. After a few minutes, nothing had happened to them. Lilith lowered her palm, her eyes turning back to a normal color as she looked over and down on them. Sam and Alex looked up when they realized nothing had happened to them and they stood up, their eyes wide as they took in her shaking shoulders.

"Back," said Lilith, throwing up her palm again, but nothing happened.

Sam and Alex walked towards her, their gazes murderous.

"I said back!"

Sam leaned over and picked up Ruby's demon killing knife, holding it firmly within his grasp. Alex crossed her arms across her chest, smirking at Ruby as Sam looked at her.

"I don't think so," said Sam.

He raised the knife and was ready to plunge it down into Lilith's chest when Lilith leaned her head back and a huge plume of black smoke erupted from her mouth, escaping into the air vent that rested directly above her head. The smoke seemed to go on forever, Ruby screaming as the demon left her body, finally. She fell to the floor, dead, once the demon had fully escaped her body. Alex and Sam walked over to Dean's dead body, Alex's sobs wracking her body and Sam's chin trembling as they looked at their dead brother. Sam kneeled down next to Dean's body, grabbing the back of Dean's neck and slightly lifting his body up. Alex sat down on the other side of Dean's body, blood covering her pants and her palms as she leaned over Dean's chest, crying profusely.

"No, no. Dean," cried Sam, tears falling from his eyes and down his nose, dripping onto Dean's lifeless face.

Alex pulled her knees up to her chest, barely even glancing at her bloodied hands as she sobbed into her knees. Her shoulders heaved with sobs as she cried, looking over at Sam as he cried as well.


	34. Chapter 34

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines._

**Chapter 34**

Dean managed to pull his lighter from his pocket, flipping it open and lighting it up as he coughed and gasped for breath. He took in his surroundings with wide eyes, noticing that he was trapped in a pine box. He coughed and took in a small breath.

"Help," he called out, his voice sounding weak and puny.

He coughed and tried again.

"Help!"

His voice was raspy and his throat was scratchy as he struggled to talk.

"Help!"

He pushed up on the top of the pine box with his free hand, his palms pushing on the lid of the box. Dirt fell down onto his face and he closed his eyes for a few brief seconds as the dirt fell. Once he opened them again, he began pushing against the lid of the pine box harder. Even more dirt fell onto his face and a large avalanche of dirt cascaded down onto his whole entire body. He reached through the large pile of dirt with both hands and pushed his head out from the ground. He gasped for breath as he felt the sunlight hit his face and he struggled to pull himself from the dirt. He closed his eyes, groaning with the effort it took to pull himself from the hole. He crawled out of the hole just enough to remove his whole body from the dirt. He laid down on the dead grass beside him, breathing heavily from the exertion of climbing out of the ground. His face was turned towards the sun and his eyes were closed as he felt the sun warm his face. After a few minutes, he stood up and began walking out of the forest he was currently located in, heading for the nearest road.

Dean wiped his brow with his forearm as he walked down the road, his jacket tied around his waist. The sun was beating down on him harshly as he walked and he found an almost empty gas station down the road a few more miles, only one unoccupied car in the parking lot. He walked over to the gas station and banged on the door.

"Hello?" he called out, his voice still very raspy.

No one answered, so he untied his jacket from around his waist and covered one of his hands with the jacket. He slammed his covered hand into one of the glass window panes of the gas station's door and reached inside, unlocking it. He pushed the door open and headed straight for the coolers full of drinks. Dean grabbed a water bottle from one of the many coolers and twisted the cap off. He threw the cap onto the floor as he downed the whole water bottle in less than one minute. He sighed in relief at the comfort it brought his sore throat and he grabbed another bottle. He turned to look around the empty gas station and grabbed a newspaper from the rack beside the cooler. He checked the date, which read, _September 18, 2013_.

"September?" he questioned out loud, his voice no longer raspy and back to its normal and deep timbre.

Dean found the bathroom and twisted the faucets, turning the water on and splashing some lukewarm water on his face. He used his jacket to wipe the excess drops from his face and he stared at himself in the mirror. He lifted up his shirt, expecting to see scars all over his chest from where the hell hounds had torn him up, but there were none. The only thing marring his chest was his tattoo. He let his shirt fall back down to cover his torso, but he noticed something out of his peripheral vision. He turned slightly to the side, putting his left arm up to the mirror and he lifted up his short shirt sleeve. He cringed when he saw a huge, red handprint on his left shoulder. He looked at it questioningly, wondering who had put it there.

Dean put his jacket back on and grabbed a plastic grocery bag from behind the gas station's counter. He began filling the bag with protein bars and fiber bars. He walked over to the cooler and threw as many water bottles as he could fit into the plastic bag. He was chewing on one protein bar when he saw a porn magazine on the magazine racks. He smirked and grabbed the magazine, stuffing it into his plastic bag. He walked behind the counter and over to the register, opening the cash register and grabbing the change, shoving it into his pockets. As he was doing this, the old, small TV next to his left elbow turned on suddenly, showing him static. He looked at the TV curiously, but then Dean just reached over with his free hand and flicked the Power button to the off position. Once the TV was off, though, the radio on the counter suddenly turned on, playing some country station with a lot of static interrupting it. Dean stepped towards the radio to turn it off, but then the TV flipped on again. Dean looked between the two, very confused, before walking out from behind the counter, a determined look on his face. He grabbed some salt off of one of the racks and began pouring it along the windowsills. The noise from the radio and the TV began to build into a high-pitched whining sound. Dean grabbed his ears once it had become too much to handle, the ringing obnoxiously loud and high-pitched. Dean fell to the floor as the windows were suddenly blown out. He got up to move away from one set of windows, but was then blown backwards by the other set of windows being blown out by the noise. Dean stood up slowly, using the counter as leverage. He stepped forward to one of the many windows, the glass crunching under his boots as he walked forward. Dean looked out one of the windows, seeing that the glass had been blown out from every single window or glass pane.

Dean walked to the telephone booth outside of the gas station, only a short walk away from the last gas pump. He stepped inside the small booth, squinting at the sunlight that streamed in through the glass. He shut the sliding door behind him once he was inside and dialed a familiar number. It only rang voice and then an automated message came on the line, telling him the number had been disconnected. Dean shook his head, sighing. He grabbed another quarter and pushed it into the telephone, dialing a second number. The phone rang one time and then Bobby's familiar voice came over the line.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Bobby?" asked Dean, somewhat in disbelief.

"Yeah?"

Dean hesitated for a split second, but then continued on talking to Bobby.

"It's me."

"Who's me?"

"Dean."

The line went dead then and Dean took the phone away from his ear, staring at it. He hung it up, but then picked it back up once again, placing it to his right ear as he pushed another quarter into the telephone and re-dialed Bobby's number. The phone rang for less than one second as Bobby picked up yet again.

"Who is this?"

"Bobby, listen to me."

"This ain't funny. Call me again and I will kill you."

Bobby hung up once again and Dean took the phone away from his ear, just staring at it again. He sighed, but then slammed the phone back down onto its hook. He ran his hands through his hair as he slowly turned around in the telephone booth. He stopped walking when he saw a car in front of him, completely abandoned. He sighed, but walked out of the phone booth and over to the car.

Dean muttered under his breath as he attempted to hotwire the vehicle.

"Come on, come on," he whispered to himself.

After a few more seconds, the car started and Dean pulled away from the gas station, heading straight for Bobby's house.

Dean banged on Bobby's front door a few hours later. He waited, holding his breath as Bobby opened the front door. Bobby froze, staring at Dean on his front porch. Dean let out the breath he had been holding and smiled at Bobby.

"Surprise," said Dean, his voice still a little raspy.

Bobby's eyebrows rose.

"I don't…" said Bobby, trailing off as he continued looking at Dean, in complete disbelief.

Dean shook his head.

"Yeah, me neither."

Dean walked through the front door, which was still wide open.

"But here I am."

Suddenly, Bobby lunged toward Dean, a large silver knife in his hands. Dean deflected Bobby's blow and held Bobby's arm away from his face. Bobby landed a left punch to Dean's stomach and Dean stumbled away from Bobby, farther into the house, holding his stomach.

"Bobby, Bobby, it's me!"

"My ass!" yelled Bobby, coming towards Dean with the knife raised up.

Dean grabbed an office chair and held it in front of him, attempting to block Bobby from walking forward any further.

"Wait, wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife became possessed. You're about the closest thing I have to a father," yelled Dean.

Bobby stared at him in complete disbelief, lowering his arm to his side as Dean stood up straighter.

"Bobby. It's me."

Dean stood up completely straight and watched, his eyes wide, as Bobby pushed the office chair out of his way. Bobby reached out with his hand that wasn't holding his large knife and touched Dean's shoulder. He lunged backwards quickly to stab Dean, but Dean gained the upper hand even quicker and tore the knife from Bobby's grasp. He rolled up his shirt sleeve and looked over at Bobby, his eyebrows raised.

"Alright, alright. If I was a shape-shifter, would I be able to do this, with a silver knife?" asked Dean.

His shirt sleeve was rolled up to a little ways above his elbow and he sighed as he felt the cold silver press into his upper arm. He cringed as he made a cut on his arm using the silver knife, blood dripping onto Bobby's kitchen floor. Bobby looked at Dean.

"Dean?" he asked him.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," said Dean, walking towards Bobby slowly.

Bobby cried with relief and happiness, pulling Dean in for a large hug. Bobby held the back of Dean's neck as he hugged him, overcome with emotion at having him back. Dean hugged Bobby for a few more seconds before pulling away. Bobby quirked an eyebrow at Dean, a smile on his face.

"It's certainly good to have you back, boy. How did you even bust out?" asked Bobby, shaking his head.

"I don't know. I woke up in a pine box-"

Dean turned around as he spoke, setting the silver knife on Bobby's kitchen table. As he turned back around to face Bobby, Bobby splashed some holy water directly onto Dean's face. Dean's eyes closed as the water hit his face and he stopped talking. He turned to the side, his eyes open once again, spit some water out of his mouth and onto the floor, and then looked back at Bobby, his eyebrows raised.

"I'm not a demon, either, you know."

"Sorry. Can't be too careful anymore," said Bobby, looking a little bit sheepish.

Dean nodded.

"So, what do you remember?" asked Bobby.

"Not much. I remember that I was a hell hound's chew toy. And then, um, lights out. Then I come to at six feet under and that was it," said Dean.

He grabbed a small hand towel from Bobby's kitchen counter and wiped off his face as he followed Bobby into his study. Bobby walked around his desk and sat down in his chair as Dean continued talking.

"Um, Sam's number isn't working. He's, uh, he's not…"

"Oh, he's alive, as far as I know," said Bobby.

Dean closed his eyes as he breathed in a sigh of relief.

"Good. And Alex's number was working, I just got her voicemail," said Dean.

Bobby nodded.

"She's definitely alive and fine. She calls me every morning," smiled Bobby.

Dean smiled and began pacing around the room. He stopped when he thought back to what Bobby had just said.

"Wait, what do you mean, as far as you know?"

"Well, I haven't talked to Sam in months," answered Bobby.

"You're kidding, you just let him go off by himself?"

Bobby sighed, standing up from his chair.

"Well, he was absolutely dead-set on it. Alex couldn't even stop him and you know that girl can basically talk Sam down from anything."

Dean raised his eyebrows, smirking as he realized what Bobby had said was true. But then he became serious once again and glanced over at Bobby.

"Bobby, you should've been looking after them, looking after him."

Bobby turned to face Dean.

"I tried. These last few months haven't been exactly easy, you know. For any of us. We had to bury you."

"Why did you bury me, anyway?"

"I wanted you salted and burned, you know, the usual drill, but Sam wouldn't have it."

"Well, I'm glad he won that one," said Dean, shuddering to think what would've happened if his body had been cremated.

"He said you would need a body when he got you back home somehow. And that's about all he said," said Bobby.

"What do you mean?" asked Dean.

"He was really quiet. And then, he just took off. Wouldn't return my calls. I tried to find him, but he don't want to be found."

Dean sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

"Oh, damn it, Sammy," whispered Dean.

"What?" asked Bobby.

"Oh, he got me home okay. But whatever he did, it's some bad mojo."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You should've seen my grave site. It was like a nuke went off. And then there was this… force, this, um, presence, I don't know. But it, it blew past me."

Dean took off his jacket and looked at Bobby.

"And then this."

He lifted up his left shirt sleeve to reveal the large, red handprint burned onto his skin. Bobby walked over to him to get a closer look.

"What in the hell?" whispered Bobby.

"It looks like a demon just yanked me out. Or rode me out," answered Dean.

"But why?" asked Bobby.

"To hold up their end of the bargain."

"You think Sam made a deal?"

Dean smirked angrily.

"It's what I would've done."

Bobby nodded sadly.

"Now, come on, Bobby. We better go find me some siblings," said Dean.

He slapped Bobby gently on the shoulder and headed back to Bobby's study. Bobby sighed, but followed Dean's lead.

Alex smiled to herself as she heard a knock on her motel room door. Bobby had called and said he wanted to meet up and talk, so she had given him her address. She held a glass of water in her hands and she took a sip from the glass as she unlatched her door. She held the glass in her hands as she pulled the door open, smiling widely. Her smile faded as she saw her oldest brother standing in her doorway. The glass fell from her hands as she took in Dean's form.

"Hey, little sis," smirked Dean, leaning against the door frame.

Alex shook her head, closing her eyes.

"This isn't real, I'm obviously dreaming. I buried you in the ground four months ago. You were bloody and disgusting and dead," cried Alex.

She opened up her eyes, but Dean was still there, looking at her sadly. Dean stepped back slightly and Bobby filled the doorway. Alex sighed with relief when she saw Bobby.

"Bobby, who is that standing behind you and why does he look exactly like Dean?" asked Alex, biting her lip.

Dean chuckled along with Bobby.

"Because that is Dean, sweetheart. I know it seems hard to believe, trust me. But it really is him. Your brother is alive again, Alex," said Bobby.

"No, Bobby, we buried him. There's no way he can be back, I mean…"

Alex trailed off as she looked at her brother. Her eyes were filling up with tears. She had this strange intuition that it was, in fact, Dean. Dean smiled at her and moved towards her, Bobby moving out of his way. Alex began sobbing when Dean pulled her into his embrace and Alex knew it was him then.

"Shh, it's alright. Everything's gonna be alright," soothed Dean.

He sighed, breathing in her scent. He kissed the top of her head as she cried into his shoulder. Bobby smiled at them and entered the room, shutting the door behind him. He took a seat at the kitchen table in the room and Dean walked with Alex over to her bed, sitting down beside her. Alex looked at him, taking him in. Her tears were slowly subsiding as she realized that her oldest brother was truly alive and currently sitting next to her.

"I can't believe you're alive, Dean. I mean, we buried you and I couldn't even handle it. I cried for days, weeks, months. Sam just held me while I cried, every single night for months and weeks on end. And I know he was trying to figure out a way to bring you back. How did you even get back?" asked Alex.

Dean sighed.

"We think Sam might have made a deal," answered Bobby.

Alex bit her lip.

"Alex, did Sam leave you alone?" asked Dean, looking his little sister in the eye.

"No, Dean. He calls me every single day," said Alex.

"Alex, we need to find him. We have to talk to him," said Bobby.

Alex nodded and stood up from her bed.

"I know. Just let me collect all my stuff and then we can go to him."

Dean and Bobby nodded and Bobby went to go get Alex all checked out of the motel. Dean helped her grab all of her things and she smiled at him.

"I missed you so much, Dean. It was so hard, on all of us. Bobby started drinking, Sam zoned out. I…"

Alex trailed off as her emotions got the best of her. Dean sighed and walked over to her, pulling her in close.

"I know how hard it was, for all of you. But I promise, I'm not going anywhere, alright? I am here to stay," promised Dean.

Alex nodded into his chest and Dean kissed her forehead.

"Now, baby girl, I need you to tell me where Sam is. We have to find him."

Alex nodded.

"Um, he's in Pontiac, Illinois."

Dean sighed and cursed under his breath. Alex looked at him, confused, her head cocked to the side.

"That's where I was this morning when I woke up. Pontiac, Illinois. Damn it, Sammy," said Dean, finishing his thought in a whisper.

Alex sighed and finished putting all of her stuff together. Dean helped her carry it out to the car and they climbed inside, Bobby driving, heading for Sam and Pontiac, Illinois.

Dean, Alex, and Sam walked down the hall to Room 207. Dean banged on the door and they watched as a woman answered, throwing the door open. She stared at the three of them, her eyebrows raised.

"So, where is it?" she asked them.

"Where's what?" asked Alex, looking confused.

"Um, the pizza. That apparently takes three people to deliver."

Dean smirked.

"Oh, I think we have the wrong room," said Dean.

"Hey, is that…"

Sam trailed off and stopped speaking completely when he saw Bobby, Dean, and Alex standing in his doorway. He looked at Alex, then at Bobby, and then over to Dean. Sam's chest was heaving as he took in his older brother.

"Hey, Sammy," said Dean, a gentle smile on his face.

Dean walked into the room, the girl moving to one side so she wouldn't be in his way. Sam watched his brother walk into the room and then he lunged toward him, a silver knife in his hands, as he backed Dean up into one of the walls closest to the open door. The woman in the room screamed and Bobby and Alex rushed inside. Bobby managed to pull Sam away from Dean and Alex ran to her oldest brother, looking at Sam from across the room with wide eyes.

"Who are you?" yelled Sam, struggling against Bobby's hold.

"Oh, like you didn't do this!" yelled Dean.

"Do what?" yelled back Sam.

"It's him, it's him, Sam. I've been through this already, it's really him," said Bobby.

Alex nodded encouragingly. Sam stopped struggling and was now just breathing heavy. He looked over at Alex, who smiled gently at him. She left Dean's side and walked over to Sam's. Sam pulled her into him, hugging her. Bobby let go of Sam and watched the two of them. Alex was rubbing soothing circles up and down Sam's back as she whispered into his ear. Sam nodded at some of the things she said to him. After a few minutes, she kissed his cheek and stepped away from him, standing by his side. Sam stared at Dean, still in a little bit of disbelief that his brother was actually back from the dead and standing before him.

"I know. I look fantastic, huh?" joked Dean, stepping a little bit closer to Sam.

Sam closed the small space between him and his brother and hugged Dean. Sam held back his tears of relief as he hugged his older brother and Dean closed his eyes as they hugged. He held Sam as close as he could, his grip so tight on Sam, that his knuckles were beginning to turn white. After a few more minutes, they separated and they smiled at each other.

"So, are you two, like, together?" asked the woman, who was still standing in the motel room doorway.

"What? No, no. He's my brother," answered Sam.

The girl nodded and smiled at Sam.

"Oh, I got it now, I guess. Look, I should probably go," said the girl, pointing towards the door with a small smile on her lips.

"Yeah, um, that's probably a good idea. Sorry," apologized Sam.

The girl put on the rest of her clothes and Sam walked her to the door. She turned in the doorway and looked at him, smiling.

"So, call me," she said.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure thing, Kathy," said Sam, smiling back at her.

The girl's smile faded and her shoulders slumped forward.

"Krissy," she corrected him.

Sam smiled a million dollar smile as he leaned against the doorway.

"Right."

The girl managed one more small, disappointed smile, but then she turned around and walked away from him. Alex looked at her, felling as if there was something off about the girl, but she just shrugged it off. Sam grabbed the door and shut it as she walked away down the hall, the door creaking on its hinges as he shut it. Once it was shut, he turned to face his siblings and Bobby. He sat down in an armchair.

"So, tell me. What'd it cost?" asked Dean, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at his little brother.

"The girl? I don't pay, Dean," smirked Sam.

"That's not funny, Sam. To bring me back, what'd it cost you?"

"You think I made a deal?" asked Sam, looking around the room at his family members.

"That's exactly what we think," said Bobby.

"Well, I didn't."

"Don't lie to me, Sam," said Dean.

Alex sighed and bit her lip.

"He's not lying to you, Dean," she whispered.

Dean ignored her, stepping closer towards Sam and uncrossing his arms from across his chest.

"Look, Dean, I wish I had done it," said Sam.

Dean grabbed Sam by his shirt's collar and looked him in the eyes.

"Now, look, there's no other way that this could've gone down. Now, tell the truth."

Sam shoved Dean's arms away from him and Dean stumbled back a few steps.

"I tried everything, and that's the whole truth. I tried opening the Devil's Gate. Hell, I tried to bargain, Dean, but no damn demon would deal, alright? You were rotting in hell for months, for months, and neither Alex nor I could stop it. So, I'm sorry it wasn't me, alright? Dean, I'm sorry," apologized Sam.

Dean looked at him, nodding.

"It's okay, Sammy."

Sam nodded.

"You don't have to apologize, I believe you," said Dean.

"Um, I love this family reunion. Seriously, I really do, you have no idea. But since both Sam and Alex's souls are fully intact, this raises a very important and puzzling question," said Bobby.

Alex and Sam both nodded along with Dean.

"If neither one of them pulled me out of the pit, then who the hell did?" answered Dean.

Alex and Sam shrugged as Sam stood up and walked over to the mini-fridge in the room. He pulled out drinks for all of them and handed them out before sitting back down in his place.

"So what were you doing here if you weren't digging me up?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam.

"Well, once I figured out I couldn't save you, um, I started hunting down Lilith. You know, trying to get some payback," said Sam.

"All by yourself? Who do you think you are, your old man?" asked Bobby.

"I helped him a little bit. I just wasn't physically with him," answered Alex.

Sam nodded.

"Anyways, um, I was checking these demons out in Tennessee and then they took a hard left and booked it up here."

"When?" asked Dean, sitting on Sam's other side.

"Yesterday morning," answered Sam, taking a drink from his beer bottle.

Dean looked over at Bobby, his eyebrows raised.

"When I busted out," said Dean.

"You think these demons are here because of you?" asked Bobby.

"But why?" asked Alex.

"Well, oh, I don't know. Some bad ass demon drags me out and now this? I mean, it's gotta be connected somehow."

"How are you feeling, anyway?" asked Bobby, staring at Dean.

"I'm a little hungry," answered Dean.

"No, I mean, do you feel like yourself? Anything strange or different, maybe?"

"Or demonic?" asked Dean, a little bit of anger in his tone.

Bobby cocked his head to the side, shrugging with his eyebrows raised.

"Bobby, how many times do I have to prove to you that I'm me?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, well, listen. No demon's letting you loose out of the goodness of their heart. They've gotta have something nasty planned."

"Yeah, well, I feel fine," muttered Dean, taking a pull from his own beer.

"Okay, look. We don't know what they're planning here. We need some help," said Sam.

"I know a psychic a few hours away from here. Something this big, maybe she's heard the other side talking," said Bobby.

"Hell yeah, it's definitely worth a shot," said Dean.

"I'll be right back then," said Bobby, standing up and heading into the hallway to call the psychic.

Dean stood up too and Alex and Sam stood up as well, Sam putting a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Hey, wait," said Alex.

She reached up around her neck and pulled off the necklace that had once belonged to Dean. Sam and Alex had gotten it for their dad one Christmas, but when Dad didn't show up, they gave it to Dean instead.

"You may want this back now. Sam wore it for a while, but then we parted ways, he let me keep it," said Alex.

She took it off of her neck and handed it back to Dean, who stared at it in his palm. Alex smiled gently along with Sam.

"Thanks," said Dean.

He put it back around his own neck.

"Hey, Dean, what was it like?" asked Sam, looking at his older brother.

"What, hell? I don't know, I, uh, must have blacked it out. I don't remember a damn thing," answered Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"Well, thank God for that," said Sam.

"Yeah," said Dean.

He walked away from them and headed towards the bathroom. Once he was inside, he flipped on the light and stood in front of the mirror, placed directly above the small sink. He ran a hand over his face as he leaned towards the mirror, grabbing the sides of the sink as he looked at himself. He thought back on his time in Hell, what he had seen and what he had done. He sighed.

Dean smiled as Sam tossed him the keys to the Impala. They walked over to the car and Dean reverently touched the hood of his vehicle, stroking it gently.

"Hey, sweetheart. Did you miss me?" asked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes, but climbed into the backseat, Sam climbing into the passenger seat, just like old times as Dean followed Bobby onto the interstate.

"There' still something that's bothering me though," said Dean, once they were on the road.

"Yeah?" asked Alex, resting her cheek on the back of Sam's seat as she looked at Dean.

Sam looked over at Dean as well.

"Yeah, the night that I bit it. How'd you guys make it out? I thought Lilith was gonna kill the both of you."

"Well, um, she tried, but she just… couldn't," said Alex, biting her lip and looking at Sam.

"What do you mean, she couldn't?" asked Dean.

"She fired this, like, burning light at us and it didn't leave a scratch on either one of us. It was like we were immune or something."

"Immune?" asked Dean, in a little bit of disbelief.

Sam chuckled.

"Yeah. We don't know who was more surprised, her or us," said Sam.

"Yeah, and then she left pretty fast after that," chimed in Alex.

Dean nodded a few times to himself.

"Huh. Well, what about Ruby, where is she?" asked Dean.

"Dead. For now," answered Sam.

"So, are either one of you using your freaky, ESP stuff?"

Alex scoffed and Sam glared at him.

"No. You didn't want us to go down that road, so we didn't go down that road. Besides, you know it was Sam we were all worried about, anyway," said Alex.

"Alright, good. Well, let's keep it that way," said Dean.

Alex flopped back down onto the backseat, readying herself for the long drive ahead, while Sam rested his forehead on the glass of his passenger side window.

A few hours later, Bobby knocked on the door of a woman's house. A pretty, black-haired woman answered the door, smiling brightly when she saw Bobby standing on her front porch before her.

"Bobby!" she exclaimed, pulling him in for a hug.

"Pamela! Aren't you just a sight for sore eyes?" said Bobby, looking at the woman once they had separated.

The woman just waved his comment off and crossed her arms over her chest as she took in the siblings.

"So. These are the Winchesters," stated Pamela.

"Sam, Dean, Alex. This is Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the whole state," explained Bobby, looking at the Winchesters.

Pamela smiled at them and jerked her head towards the door.

"Come on in," she said, leading the way into her house.

Bobby stopped in the foyer, looking at Pamela as she closed her front door.

"I haven't heard much. No one seems to know who broke your boy out, or why," answered Pamela, having understood Bobby's unasked question.

"So what's next?" asked Alex.

"A séance, I would think. See if we can see who did the deed."

"You're not gonna summon the damn thing here?" asked Bobby, his eyes wide with fear.

Pamela smiled, shaking her head.

"No. I just wanna get a sneak peek at it, like a crystal ball without the crystal."

Pamela walked past all of them and down the hallway. She stepped into her living room, where a large, round table was already set up. Bobby began closing all of the curtains around the room and once he was finished, he took his seat at the table. Pamela lit the six curtains that rested in the middle of the black tablecloth on the top of the table. She sat down at one end of the table, Dean sitting next to her. Alex sat between both of her brothers around the round table.

"Alright. Take each other's hands," instructed Pamela.

They all grabbed hands around the table and Pamela looked at Dean.

"Now, I'm gonna need to touch something that out mystery monster touched."

She raised her eyebrows at Dean and Dean sighed, shrugging off the long sleeved shirt that he had on over his short sleeved t-shirt. He lifted up his shirt sleeve to reveal the large, red handprint that was on his left shoulder. Alex and Sam exchanged glances. Pamela rested her palm over the top of the handprint and then looked at the center of the table. She took in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began speaking into the dark room. They all closed their eyes as well, focusing. Dean opened his eyes when he heard a TV across the room turn on, the sound of static filling the room. The table began to shake and everyone except Dean still had their eyes closed.

"Castiel? No, sorry, Castiel, I don't scare very easily," said Pamela, her eyes still closed tight.

"Castiel?" asked Dean.

"It's his name, it's whispering to me, warning me to turn back," said Pamela.

Pamela began chanting again and Dean looked around the room, seeing his family with their eyes still shut. He sighed, but closed his eyes again. The table began to shake more profusely as Pamela continued chanting and everyone except for her opened their eyes.

"Maybe we should stop this," whispered Alex.

"I've almost got it," said Pamela.

She chanted one more time and then the candles flames grew higher. Pamela's eyes opened, but a bright, white light exploded from them. Blood dripped from her eyelids as she screamed. After a few seconds, her eyes shut and she fell to the floor, the candles burning out. The siblings and Bobby sat, frozen, for a few seconds.

"Someone, call 911!" yelled Bobby.

Sam stood up and rushed from the room to call 911. Bobby and Dean ran over to Pamela, Bobby pulling her into his arms. Dried blood was all around her eyes and when she opened her eyes, they were just black, no color in them at all. She cried out.

"I can't see. I can't see, oh, God," she cried.

Bobby looked over at Dean, whose own eyes were wide. They heard Sam talking from the kitchen and Dean looked over at Alex, who was looking down at Pamela with wide, fearful eyes.

Dean, Sam, and Alex sat at a table in the local diner.

"So, we still don't know what we're dealing with," said Sam.

"Well, we do have a name, Castiel," said Dean.

Alex nodded and Sam shrugged.

"Look, Dean. I did follow some demons into town. Maybe we should just find them and ask them what's going on," offered Sam.

Alex nodded and Dean sighed. Their waitress returned and set down the three cups of coffee they had recently ordered. Then, she sat down next to Sam at the table. The three siblings looked at her.

"You angling for a tip?" asked Dean, smirking at her.

The waitress smirked back.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought you were looking for us."

Her eyes turned as black as night and they all stared at her, wary. The two other men in the diner also had black eyes and one of them walked over to the door, locking it with a flick of his wrist. He stood in front of the door so they couldn't escape and the woman changed her eyes back to a normal color, looking at Dean with a huge smile on her face.

"Dean. To Hell and back. Aren't you just a lucky duck?"

"That's me," said Dean.

"So, you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Tell me, what makes you so special?" she asked him.

"I don't know. It wasn't my doing and I have no idea who pulled me out."

"Lying's a sin, you know," said the woman.

Dean looked at the woman, cocking his head to the side.

"I'm not lying. But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, Flo," said Dean.

"Mind your tone with me, kid. I'll drag you back to Hell myself."

Sam shuffled around, ready to attack the woman, but Dean held up a hand, stopping him.

"No, you won't. 'Cause if you were, you would've done it already. The fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. You're just as spooked as we are and you're just looking for answers. 'Cause whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a hell of a lot stronger than you," said Dean.

He smirked at her.

"So, go ahead, send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep."

"I'm gonna reach down your throat and pull out your lungs," threatened the girl.

Dean smirked, leaned closer to her, and smacked her across the face. She turned back to face him and he did it once again. Sam and Alex looked at her, glaring, as the woman turned back around again. Dean smirked.

"Yeah, that's what I fucking thought. Let's go," said Dean, looking at his siblings.

They all stood up and brushed past the demon standing in front of the door. They walked outside into the bright sun, crossing the empty street.

"Holy crap, that was close," said Dean, shaking his head.

"We're not just gonna leave 'em in there, are we, Dean?" asked Sam.

"Well, yeah. There's three of them, probably more and we only got one knife between us," said Sam.

"I've killed a lot more demons than that lately," said Sam.

"Well, I'm back now."

"Dean, we gotta take 'em, now. They're dangerous," argued Sam.

"They're scared. Scared of whatever's got the juice to yank me out. We're dealing with a bad motherfucker here," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes as she walked behind them.

"Always fucking arguing," she muttered under her breath.

Later that afternoon, Dean was sleeping on the couch, his head leaning against the wall. Sam looked around, not spotting Alex. He slowly opened the door and winced as it gently creaked open. Dean didn't make a sound, but Alex stepped around the corner in the bathroom, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Sam. Where are you going?" asked Alex, glancing at Dean to make sure he was still sleeping.

Sam sighed and turned to face her.

"Alex, please. Just let me go and don't ask any questions."

"Sammy, I'm not gonna let you do this. Stop, okay? I know what you're doing and it needs to stop. You told Dean you weren't gonna do this," begged Alex.

"Alex, I'm doing this with or without your permission. So, just let it go, alright?"

Sam looked at her and Alex sighed, raising her eyebrows at him. Sam looked at her and turned around, walking out the door. He shut the door behind him and Alex sat down on her bed, holding her head in his hands.

Alex sat up straight as the TV suddenly turned on, static filling the silence of the room. The radio turned on as well, the dial moving of its own accord. Dean woke up and rubbed his eyes, glancing at Alex on the bed. He quickly got up off of the couch and grabbed his shotgun from beside him. Alex got up and stood behind him as Dean slowly walked towards the door of the motel room. The ringing in the room got louder and louder and Alex pulled her hands up to her ears, trying to block out the sound. Dean's shotgun fell from his hands as he did the same. They both fell to their knees as the glass from the mirror shattered. The glass from the windows blew out as well and Dean cried out as his arm was cut by a shard of glass. His blood was dripping down his arm as he covered Alex with his body, both of them curled into themselves as the noise grew louder and louder. Suddenly, Bobby ran into the room, seeing Dean and Alex on the floor.

"Dean! Alex!" he yelled.

Bobby was driving the car as Dean sat in the passenger seat, Alex in the backseat. Dean held a red cloth to his arm and Bobby looked over at him.

"You kids alright?" he asked them.

"Besides the church bells ringing in my head, I'm just peachy," said Dean, very sarcastically.

Bobby glanced back at Alex, who smiled gently and nodded at him. Dean pulled out his cell phone and dialed Sam's number.

"Hey. What are you doing?" asked Dean, once Sam had answered.

"Couldn't sleep, so I went to get a burger," answered Sam.

"In my car?"

"Force of habit, sorry. What are you doing up?"

"Um, Bobby's back. We're going to grab a beer."

Bobby looked at him strangely and Dean held up a finger, telling him to hold on one second.

"Alright, well, spill some for me," said Sam.

"Done. We'll catch you later," said Dean.

Dean flipped his phone shut and Bobby stared at him.

"Why didn't you tell him?" asked Bobby.

"Because he'd just try to stop us," answered Alex.

"From what?" asked Bobby.

"Summoning this thing. It's time we face it head on," answered Dean.

"You can't be serious!" exclaimed Bobby.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack," answered Dean.

"We don't even know what it is. I mean, it could be a demon, it could be fucking anything!" yelled Bobby

"That's why we gotta be ready for anything," said Dean.

He pulled Ruby's knife from his pocket and held it up in front of his face, inspecting it.

"We've got the big-time magic knife, you've got an arsenal in the trunk," said Dean, holding his arms out and shrugging as he looked at Bobby.

"This is an absolutely horrible idea," muttered Bobby.

"Honestly, I couldn't agree more," said Alex.

"But what other choice do we have?" asked Dean.

"Well, we could choose life," said Bobby, his eyes wide.

"Bobby, whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me. That much we know, right? Well, I've got no place to hide," said Dean.

"Dean, we could use Sam for this," urged Bobby.

"Nah, he's better off where he is," said Dean.

He looked in the rearview mirror at Alex, who looked back at him apologetically. He knew that she knew where Sam was, but she wasn't giving him up so easily. Dean sighed, but he turned his attention back to the front of the car and out the windshield as Bobby drove.

Sam slowly entered the diner that they had been at earlier in the day. He shut the door behind him and looked around the empty diner. The lights were off, only the neon signs in the windows providing lights for the place. Music was playing from somewhere in the back of the diner as Sam glanced around the small diner. He spotted a man lying on the floor behind the counter, so Sam slowly stepped forward. He bent down next to the man's head and saw that the man's knuckles were bloodied, indicating he had put up a fight. Sam flipped the man over and saw that the man's eyes had been burned out of his skull, just like Pamela's eyes had been burned. Blood surrounded his eye sockets and had dripped down his face. Sam stood up from his crouch just as a woman came flying out of the back, knocking him down and across the room. Sam fell on the top of one of the tables and it broke under both of their weights. The woman punched Sam across the face repeatedly until Sam grabbed her head and head-butted her three times. He threw her off of him and she landed across from him. They both stood up at the same time and she punched him across the face. He grabbed her arm and pulled it back behind her back. He kneed her in the stomach and then she stood in front of him. Sam noticed that it was the same demon woman from earlier in the day and her eyes were also burned out from her face.

"Your eyes," said Sam, breathing heavily.

"I can still smell your soul from a mile away," she said, also breathing heavily from their little altercation.

"He was here. You saw it," stated Sam.

The woman nodded.

"I saw it."

"What was it?"

"It's the end. We're dead, we're all dead," cried the woman, shaking her head.

"What did you see?" asked Sam.

The woman scoffed and laughed slightly.

"Go to Hell."

"Funny. I was gonna say the same exact thing to you," said Sam.

He held up his palm and closed his eyes. The woman coughed and then the demon inside her came out from her mouth in clouds of black smoke. The black clouds of smoke circled around her feet as she fell to her knees, clutching her throat. Sam's eyes were still closed as he closed his fist, sending the demon straight back to Hell. The floor underneath the woman opened up to the pits of Hell, flaming orange as the demon went through the floor. The floor closed up again once Sam opened his eyes again and the body of the woman was on the floor. Sam walked over to check the woman's pulse, crouching down and placing two fingers on her neck to check her pulse. He sighed when he felt nothing.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath.

Sam looked over to the kitchen door as a woman walked through it. She was smiling at him and it was the woman from his motel room a few days ago.

"Getting pretty slick there, Sam. Better all the time," she said, smiling at him.

Sam stood up from his crouch, still looking at her as he stood up.

"What the hell's going on around here, Ruby?" asked Sam.

Ruby shook her head, shrugging.

"I wish I knew."

Sam nodded, glancing around the diner.

"We were thinking some high-level demon pulled Dean out."

"No way. Sam, human souls don't just walk out of Hell and back into their bodies easy. This guy bleeds, the ground quakes. It's cosmic. No demon can swing that. Not Lilith, not anybody," said Ruby, shaking her head.

"Then what can?" asked Sam.

"Nothing I've ever seen before."

Sam nodded.

Alex stood beside Dean in an old, abandoned barn they had found. Bobby had finally finished spray-painting all sorts of symbols and traps on the concrete floor.

"That's one hell of an art project you've got going on there," remarked Dean, watching as Bobby walked towards him.

"Traps and talismans from every single faith on the globe," said Bobby.

He set the can of white spray paint down on the chair that sat beside Alex.

"How we doing?" asked Bobby.

"Stakes, iron, silver, salt, the knife. I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of," said Dean.

"This is still such a bad idea," said Bobby, shaking his head at Dean as he looked at the arsenal Dean had set out.

"Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times. Now, what do you say we ring the dinner bell?" asked Dean.

Bobby stared at him for a second longer before walking over to a small table behind Dean and Alex. He picked up a bowl and sprinkled some black dust into a bigger bowl on the table. He closed his eyes and began speaking in Latin, his hands wavering over the bigger bowl.

Sam sat across from Ruby in a booth at the diner.

"So, million dollar question. Are you gonna tell Dean and Alex about what we're doing here?" asked Ruby.

"Yeah, I just gotta figure out the right way to say it. Um, Alex already knows. She figured it out a long time ago," answered Sam.

"Sam, Dean's gonna find out and if it's not from you, he's gonna be pissed."

"Oh, well, he's gonna be pissed any way that he finds out. I mean, he's so hard-headed about this psychic stuff, he'll just try and stop me."

"Look, maybe I'll just take a step back for a while. I mean, I'm not exactly in your brother's fan club, but he is your brother. And I'm definitely not gonna come between you."

"I don't know if what I'm doin' is right. Hell, I'm not even sure if I trust you, honestly. What I do know is I'm saving people and stopping demons. And that feels good, so I wanna keep going," said Sam, nodding at Ruby.

Alex sat next to Dean on one of the tables, kicking her legs as she looked around the room, utterly bored. Dean was playing around with one of his knifes, making holes in the table. Bobby was whistling some random tune across from them as he sat on the other table.

"Are you sure you did the ritual right?" asked Dean, looking over at Bobby.

Bobby stopped his whistling and gave Dean a look. Dean sighed.

"Sorry."

Suddenly, Alex heard a noise from above them. Dean and Bobby also looked up as the noise became louder. Something was hitting the roof repeatedly and it was loud and big. Alex stood behind Dean, holding onto his arm tightly as he stood in front of her, facing the barn doors. Bobby stood next to Dean.

"Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind," said Dean, yelling to be heard over the loud noises.

Suddenly, all of the light bulbs in the room exploded, sending glass flying everywhere around them. They ducked for cover as the glass popped around them. The barn doors slowly opened and a man walked into the barn as the light bulbs continued shattering. The man was wearing a tan trench coat, black pants, black shoes, and a white, button-down shirt. He had a blue tie tied around his neck. He strode into the large barn, Dean and Bobby raising their guns towards him as he walked towards them. His eyes were a bright, startling blue, and his hair was black. Dean and Bobby began shooting him as he came closer, but the bullets didn't affect him in any way. He just kept walking towards them. Bobby and Dean glanced at each other as he got closer, so Dean grabbed Ruby's demon killing knife from off of the table, holding it behind his back as the man in the trench coat finally approached them. He looked at Dean, completely ignoring Alex and Bobby as he stood directly in front of Dean.

"Who are you?" asked Dean, glaring at the man.

The man stopped walking as he stared at Dean.

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition," he answered.

"Yeah. Thanks for that," said Dean, sneering at the man who stood before him.

Alex shook her head and winced as Dean plunged the knife straight into the man's heart. The man didn't react in any way, just stayed standing in front of Dean. He looked down at the knife that was buried into his chest and grabbed it with his right hand, yanking it out of his chest cavity and dropping it onto the floor. Dean looked at Bobby, whose eyes were wide. Bobby ran towards the mysterious man, holding a crowbar and swinging for the man's head. The man turned around, grabbed the crowbar, and placed two fingers in the middle of Bobby's forehead. Bobby's eyes went cross-eyed right before he fell to the floor, unconscious. Alex yelped and the man looked at her, walking towards her.

"Don't you dare even touch her," threatened Dean.

The man turned away from Alex, who ran over to Dean's side. Dean held her into his side as the man looked into Dean's face.

"We need to talk, Dean. Alone," said the man, glancing in Alex's direction.

"Well, she's not going anywhere, so you better figure out what to say with my little sister around," snapped Dean.

The man sighed.

"Fine."

"Good. Now, what'd you do to Bobby?" asked Dean, looking down at Bobby's body on the floor.

"Your friend's alive."

"Who are you?"

"Castiel."

"Yeah, I figured out that much. I mean, what in the hell are you?"

"I'm an angel of the Lord," answered Castiel.

Dean glared at him, his upper lip curling up into a sneer. He pointed towards the doors that Castiel had walked through to get into the barn.

"Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing."

"This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith."

Dean and Alex watched as Castiel made a mini thunderstorm inside the barn before them, lightning included. They saw his huge, black wings pop up on him, their shadows appearing on the large wall behind him.

"Some angel you are. You burned out that poor woman's eyes!" said Alex, staring at him, frightened.

Castiel sighed.

"I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be… overwhelming to humans. So can my real voice, but you two already knew that," said Castiel, looking between the two siblings.

"You mean the gas station and the motel. That was you talking?" asked Dean.

Castiel nodded slowly and Dean shook his head.

"Buddy, next time, lower the volume."

"That was my mistake. You see, certain people, special people can see my true visage. I thought you would be one of them, Dean. But I was wrong."

"And what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?" asked Dean, glancing down at Castiel's clothes.

"Oh, this is a vessel," explained Castiel, straightening the lapels on his coat.

"What, you're possessing some poor bastard?"

"He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this."

Dean scoffed.

"Look, pal, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you, really?"

"I already told you," said Castiel, cocking his head to the side in confusion as his eyebrows pulled together as well.

"Right. And why would an angel rescue me, of all people, from Hell?"

"Good things do happen, Dean," answered Castiel, stepping closer to them.

"Not in our experience," said Alex.

"What's the matter?" asked Castiel, looking into Dean's face.

"You don't think you deserve to be saved," stated Castiel.

"Why'd you do it?" asked Dean, glaring at the man who stood before him.

"Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you," answered Castiel.

Bobby sat at the desk in his study, flipping through a rather large book. Alex sat in an armchair in the study, sighing as Dean and Sam argued with each other in the kitchen.

"Don't you think that if angels were real that some hunter, somewhere, would have seen one?" asked Dean.

Sam smirked.

"Yeah, you just did, Dean," said Sam.

Alex chuckled as Dean sighed.

"Look, I'm trying to come up with a theory here, okay, man? Work with me."

"Dean, we have a theory," argued Sam.

"Yeah, one with a little less fairy dust on it, please," responded Dean.

"Okay, look. I'm not saying we know for sure, I'm just saying that I think we-"

"Okay, okay. That's my point, okay? We don't know for sure, so I'm not gonna believe that this thing is a freakin' angel of the Lord because it says so!" yelled Dean.

"You two chuckle heads wanna keep arguing religion? You wanna come take a look at this," yelled Bobby, leaning back in his chair as he stared at the boys.

Alex was over by Bobby's side first, looking over his shoulder at the book laid out in front of him on his desk. Dean glanced over at Sam with a hard, angry look on his face before heading over to check out what Bobby had found, Sam directly behind him. Bobby flipped the book around so that Dean and Sam could look at it without having to walk behind the desk.

"I got stacks of lore. Biblical, pre-biblical. It all says an angel can snatch a soul from the pit," explained Bobby.

Sam looked over at Dean, a smug smirk placed on his lips and his hands on his hips. Dean rubbed his shoulder with the handprint on it and continued looking at the book, paying no attention to Sam. Alex rolled her eyes at her twin brother, who just shrugged over at her.

"What else?" asked Dean.

"What else what?" asked Bobby, a very confused look on his face.

"What else could do it?" asked Dean, looking at Bobby.

"Airlift your ass out of Hell? As far as I can tell, absolutely nothing," answered Bobby.

Dean looked at Bobby, his eyebrows raised and Bobby just shrugged his shoulders towards him. Sam's smile was still in place as he looked at his older brother. Alex looked at Dean, as well.

"Dean, this is good news," said Alex, gently.

"How?" asked Dean, looking over at her as she stood beside Bobby.

"Because, for once, this isn't just another round of demon crap. I mean, maybe you were saved by one of the good guys, you know?" asked Alex, her voice hopeful as Dean stared at her.

Dean smirked.

"Okay. Let's say it's true, say… there are angels. Then, what? There's a God?"

Bobby shrugged.

"At this point, my money's on yeah."

Dean chuckled and began walking back into the kitchen.

"I don't know, guys."

"Okay, look. I know you're not all choir boy about this stuff, but this is becoming less and less about faith and more and more about proof," said Sam.

Dean turned back around to face all of them, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

"Proof?" he asked Sam.

"Yes!" yelled Sam.

"Proof that there's a God out there that actually gives a shit about me? Personally, I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it!" yelled back Dean.

Alex sighed.

"And why the hell not?" she asked.

Dean looked at all of them, sighing.

"Because, why me? If there is a God out there, why would he give a crap about me?" asked Dean.

"Dean," whispered Alex, looking at her brother sadly.

"I mean, I've saved some people, sure. I figured that made up for the stealing and the chicks. But why do I deserve to get saved? I'm just a regular guy," finished Dean, his chest heaving as he finished.

"Well, apparently, you're a regular guy that's important to the man upstairs," answered Sam.

Alex nodded, biting her lip. Dean looked at Bobby, who had no sense of emotion on his face.

"Well, that kind of creeps me out. I mean, I don't even like getting singled out at birthday parties, much less by… God," said Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Sam crossed his arms across his chest.

"Okay, well, too bad, Dean. Because I think he wants your help," said Sam.

Dean looked at Bobby again, clearing his throat.

"Okay, fine then. What do we know about angels?"

Bobby sighed, reaching over and grabbing a stack of four, very large hardback books. He placed them on top of the large book that was already open on his desk and the siblings looked at the books, their eyebrows raised.

"Start reading," answered Bobby, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed across his chest.

Dean grabbed the smallest book from the pile and pointed his finger at Sam.

"You're gonna go get me some pie first," said Dean.

He walked out of the study and into the kitchen, Alex chuckling from beside Bobby.

When Sam pulled back up to Bobby's house, Dean and Alex were helping Bobby load his duffel bags into the trunk of his car. Sam stopped the Impala and Bobby leaned his arms on the passenger side window that Sam had rolled down.

"Leave your engine running," yelled Bobby.

"Why?" asked Sam.

"I got a friend one state over, Olivia Lowery. I've been trying to reach her for three days on this angel thing. It's not like her to ignore this many calls," answered Bobby.

"Olivia Lowery? A hunter, right?" asked Sam.

"Yeah. We're gonna go check on her. You guys, follow me."

Sam nodded as Dean walked around to the driver's side.

"Scoot over," said Dean, pulling the driver's side door open.

Sam nodded and waited for Alex to climb into the backseat before scooting over to the passenger side, Dean climbing into the driver's side.

Bobby led the way into Olivia's apartment, Dean, Alex, and Sam right behind him.

"Olivia?" called out Bobby, his shotgun held in his hands.

Bobby stepped out of the entryway, while Sam shut the front door, as he was the last one to enter the apartment. He followed Bobby and his siblings into the main area of the apartment. He lowered his gun as they all stared at Olivia's dead and mangled body on her bedroom floor. Bobby sighed and walked back outside.

"Bobby?" asked Dean, watching him leave through the front door.

Sam stepped closer to the girl's dead body, Dean and Alex following behind him.

"Salt line," whispered Alex, pointing to the line of salt that rested in the entryway of the bedroom.

The three of them all stepped over the salt line and Sam crouched down to get a closer look at Olivia's body. Dean walked over to the arsenal in her closet and grabbed the EMF meter that rested on top. He held it up, showing it to his siblings.

"Olivia was rocking the EMF meter," said Dean.

Alex and Sam nodded.

"Spirit activity," said Sam.

Dean sighed and threw the EMF meter back on the top of the arsenal pile.

"Yeah, on steroids. I've never seen a ghost do this to a person," said Dean, motioning towards Olivia's body.

Olivia's chest had literally been ripped open, dried blood all over her body. Her chest cavity was a mangled mess and Alex looked away, disgusted.

They all looked over at Bobby as he re-entered the room. Sam stood up from his crouch next to Olivia's body.

"Hey, Bobby. You alright?" asked Alex, standing next to Dean.

Bobby looked at all of them.

"I called some hunters nearby," answered Bobby.

"Good. We could use the help," said Dean, glancing back down at Olivia's dead body once again.

"Except they ain't answering their phones either," said Bobby, stuffing his cell phone back into his jacket pocket.

"Something's up, huh?" asked Sam.

"You think?" asked Bobby.

He took another quick look at Olivia's body before walking out of the apartment again.

Later that night, Sam, Dean, and Alex were walking out of another hunter's house, Dean on the phone with Bobby.

"Yeah, we're at Jed's. Yep, it's certainly not very pretty. It's even worse than Olivia, Bobby. What about you?"

"I checked on Carl Bates and R.C. Adams. They've redecorated. In red," answered Bobby.

Dean sighed and threw his head back in frustration. He looked at his siblings, mimicking a cut throat with his free hand to indicate the other hunters were also dead. Alex and Sam sighed.

"What the hell's going on around here, Bobby? Why do a bunch of ghosts suddenly want to gank off hunters?"

"I don't know, but until we find out, you three better get your asses to my place," said Bobby.

"Yep, we're on our way," said Dean.

He flipped his phone shut and climbed into the driver's seat of the Impala, Sam and Alex already situated in the car.

Sam pulled into the first gas station he could find about an hour or so later. Dean and Alex were both asleep, Alex curled up in the backseat and Dean's head almost hanging out the window on the passenger's side. Sam grabbed the gas pump and put it in the gas tank, listening as he heard the gas begin filling up in the gas tank. He glanced around the place, saw the sign for the restrooms, and headed inside the gas station.

Sam was washing his hands in the small, grimy gas station bathrooms when he exhaled a rather large breath. He stopped when he could see his breath in front of him. He flipped both of the faucets off and let out another breath, still seeing his breath. The mirror in front of him, above the sink, became completely frost-covered. Sam stood up straight, swiped the mirror clean with one hand, and jumped, gasping when he saw the spirit of Agent Henrickson standing behind him. Sam turned around to look at Agent Henrickson, who had a smile on his face.

"Hi, Sam. It's certainly been a while," said Agent Henrickson.

"Henrickson. Are you, did you…?" asked Sam.

He watched as Agent Henrickson briefly flickered out of focus, answering Sam's unspoken question.

"I didn't survive. If that's what you're asking," answered Henrickson.

"I'm sorry," said Sam.

"I know you are." 

"Look, if we had known Lilith was coming…"

"You three wouldn't have left half a dozen innocent people in that police station to die in your place."

Sam's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as Henrickson continued on.

"You did this to me. It was your fault. She was after you and I paid the price. You left us there to die!" yelled Agent Henrickson.

He threw Sam against the wall of staff lockers. He walked over to Sam, grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, and threw him against another wall. He flung Sam into one of the two mirrors in the bathroom, smashing it into a million tiny pieces. He then hit Sam's chin on the porcelain sink twice before Sam fell to the ground. Sam looked up at Henrickson, his arms shielding his face. Suddenly, the ring of a shotgun sounded and Agent Henrickson disappeared. Alex and Dean ran into the bathroom, Alex holding the shotgun. Dean looked at Sam with wide eyes.

"Bobby," whispered Alex.

Dean cursed under his breath and ran out of the bathroom, Alex and Sam following directly behind him.

"Damn it, Bobby, pick up, c'mon," muttered Dean, driving the Impala as fast as it could possibly go.

Dean tried calling Bobby again as he glanced over at Sam.

"Hey, how are you feeling, huh? C'mon, how many fingers am I holding up?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed as he looked over at his brother.

"None. I'll be fine, Dean," said Sam.

Dean turned back to the road as Sam looked out the front windshield. Alex sighed from the backseat, but scooted closer to the edge of her seat, leaning her cheek against the back of Sam's seat.

"Henrickson?" she asked him.

Sam nodded.

"Yep."

"Why? What did he want?" asked Dean, listening to their conversation.

"Well, he wanted revenge because we got him killed," answered Sam.

Dean sighed and Alex sat back in her seat.

The three of them charged into Bobby's house the next morning, their shotguns loaded and ready to shoot.

"Bobby!" whispered Dean, looking around him.

There was no response, so they all continued on into the house. There was no sign of Bobby in the kitchen or in his study area. Dean looked at the bottom of the stairs, where an iron poker for the fireplace was resting at the bottom of the staircase. Dean snapped at Alex and Sam to get their attention. They all quietly walked over into the hallway where the stairs were located. Dean crouched down and inspected the iron poker. He stood back up, finding nothing, and looked over at his siblings.

"Alex, come with me upstairs. Sammy, check outside," whispered Dean.

Sam nodded and headed for the front door, Dean and Alex quietly heading up the stairs to look for Bobby.

"Bobby!" yelled Sam, walking into the junkyard of cars that was Bobby's backyard.

There was no response, so Sam tried yelling again.

"Bobby!"

Dean and Alex stepped off of the last stair and looked down the hallway that lay in front of them.

"Bobby," said Dean.

Suddenly, all of the doors in the hallway slammed closed except for the one at the very end of the hall. Dean and Alex stared as the door slowly creaked open almost all of the way. They began creeping slowly down the hallway.

"Come out, come out, whoever you are," teased Dean.

He and Alex walked forward a little bit farther down the hallway. As Dean exhaled, he saw his breath. He stopped walking and so did Alex, listening for someone behind them.

"Dean Winchester. Still so bossy," said a woman.

Both Dean and Alex turned around to see the spirit of Meg. Meg no longer had short, blonde hair. Instead, she had shoulder-length, brown hair and was wearing jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt with no makeup on. Dean and Alex stared at her.

"What, you don't recognize me? Well, this is what I looked like before that demon cut off my hair and dressed me like a slut," said Meg, a sarcastic smile on her face.

"Meg?" asked Alex.

Meg's grin grew and spread across her face.

"Hi."

Dean raised his shotgun and Meg held up her hands.

"Whoa, it's okay. I'm not a demon."

"You're the girl the demon possessed," said Dean, looking at Meg.

"Meg Masters. Nice to finally talk to you when I'm not, you know, choking on my own blood."

Meg stepped forward one step and Dean and Alex backed up. Meg smirked.

"It's okay, seriously. I'm just a college girl. Wait, sorry. Was. You see, I was walking home one night and got jumped by all this smoke. The next thing you know, I'm a prisoner in my own mind and body. You know, I was awake. I had to watch while she murdered people," said Meg, slowly stepping forward as she spoke.

Dean had slightly lowered his shotgun as she spoke.

"I'm sorry," said Alex.

"Oh, yeah? So sorry you had me thrown me off of a building?" asked Meg.

"Well, we thought-" began Dean, but Meg cut him off.

"No, you didn't think! I kept waiting, praying. I was trapped in there, screaming at you, just help me, please! You're supposed to help people, Dean, why didn't you help me?"

"I, I'm sorry," whispered Dean.

"Stop saying you're sorry!" yelled Meg.

She threw a quick right hook to Dean's face and Dean fell to the floor. Alex knelt down beside him as Meg looked down on the both of them.

"Meg, we didn't know," said Alex.

Meg also punched Alex and as Dean tried to sit up, she kicked him in the stomach. She knelt down in front of Dean.

"No, you guys just attacked. Did you maybe ever think about the fact that there was a girl in here? No, you just charged in, slashing and burning. You think you're some kind of hero?" asked Meg.

"No, I don't," said Dean.

Meg reached out and grabbed Dean by the collar of his jacket, pulling him more towards her. Dean glanced down at her hand that held his jacket and noticed a symbol on her hand. It was a circle, with lines going every which way inside the circle.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be ridden for months by pure evil? While your family has no idea what in the hell happened to you?" asked Meg.

"We did the best we could," said Dean.

Meg threw him down on the ground with a shout and kicked him in the stomach again.

Sam watched as he exhaled a large breath and saw his breath before him. He looked around at all of the junkyard cars in the Bobby's backyard and began banging on the trunks, looking for Bobby. He grabbed a crowbar and walked back to the trunk of one of the cars.

"I'm coming, Bobby!" yelled Sam.

Sam got the trunk open, but Bobby wasn't inside. He ran over to another car and pried open that trunk as well, but Bobby wasn't inside there, either.

"It wasn't just me, Dean," said Meg, looking down on Dean as he began crawling away from her.

Alex was sitting along the wall, Meg ignoring her until she was done with torturing Dean.

"I had a sister, a little sister. She worshipped me. You know how little siblings are, right? How they'll do anything for you. You see, she was never the same after I disappeared. She just, she just got lost. And when my body was lying in the morgue, beat up, broken, do you know what that did to her?" asked Meg.

She kicked Dean in the stomach again and Dean fell onto the floor, shaking his head.

"She killed herself! Because of you, Dean! Because all you were thinking about was your family! Your revenge and your demons. 50 words of Latin a little sooner probably would've saved my life. My baby sister would still be alive. That blood is on your hands, Dean!"

"You're right," said Dean, holding a hand out to her.

Sam opened yet another trunk using the crowbar, but Bobby wasn't there either. Sam sighed and looked around the junkyard. He paused as he looked at a car that was stacked on top of two other cars. The side-view mirrors had ice on them. Sam's eyes widened as he ran to the back of the car and jumped on top of other cars, climbing over the top of them to reach the car where Bobby was located.

"Bobby! Bobby, hold on, I'm coming!" yelled Sam, using the crowbar to pry the back of the car open to get inside to Bobby.

As Sam looked inside, he saw Bobby surrounded by two young girls, who glared at Sam. Sam was flung off of the back of the car and he landed on top of a windshield of another car. He shattered the glass slightly as he landed on the windshield. One of the little girls loomed above him, her hand reaching out for his chest. Sam lunged with his right arm, swiping the crowbar through the spirit of the girl. She disappeared as Bobby did the same to her sister a few seconds later. Bobby looked down at Sam on top of the car.

Dean crawled into one of the rooms as Meg smirked down at him. Alex sat in the hallway, unsure of what to do since she didn't have a gun with her. She looked around for Dean's shotgun and spotted it underneath an end table in the hallway. She grabbed it and made sure it was loaded as she ran down the hallway. She looked at Meg and shot at her, Meg disappearing as Dean groaned in pain.

"So, these are just people we know?" asked Sam, once they had all gathered back in Bobby's study.

"No, not just people we know. People we couldn't save," answered Dean, loading his shotgun.

The room was silent for a few seconds until Dean spoke up again.

"Yeah, I saw something on Meg. Did she have a tattoo when she was alive?"

"Um, I don't think so," said Sam, shaking his head.

"It was like a mark on her hand, almost like a brand," said Dean.

Sam's eyes widened.

"I saw a mark too, on Henrickson," said Sam.

"What did it look like?" asked Bobby.

"Uh, you got some paper?" asked Sam, walking over to Bobby's desk.

Bobby handed him a spiral pad of notebook paper and Sam grabbed it from him, along with the pencil that Alex handed to him.

"Thanks," said Sam, leaning over Bobby's desk to draw the mark he had seen.

After a few minutes, he threw his pencil down and held the pad of paper out for Dean to look at. Dean nodded.

"Yeah, that's it," said Dean.

Sam handed the pad of paper over to Bobby, who nodded.

"I may have seen this before," said Bobby.

He walked over to his bookshelf and began grabbing books from it when suddenly, there was a loud noise from above them. They all looked up at the ceiling and Bobby grabbed the two books he had his hands on from the bookshelf.

"We've gotta move," said Bobby.

He handed the two books in his hands over to Sam and walked back for more, Alex waiting to grab them from him.

"Okay, but why?" asked Alex.

"Where are we going?" asked Sam.

Bobby handed the books over to Alex and looked at Sam like he was an idiot.

"Someplace safe, you dumb ass."

Bobby headed for his basement and the three siblings followed his lead. They walked quickly down the stairs and followed Bobby through his basement. He led them all the way to the back of his basement and to a large, metal door. Bobby pulled the door open to reveal a rather large bunker in his basement. He flipped on the lights and they saw four beds pushed against the iron walls. A huge Devil's Trap was on the floor and a fan was located high above them in the ceiling, a Devil's Trap on that, as well. An arsenal was located along the wall without beds on it and newspaper clippings were tacked onto a corkboard that was resting slightly above the metal desk in the room. They all stepped inside, the sibling looking around the new room curiously as Bobby struggled to pull the heavy metal door closed. Once it was closed behind them, he stepped over to his desk and set down the books Sam and Alex had handed over to him earlier.

"Bobby, is this…" Sam trailed off as he looked at the walls of the bunker.

"Pure iron, yep. Also, completely coated in salt. 100% ghost proof," answered Bobby.

"You built a panic room?" asked Alex, smirking over at Bobby.

Bobby just shrugged, one of his eyebrows raised.

"I had a weekend off."

Alex laughed and Sam chuckled along with her as they began glancing around the room once again.

"Bobby. You're awesome," smiled Dean, looking at the arsenal against one of the walls.

Dean chuckled and Sam and Alex laughed along with him. Bobby smiled over at them, a somewhat sheepish look on his face.

An hour or so later, Bobby sat at his desk, writing down information. Dean was forming salt bullets while Sam and Alex sat beside him. After about his fiftieth bullet, Dean sighed.

"See, this is why I can't get behind God," said Dean.

"What are you even talking about?" asked Alex, looking at Dean weirdly.

"If he doesn't exist, fine. Bad crap happens to good people. That's how it is. No rhyme or reason, just random, horrible, evil… I get it, okay? I can roll with that. But if he is out there, what's wrong with him? Where the hell is he while all these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does he live with himself, you know? Why doesn't he fucking help?" asked Dean, slamming the bullet he had just finished down on the table.

Alex sighed and looked at Sam. Sam sighed and looked over at Bobby. Alex and Dean looked over at Bobby also and Bobby's eyes widened as he shrugged.

"Hell, I ain't touching this one with a ten foot pole," said Bobby.

"Yeah," whispered Dean, turning back around to his work in front of him.

Bobby pointed to his piece of paper with his pencil, tapping the pencil on the pad of paper as he spoke.

"Found it," said Bobby.

"What?" asked Sam.

"The symbol you guys saw, the brand on the ghosts?"

"Yeah?" asked Sam.

"Mark of the Witness," answered Bobby, flipping one of the larger books to the marked page.

"Witness? Witness to what?" asked Alex, looking between her brothers' faces.

"The unnatural. None of 'em died what you'd call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts, they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony, they're like… rabid dogs, it ain't their fault. Someone rose 'em… on purpose," explained Bobby.

"Who?" asked Sam.

"Do I look like I know the answer to that, kid?"

Sam backed off from his questions and Bobby continued on.

"But whoever it was, used a spell so powerful, it left a mark, a brand, on their souls. Whoever did this had big plans."

"The Rising of the Witnesses," whispered Alex.

Bobby, Sam, and Dean all looked at her, shocked.

"Lex, what are you talking about?" asked Dean, his eyes softening as he looked at her.

Alex bit her lip, sighing.

"Well, um, it figures into an ancient prophecy, I think," said Alex, looking over at Bobby.

Bobby nodded, his eyebrows raised and pointed to the book that was open in front of him. Dean and Sam stood up and walked over to stand on either side of Bobby as Alex remained seated.

"Wait, wait, wait. What book is that prophecy from?" asked Dean, looking over Bobby's shoulder at the book in front of him.

"Well, the widely distributed versions are just for tourists, you know. But, um, long story short, Revelations," answered Bobby, looking up at Dean behind him.

Sam cocked his head to the side, thinking.

"This is a sign, kids," said Bobby.

"A sign of what?" asked the three siblings, all at the exact same time.

Bobby sat back in his chair, leaning his back against the solid iron wall next to him. He looked over at Sam and Dean who stood beside him and then at Alex, who sat a little farther away from him.

"The apocalypse," answered Bobby.

"Apocalypse? As in apocalypse, apocalypse? Four Horsemen, pestilence, five dollar a gallon gas, apocalypse?" asked Dean, in complete disbelief.

"Yep, that's the one I'm referring to," said Bobby.

"The Rise of the Witnesses is, uh, a mile marker," said Alex, coming over to stand beside Dean, her hands in her back pockets.

"Okay. So, what do we do now?" asked Sam.

Dean scoffed, throwing his head back slightly.

"Road trip. You know, Grand Canyon, Star Trek Experience."

Dean smirked, clapping his hands together and pointing at Sam with a wink.

"Bunny Ranch," finished Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes in disgust as Dean returned to his previous seat.

"Well, first things first. How 'bout we survive our friends out there?" asked Bobby, his eyebrows raised.

"Okay, great. Any ideas besides staying in this room until Judgment Day?" asked Dean, turning around in his chair to face Bobby and his siblings.

Bobby nodded and pointed to another section in his large book.

"It's a spell. To send the witnesses back to rest. Should work," said Bobby.

"Should? Huh, great," laughed Sam, very sarcastically.

"If I translate it correctly. I think I've got everything we need here at the house," continued Bobby, staring at the siblings again.

"Any chance you got everything we need here in this room?" asked Alex, a hopeful smile on her face.

"So you thought our luck was gonna start now, all of a sudden?" asked Bobby.

Dean sighed, shaking his head and Bobby stood up from his chair, walking across the large room.

"Spell's gotta be cast over an open fire," said Bobby, walking over to his arsenal along one wall.

Sam smirked.

"Fireplace in the library," said Alex.

"Bingo," said Bobby.

"That's not as appealing as a, uh, ghost proof panic room," said Dean, glancing around the room they were sitting in.

Sam exhaled a breath he didn't know he had been holding and Alex nodded towards Dean.

About an hour later, Sam loaded his shotgun, while Dean handed Bobby a shotgun. Bobby held a notebook in his hands and Alex walked towards the door, sandwiched between Sam and Dean, as usual.

"Cover each other. And aim careful. Don't run out of ammo until I'm done or they'll shred you," said Bobby, holding onto the door handle.

"Ready?" he asked them, looking at all of their faces.

They all nodded and Bobby turned the handle and pushed the door open. Sam stepped outside first, taking the lead, Alex and Dean directly following him into the basement. They all slowly walked forward, Sam looking up the stairs once he was close enough to see up them. No one was there. He looked away and looked in every dark corner of the basement, on the lookout. Alex rounded the corner first to begin climbing up the stairs, but jumped back when she saw a larger figure sitting on the top step. Dean pushed Alex gently behind him and faced the spirit, who had his fingers steepled together and his elbows resting on his jean clad knees. He smirked at Dean.

"Hey, Dean. Do you remember me?" asked the spirit.

Dean smirked at the man, his teeth white and bright in the darkness of the basement.

"Ronald, huh? With the, uh, laser eyes. I wish I could say it's good to see you," said Dean, his smirk fading as Ronald grabbed the railings, pulling himself up into a standing position.

"I am dead because of you. You were supposed to help me!" yelled Ronald, his eyes full of hatred as he pulled himself all the way up and into a standing position.

Suddenly, Bobby shot at Ronald and Ronald's spirit disappeared. Dean ducked at the shot and Alex and Sam flinched. They all looked at Bobby, who just shrugged.

"If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk about it, damn it."

Bobby began the climb up the stairs and the three siblings followed him up the basement stairs and into his study. They began moving quickly, Sam drawing out a circle of salt around them and Dean and Alex helping Bobby unload his book s onto his desk. Once that was finished, Dean grabbed some matches from off the top of the fireplace and knelt down, lighting the logs on fire. Bobby looked over at Sam as he finished laying down the circle of salt.

"Upstairs. Linen closet. Red hexbox. It'll be heavy," said Bobby.

Sam nodded.

"Got it."

Sam began climbing up the stairs quickly, disappearing from view as the two little girls from before appeared outside of the circle of salt. Alex let out a little yelp as she spotted them, causing Dean and Bobby to look up at the little girls. Bobby's eyes widened, but Dean didn't hesitate and shot at the little girls. They disappeared from the room, but they could still hear them giggling from somewhere far off.

"Kitchen. Cutlery drawer. It's got a false bottom. Hemlock, opium, wormwood," said Bobby, glancing over his shoulder at Dean.

Dean began walking into the kitchen, but paused as he heard Bobby list off the items he would need.

"Opium?" he asked.

"Just go!" yelled Bobby.

Dean held up his hands and continued on into the kitchen, Alex standing beside Bobby now, holding her shotgun. She watched as Bobby picked up a piece of white chalk and began drawing a square on his desk. Neither one of them noticed as the two little girls appeared in the room once again.

"Bobby," said one little girl, causing both Alex and Bobby to look over at them.

"You walked right by us. While that monster ate us all up," said the other little girl.

"You could've saved us."

Bobby sighed, his face pained. Alex shot at the girls, causing them to disappear once again.

Sam walked swiftly down the hallway, his senses on high alert. He opened the first door on the left, but it wasn't the linen closet. He opened the second door on the left and pushed it open. He moved the white sheets and linens aside to find the red hexbox on the middle shelf, pushed to the right side. He began pulling the box towards him when a woman spoke beside him. He turned to his left, his shotgun raised as he looked at Meg.

"You know what really pisses me off, Sam?"

Sam shot at her, but she immediately re-appeared directly behind him. Sam turned to face her again.

"You saw how I suffered for months. I thought you must have learned something. I thought I died for something," said Meg.

"Meg," whispered Sam, lowering his gun.

"But what you're doing, with that demon, Ruby? How many innocent bodies has Ruby burned through for kicks? How many girls just like me? And you don't send her back to Hell? You're a monster!" yelled Meg.

Sam stared at her for a few brief seconds before aiming his gun right at her forehead and shooting her.

Dean pulled the silverware holder out of the drawer, looking for the items Bobby had requested. As he searched through the large drawer, the doors that led from the kitchen into the study slammed shit, hard. Dean whirled around, facing the doors, but saw no one.

"Dean?" asked Alex, sounding very concerned through the other side of the door.

"I'm alright, Alex! Tell Bobby to keep working!" yelled back Dean.

Dean continued digging through the large drawer, removing more and more un-wanted and un-needed items. Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. Dean looked over to his right and saw Agent Henrickson standing beside him, holding onto his wrist.

"Victor," whispered Dean.

"Dean," said Agent Henrickson.

Dean took a deep breath, his eyes wide as he looked at Henrickson.

"I know."

"No, you don't."

"It's my fault you're dead," said Dean, holding his hand over his heart.

"I left you behind and the minute I heard about that explosion, I thought… I should have known. I should have protected you," said Dean, shaking his head and inconspicuously reaching behind him to grab his gun from off of the stove.

Henrickson noticed this movement and flung Dean's shotgun halfway across the room. Dean looked at the gun, which was now in the corner away from him.

"Nu-huh. Not so fast. You think you left, then Lilith came, and we all died in a beautiful blast of… white light? If only that had happened," said Henrickson.

Dean looked at him, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

"45 minutes," explained Henrickson.

"What?" asked Dean.

"For 45 minutes, Lilith said she wanted to have some fun. The secretary was first, remember her, Nancy? The virgin? Lilith fileted Nancy's skin off, piece by piece, right in front of us all. Made us watch, Nancy never stopped screaming."

"No."

"I was the last."

"Victor," whispered Dean.

Suddenly, Henrickson's hand shot out and he plunged it straight through Dean's chest. Dean could hear his own heart beating as Henrickson grabbed a hold of it, Dean struggling and whimpering as Henrickson fumed on.

"Tell me how it's fair. You get saved from Hell and I die. Why do you deserve another chance, Dean?"

Henrickson's eyes closed as he got ready to pull Dean's heart straight from his chest. As Henrickson began to open his eyes, Sam appeared on Henrickson's left side, his shotgun pointed directly on Henrickson's temple. Sam didn't hesitate, and shot Henrickson, causing him to disappear. Dean fell and slumped against the stove, breathing in deeply. Sam knelt down in front of him, looking at his brother.

"Are you alright?" asked Sam.

"No," said Dean, feeling the left side of his chest to make sure he was okay.

Sam nodded and offered Dean his free hand, helping him to stand up. Dean grabbed it and pulled himself to his feet as Sam grabbed the red hexbox from off of the kitchen table. Sam slid the doors open to walk back into the study, Alex looking at them with a huge sigh of relief. Sam set the red hexbox down on the corner of the desk where Alex stood and Dean set the things Bobby had asked for down in a large bowl. Dean looked up and saw Ronald on the edge of the sale circle, seated on Bobby's loveseat.

"Ronald. Hey, man, I thought we were pals," smirked Dean, reloading his shotgun.

"Yeah, well, that's when I was actually breathing. Now, I'm gonna eat you alive," said Ronald, smirking up at Dean.

Dean chuckled as he looked down at the gun in his hands, still reloading it.

"Well, c'mon, I'm not a cheeseburger."

Dean raised his gun up to shoot at Ronald, but Ronald was no longer sitting in front of him. Dean looked around, but Ronald was nowhere to be found. He glanced behind him at Sam and Alex, who were standing around the circle. There were no spirits around them, either. Bobby began chanting in Latin. Suddenly, the windows burst open, blowing the pages of Bobby's book around. The siblings all covered their faces as a strong wind blew throughout the room. Bobby found his place again as the wind stopped, beginning to chant in Latin once more. Meg appeared before Sam, so he shot her as Alex did the same to Henrickson. Meg popped up behind Sam, but he didn't notice. Dean looked over and saw her.

"Down!" he yelled to his siblings.

Sam and Alex crouched down as Dean shot at Meg, who disappeared once again. Sam quickly began reloading his gun, shaking his head at their situation. Ronald appeared, walking determinedly toward Dean as he began reloading his own weapon. He glanced up, but Alex shot Ronald with her last bullet. Bobby kept chanting as the ghost began reappearing faster and faster every time, Sam, Dean, and Alex shooting at them like crazy. Bullet cases were flying to the floor. As Dean reloaded, Henrickson smirked and flung Dean's weapon across the room again. He strode toward Dean, so Dean grabbed Bobby's shotgun off of the corner of his desk. He pulled the trigger, but the gun wasn't loaded. Henrickson smirked, but Dean had another plan in place. He quickly ran over to the fireplace, grabbed the iron poker, and swung straight through Henrickson's shoulder, watching as he disappeared. Sam shot at Ronald, who disappeared. Sam began reaching for the extra bullets in his pocket, but Meg appeared too quickly. She moved a desk towards Sam, watching as it pinned Sam to the wall. Sam groaned in pain as the desk held him against the wall and Dean and Alex looked over at their brother.

"Sam!" yelled Alex.

"Alex! Cover Bobby!" yelled back Sam, struggling against the weight of the desk on his legs.

Alex nodded and stood beside Dean, almost out of bullets. Dean rested the iron poker on his shoulder. Sam's eyes widened as the two little girls appeared on the desk in front of him. Bobby was chanting when Meg came up behind him and stuck her hand through his back to reach his heart. He cried out as the bowl he was holding fell through his hands, the sound of his beating heart echoing through his ears.

"Dean! Fireplace!" yelled Bobby.

Alex fired off another bullet at Henrickson as he appeared again. Dean ran over and lunged, catching the gold bowl in his grasp before it fell to the floor. Dean flung the contents of the bowl into the fireplace and a burst of bright, bluish-white light rained over the room. They all cowered from the light, covering their faces and shielding their bodies as the spirits disappeared. Bobby fell to the ground once the spirits were gone, groaning with extreme pain.

"Bobby," said Dean, crawling over to him.

Alex ran over to Sam and helped him pull the desk off of his legs. The both of them ran over to Bobby and Dean, Sam leaning down to help Bobby stand up. Dean had a hold of Bobby's other arm as they brought him up and into a standing position. Sam brushed off Bobby's shoulder and Bobby took a couple of heaving, deep breaths, shaking his head. They all glanced around at the chaos in the room and sighed.

That night, Sam was sleeping on the loveseat, the moonlight shining on his handsome face as it streamed in through the windows. He looked peaceful, sleeping well for the first time in months. Alex was curled up in the armchair, a small smile on her lips as she let out a small, content sigh as she dreamed. Dean had been asleep only moments before, resting on the floor of Bobby's study, three blankets beneath him for cushioning and one being used as an actual blanket. He heard a slight rustling noise, causing him to wake up. He looked in the kitchen, saw Castiel leaning against the sink in the shadows, and sighed. He glanced around the room at his siblings, who were still sleeping soundly. He slowly stood up, his back cracking slightly as he stretched. He leaned down, kissed Alex's forehead, and then headed into the kitchen towards Castiel.

"Excellent job with the Witnesses," said Castiel, once Dean was close enough to hear him.

"You rigged all of this?" asked Dean.

"I was, um, made aware."

"Well, thanks a lot for the angelic assistance. You know, I almost got my heart ripped out of my chest," yelled Dean, pointing to his heart to empathize his point.

Castiel sighed, slightly rolling his eyes.

"But you didn't."

"Oh, I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos. You know, Michael Landon. Not dicks."

Dean glared at Castiel, who had a slight smirk playing on the corners of his lips as he looked at Dean. He leaned forward slightly.

"Read The Bible. Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."

"Yeah, and what do you fight?" snarled Dean.

"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder. We had larger concerns."

"Concerns? There are people getting torn to shreds down here. And by the way, while all this is going on, where the hell is your boss, huh? If there even is a God," said Dean.

"There is a God."

"I'm not convinced. 'Cause if there's a God, what the hell's he waiting for, huh? Genocide? Monsters roaming the earth? The freaking apocalypse? At what point does he lift a damn finger and help the poor bastards that are stuck down here?"

"Look, the Lord works-" began Castiel, but Dean cut him off.

"If you say mysterious ways, so help me, I will kick your ass," threatened Dean.

Castiel sighed and threw up his hands in surrender. Dean looked at Castiel.

"So, Bobby was right. About the Witnesses. This is some kind of a… sign of the apocalypse?"

"That's why we're here. Big things afoot."

"Do I wanna know what kind of things?"

Castiel cocked his head to the side briefly, shrugging at Dean.

"I sincerely doubt it. But you need to know. The Rising of the Witnesses is one of the sixty-six seals."

"Okay. Well, I'm guessing that's not a show at Sea World," said Dean.

Castiel ignored his smart ass comment and continued on, not really looking over at Dean as he spoke.

"Those seals are being broken by Lilith."

Dean nodded.

"She did the spells. She rose the Witnesses," stated Dean.

Castiel nodded.

"Mm-hmm. And not just here. 20 other hunters are dead."

"Of course. She picked victims that hunters couldn't save so that they would barrel right after us," said Dean.

"Lilith has a certain sense of humor," explained Castiel.

Dean cocked his head to the side, agreeing slightly with Castiel's statement.

"Well, we put those spirits back to rest."

"Doesn't matter, the seal was broken," explained Castiel.

"Why break the seal, anyway?" asked Dean.

"You think of the seals as locks on a door."

"Okay. So, the last one opens and..?"

Castiel sighed, but stood up straight, stepping away from the sink he had been leaning against. He looked directly into Dean's face, never blinking as he spoke.

"Lucifer walks free," said Castiel.

Dean's eyebrows rose as he looked at Castiel in front of him.

"Lucifer."

Castiel slightly nodded and Dean shook his head.

"I thought Lucifer was just a story they told at demon Sunday school. There's no such thing."

"Three days ago, you thought there was no such thing as me. Dean, why do you think we're here, walking among you now for the first time in 2,000 years?"

"To stop Lucifer," whispered Dean.

Castiel nodded slowly.

"That's why we've arrived."

Dean nodded, licking his lips.

"Well, bang-up job so far. I mean, stellar work with the Witnesses. That's nice," said Dean, very sarcastically as he leaned up against the counter, glancing over at Castiel.

"We tried. There are other battles. Other seals, some win, some lose. This one, we lost."

Dean scoffed and looked away from Castiel. Castiel stepped closer to him, directly in his line of vision.

"Our numbers are not unlimited. Six of my brothers died in the field this week. You think the armies of Heaven should just follow you around? There's a much larger picture here, Dean. So you should show me a little bit more respect. I dragged you out of Hell and I can definitely throw you right back in there," threatened Castiel.

Dean looked down at the floor and when he blinked, Castiel was gone. Dean looked around, but saw him nowhere in the darkened room.

Dean jolted awake, lifting up his head to glance around the study. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows as Sam walked back into the room, his black socks sliding on the hardwood floors. He sat on the loveseat next to Alex. He set his cup of coffee down on the ground and Alex grabbed it, sipping from it as Sam chuckled. She handed him his button-down shirt and Sam began putting it on. He glanced over at Dean, who had a few black circles under his eyes and looked horrible.

"You alright?" asked Alex, taking another sip from Sam's coffee cup as she curled her legs up underneath her butt.

"What's wrong, Dean?" asked Sam, flipping the collar of his shirt up to face the correct way.

Dean looked over at them, sitting up on the floor.

"So. You two have no problem believing in… God and angels?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex sighed, and Alex handed Sam back his coffee cup once he was fully dressed.

"No, not really," answered Sam.

Dean nodded.

"So I guess that means you believe in the devil then?"

Alex smirked.

"Why are you asking us all of this?"

Dean shook his head.

Dean and Alex were both sound asleep, Dean lying sprawled out on his back on his own bed, gently snoring. Alex was curled up on one side of the motel room bed she shared with Sam, but Sam wasn't lying next to her. Sam was awake, standing in front of the dresser in the room, looking in the mirror at himself. He could see Dean's sleeping form in the mirror and Sam turned around, looking at his sleeping siblings. He walked over to the door, gently turned the handle, and walked outside, his jacket slung over his arm.

Sam walked around the corner of the building just as Ruby pulled up in a bright orange Camaro. She stopped the car and Sam walked over to the passenger side, pulling open the door and climbing inside. He sat down and stared ahead, Ruby glancing at him.

"You ready?" she asked Sam.

Sam briefly glanced over at her.

"Definitely," answered Sam.

Ruby pulled away from the motel and the headlights shined into Dean and Alex's motel room briefly as she pulled away. Alex stirred slightly in her sleep, but she just rolled over onto her other side, letting out a small sigh. Dean tossed and turned as he saw scenes from his time in Hell behind his eyelids. Flashes of red and screaming souls haunted Dean until his eyes popped open.

"Hello, Dean," said Castiel.

Dean sat up slightly and saw Castiel sitting on the other side of his bed, looking at him.

"What were you dreaming about?"

Dean sighed and threw off his blanket.

"What do you want?" asked Dean.

"Listen to me. You have to stop it," said Castiel.

"Stop what?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Castiel said nothing, but just touched two of his fingers to Dean's forehead gently.

"Excuse me, buddy. You can't sleep here," said a voice from somewhere above Dean.

Dean sat up, his jacket covering his arms as a small blanket. He looked at the chubby police officer that was speaking to him. Dean looked around, confused.

"Okay. Sleep where?"

"Anywhere but here," answered the officer.

He gave Dean one more look before walking away down the sidewalk, whistling as he went. Dean sat up on the park bench he was currently sitting on and took in his surroundings, a confused look crossing his face. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out his dad's leather journal and then his cell phone, flipping it open to make a call. The phone was beeping at him, indicating that he had no signal. He moved the phone to the right and then to the left, but there was still no signal. Dean scoffed.

"Perfect," he muttered, squinting as the sunlight hit his eyes.

He looked across the street and saw an old time diner. He sighed, but headed inside.

Dean pulled open the door to the diner, the sounds of "Rambling Man" blasting through the speakers in the restaurant. The place wasn't very busy, a few couples in the booths along the right wall and one young man sitting at the counter. Dean looked around and chose to take a seat at the counter, a couple of seats down from the man already sitting there. Dean sighed and rubbed his eyes once he was sitting down, rubbing his hand across his face. He looked at the man seated next to him.

"Hey, where the hell am I?" asked Dean.

"Jay Bird's Diner," answered the man.

Dean looked down at the menu in front of him quickly and then looked back at the man.

"Yeah, thanks. I mean, uh, city and state."

"Lawrence, Kansas. Hey, are you okay, buddy?" asked the man, looking at Dean concerned as Dean glanced around the diner.

Dean rubbed a hand over his face once again.

"Yeah. Tough night," answered Dean.

The man nodded and looked away from Dean. He stuck his hand in the air and pointed to Dean.

"Hey, uh, a coffee here, Rich?"

"Yeah, coming right up," said a man who stood behind the counter.

The man sitting next to Dean put his hand down and looked back down at the newspaper in his hands while Dean reached inside his pockets and pulled out his cell phone.

"Would you mind telling me where I can get reception on this thing?" asked Dean.

The man looked over at the phone in Dean's hand and scoffed, a smirk playing on his lips.

"The U.S.S. Enterprise," he said, turning his attention back to his newspaper.

Dean looked at him, confused, but just stuck his phone back into his jacket pocket as a man delivered his cup of coffee, setting it down in front of Dean.

"Thanks," said Dean, looking up at the man.

The man who delivered Dean's coffee was wearing a fur vest, with a jumpsuit on underneath it. The jumpsuit had a pattern of swirls on it and Dean raised his eyebrows as he took a sip from his coffee.

"Nice threads. You do know Sonny and Cher broke up, right?"

Both men stared at him.

"Sonny and Cher broke up?" asked the man sitting next to Dean.

Dean set his coffee cup down and looked over at the man, licking his lips. Dean looked behind him at the other occupants in the diner, who were all also dressed very odd. Dean turned back around and glanced at the newspaper in the man's hands who was sitting next to him. The headline read, "Nixon accepts resignation of top…", but Dean focused in on the date. The date read April 30, 1973. Dean read the date in his head and then whispered it to himself as the bell over the diner rang, indicating someone had just walked in.

"Hey, Winchester," said a voice from behind the two men.

Both Dean and the man next to him turned around. An older gentleman, probably around fifty years old, was walking towards the man who was seated next to Dean.

"You son of a bitch. How you doing, Corporal?" asked the older man, shaking the man's hand who sat beside Dean.

Dean turned around to watch the two men, more confused than ever.

"Hey, Mr. D," said the younger man.

"I heard you were back."

"Yeah, have been for a little while now."

"Well, it's mighty good to have you home, John. Damn good," said the older man.

"Dad?" whispered Dean, his eyes wide as he looked at the young man seated beside him.

"Well, say hello to your old man for me," said the older man, beginning to walk away from John Winchester.

"Oh, you got it, Mr. D!" called back John, turning back around to face the counter once the old man had finally walked away from him.

Dean was still staring at the younger version of his father as John picked at the now cold food on his plate. John Winchester glanced back over at Dean.

"Do we know each other?" he asked Dean.

Dean cleared his throat and turned his attention back to his coffee, grabbing the cup from off of the counter.

"I guess not," said Dean, drinking from his coffee cup and looking away from his father.

John Winchester looked at Dean for a few seconds longer before pulling some money out of his pocket and standing up. He threw the money down on the counter and gave Dean a slight nod.

"Take it easy, pal," said John.

"Yeah," said Dean, nodding back at John.

Dean discreetly watched his father walk out of the diner, turning back to his coffee when John turned his head to look back at Dean one last time before leaving.

Dean glanced around the diner before getting up and following John outside and down the crowded sidewalk, a few paces behind John. John rounded a corner and Dean rounded the same corner a few seconds later, stopping when he saw Castiel directly in front of him.

"What is this?" asked Dean.

"What does it look like?" asked Castiel.

"Is it real?"

"Very."

"Okay, so what? How did I get here?"

"Time is fluid, Dean. It's not easy, but we can bend it on occasion."

"Well, bend it back. Or tell me what the hell I'm doing here."

"I told you. You have to stop it."

"Stop what, huh? What is it, something nasty after my dad?" asked Dean.

A car horn blared from the street beside them as Dean finished speaking. Dean turned to see what was happening and in that split second, Castiel disappeared. Dean turned back around and Castiel was gone.

"Oh, c'mon!" yelled Dean, throwing up his hands in frustration.

Dean found his father at a car dealership, looking at a brown and white hippie van and smiling as he reached out and touched it. Dean shook his head and walked over to his father.

"That's not the one you want," said Dean, leaning against the hood of the Impala.

"You following me?" asked John, walking over to Dean.

"No, no. I was just passing by," said Dean, standing up straight.

"I never got to thank you for that cup of coffee this morning. I was a little out of it."

"More than a little," said John.

"Let me repay the favor," said Dean.

He gently touched the hood of the Impala, still looking at his father.

"This is the car you want."

John smirked over at him.

"Oh, yeah? You know something about cars?"

Dean nodded and his smile became bigger.

"Yeah, my dad taught me everything I know. And this, this is a great car."

Dean lifted up the hood of the Impala and John walked over to stand next to Dean.

"327 four barrel, 275 horses. With a little TLC, this thing is cherry," explained Dean, looking at the car reverently.

"Wow, man. You're right," said John.

"So what are you buying that thing for?" asked Dean, glancing over at the hippie van John had his eyes on earlier.

"I kind of promised someone I would."

"Over a '67 Chevy? I mean, c'mon, this is the car of a lifetime. Trust me, this thing's still gonna be bad ass when it's 40."

John looked at Dean, sighing. He reached over and stuck out his hand for Dean to shake.

"John Winchester. Thanks."

"Dean van Halen. And thank you."

Dean slammed the hood of the Impala closed as John walked around to the passenger side, looking inside the car and smiling.

"So I was in pretty rough shape this morning, huh?" asked Dean, smirking as he watched his father look over his car.

"No kidding," replied John.

"I've been hung-over before, but, hey, I was getting chills in that diner. You didn't feel any of those cold spots, did you?"

John stood up straight, looking at Dean and shaking his head.

"Nope."

"I swore I smelled something weird too, you know, like rotten eggs. You didn't happen to smell any sulfur by chance."

"No," said John.

"No. Have there been any cattle mutilations in town-"

"Okay, Mister, stop it," said John, looking at him sternly.

"Yeah, if only I knew what to stop," muttered Dean.

"You just, watch out for yourself, okay?" asked Dean, looking at John.

John shrugged, but nodded at Dean.

"Yeah. Sure."

Dean smiled gently and pointed to the Impala with a smirk before turning around and walking away, John watching him leave the car lot.

A few hours later, Dean had followed John to a suburban neighborhood, John pulling his newly bought Impala up to the curb and turning it off. Dean pulled his small rental car onto the curb a few houses down and across the street, turning off his headlights as he watched John. A young, attractive blonde woman came bounding out of the house John was parked in front of, stopping when she stood in front of John.

"Hey," said John.

"What's this?" she asked him, looking the car over.

"My car," answered John.

"What happened to the van?"

"Mary, this is better than the van! It's got a 327 4 barrel carburetor," explained John, standing behind Mary as she looked the car over.

"Mom?" whispered Dean, watching them from his rental car.

An hour later, night had fallen and Dean was standing outside of the diner, watching his parents through the window as they sat across from each other in a small booth, smiling and laughing. Dean smiled.

"Sammy, wherever you are, Mom was a babe. And Alex looks almost exactly like her, which is kind of weird," said Dean, his smile fading.

"I'm going to Hell. Again," finished Dean.

He watched his parents for a few more minutes, his mom standing up and walking away. He heard footsteps from behind him, so Dean turned around.

"Why are you following us?" asked Mary.

She grabbed Dean by the collar of his jacket and threw him against the side of the building next to the diner. She held up her fists as he freed himself and backed away from the wall.

"What, are you crazy?" yelled Dean.

Mary kicked out at him twice, but Dean managed to avoid her kicks. He backed away from her slightly and when she reached out for him, he grabbed both of her wrists, preventing her from moving for a few seconds.

"You've been trailing us since my house."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Dean.

"Really?"

Mary kneed Dean in the stomach, causing him to let go of her. She spun around and threw her fists up, throwing a right punch towards Dean's face. Dean backed away from her punch and grabbed her, pushing her against the wall and holding her there.

"Okay, how about we talk about this, huh?"

"Let me go," said Mary, struggling against him.

Dean glanced over and saw a charm bracelet dangling from Mary's left wrist. The charms included a cross and a Devil's Trap. Dean looked at the bracelet curiously. He suddenly let go of Mary and she whirled around, breathing heavily as she looked at him, her eyes full of hatred.

"Are you a hunter?" asked Dean.

Mary looked Dean over curiously and carefully, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took.

Mary watched John pull away from the curb, smiling as she waved at him. John turned onto another street, disappearing from view and Mary's smile faded. Her face became serious and she looked over at Dean, who had appeared from behind some bushes in her front yard.

"Dean, right?" she asked him.

Dean walked towards Mary, stopping once he was standing a few feet in front of her. Mary crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm not sure you should come in."

"You can trust me. I mean, c'mon, we're all hunters, right? I mean, we're… we're practically family," said Dean.

Mary looked at him, shaking her head slightly.

"The thing is, my dad, he's a little, um…"

"Oh, I gotta meet him," said Dean.

"You've heard of him?" asked Mary, her face showing her complete disbelief.

Dean paused and waited a few seconds before speaking, collecting his thoughts.

"Clearly not enough."

Mary sighed, but led the way into her house.

"So you're a hunter," stated Mary's father, sitting in his armchair.

Mary and Dean were standing next to her father, a few feet away from him as he spoke.

"Tell me something, Mr. Hunter, you kill vampires with wooden stakes or silver?"

"Neither. You cut their heads off," replied Dean, smirking.

Mary's smile grew from beside Dean as she listened to him answer.

"So, did I pass your test?" asked Dean.

Mary's father sighed, closing the book he had been pretending to read and setting it on the small end table beside his armchair.

"Yep."

Mary's father glanced over at Dean and then looked down at the floor.

"Now, get out of my house."

"Dad!" protested Mary, her smile fading.

"I don't trust other hunters, Dean. Don't want their help, don't want 'em around my family."

"Knock it off, Samuel," said the man's wife, Mary's mother.

Mary's mom was setting the dinner table from a few feet behind Dean and Mary, the silverware clanking together as she held it in her hands. Dean glanced behind him at Mary's mother, who was walking towards them now.

"He's a hunter," said Samuel, gruffly.

"He passed your little pop quiz and now I'm inviting him to dinner. You hungry?" she asked Dean, turning to face him.

"Starving," replied Dean, almost instantly.

"Good. I'm Deanna," said the woman, holding out her hand for Dean to shake.

Dean took her hand, shaking it firmly.

"You've met my husband, Samuel. Now, wash up," said Deanna, letting go of Dean's hand and walking back into her kitchen to finish up with dinner.

"Samuel and Deanna?" asked Dean, noticing that he and Sam were obviously named after their mother's parents.

Mary nodded, smiling slightly.

"Really," said Dean, raising his eyebrows.

"First time in Lawrence, Dean?" asked Deanna, looking at Dean as he ate.

They were all seated around the dinner table, Dean at the end of one table and Samuel at the other end. Deanna was on Dean's right and Mary was seated to his left. Dean finished chewing his food before answering his grandmother's question.

"Well, it's been a while. Things sure have changed, I think," said Dean, looking back down at his plate full of food.

Samuel scooped some gravy out of the bowl it was in using a ladle as he asked Dean a few questions of his own.

"You working a job?"

"Yeah, maybe," responded Dean, staring the older man down.

"What's that mean?"

"It means I don't trust other hunters either, Samuel."

Dean and Samuel stared at each other, Deanna and Mary eating their food silently as they also looked at Samuel. After a few tense seconds, Samuel's face finally broke into a slight grin as he looked at Dean. Dean smiled back.

"Hey, um, so why were you following me and John?" asked Mary, looking at Dean.

"Hmm, I thought something was after your, uh, boyfriend," answered Dean, setting down his fork and knife to take a sip from his water.

"But, uh, I don't think that anymore," finished Dean.

"John Winchester, mixing it up with spirits. Can you imagine?" asked Deanna, laughing gently as she looked over at her husband.

Samuel sighed, eating his dinner and Dean raised his eyebrows, returning his attention to his own plate of food. Mary's fork made a clatter against her plate as she set it down, looking at her father and rolling her eyes.

"I saw that," said Mary.

"What?" asked Samuel, stopping whatever he was doing and looking at his daughter.

"That sour lemon look."

Samuel sighed.

"Oh, honey, John's a really, really nice…"

Samuel trailed off and Mary gave him a look, her eyebrows raised.

"Naïve civilian," finished Samuel.

Mary scoffed and Dean looked down at his plate of food, raising his eyebrows.

"So, what? You'd rather me be with a guy like this?" asked Mary, pointing over to Dean.

"What? No, no, no," said Dean, shaking his head adamantly.

"No, of course not. It's just that, I, uh-"

"That's enough. From both of you. We have company," said Deanna, glancing over at Dean.

Mary looked at Dean for a quick second before returning to her plate of food.

"So, what about you, Sam? You, uh, working a job?" asked Dean.

"Might be," said Samuel, raising his eyebrows and drinking from his glass of water.

Mary rolled her eyes, but then smiled, turning and looking at Dean.

"He's working a job at Whiteshire Farm."

Samuel looked at his daughter as Dean's eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Whiteshire Farm, why does that name sound familiar to me?" asked Dean.

"Well, because it's been all over the papers, Tom Whiteshire. Got tangled up in a combine a few towns over," answered Samuel.

"That kind of thing happens," explained Dean, shrugging at Samuel.

"Son, why was he on it in the first place when his crops are all dead?"

Dean stopped for a few seconds.

"Demonic omens?"

Samuel nodded.

"That's what I've gotta find out."

"What about the rest of the town? Did you find anything on the web?" asked Dean, setting down his fork and knife and crossing his arms, resting them along the table.

Samuel looked at him strangely, his eyebrows raised at Dean.

"Of information that you have assembled," said Dean, recovering quickly from his mistake.

"Electrical storms, maybe. The weather service graphs should be here on Friday," answered Deanna, gently speaking to Dean.

"By mail?" asked Dean.

"No, we hired a jet liner to fly 'em to us overnight," said Samuel, being sarcastic with Dean since he had asked a very stupid question.

Dean looked at Samuel and chuckled. Mary took a sip from her water glass, smiling as she did so.

"You know, it sounds to me like we might be hunting the same thing. You know, if we go in there with numbers, we could take care of this real fast," said Dean, leaning forward on the table.

Samuel leaned forward on the table as well.

"What part of we work alone do you not understand, son?"

Dean nodded his head, smiling slightly. He picked up his silverware and began finishing up his plate of food, sitting in comfortable silence with his family.

The next day, Dean was visiting the Whiteshire Farm. He was dressed as a priest and he had just finished up his conversation with the dead man's wife. The wife had pulled open the front door and there stood Samuel, also dressed as a priest with his hand raised up and ready to knock on the front door.

"Father. I see you beat me here," said Samuel, taking in Dean's presence.

"The Lord is pretty funny that way. Beth Whiteshire, this is my associate, our senior, _senior_ priest, Father Chaney," said Dean, emphasizing the word "senior" so that Samuel would seem very old to the woman.

Samuel glanced at Dean, a hard look on his face. Dean smiled happily and Samuel handed the woman the brownies he had brought with him that were wrapped in Saran Wrap.

"Please accept our deepest condolences on behalf of the County Diocese."

"Thank you," said Beth, smiling gently at the two of them.

"Mrs. Whiteshire was just telling me all about Tom and how _normal _and _ordinary_ things were the day before his death," explained Dean, smiling back up at Beth Whiteshire.

"I see. So, you didn't notice anything unusual, ma'am?" asked Samuel, looking at the woman gently.

"You mean like my husband's guts fertilized in the back 40?" asked the woman, venom lacing her tone now.

Dean smirked and slapped Samuel on the shoulder.

"'Scuse me," said Dean, stepping away from the two of them in the doorway.

Dean walked down the front yard and saw Mary talking to the son of Tom and Beth Whiteshire. He walked over to where they stood, which was by a large tree with a swing attached to one of the branches that was located slightly higher up in the tree. Mary saw Dean approaching and felt him stand beside her.

"Charlie, would you like to tell the Father here what you just told me?" asked Mary.

The kid took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down before speaking once again.

"Dad drank sometimes. Sometimes he got really rough with Mom."

"And that's when the stranger came?" asked Mary, gently.

"I just thought he was some Bible thumper. Like you all. He showed up 'bout a week ago," answered Charlie, shaking his head slightly.

"Saying what?" asked Dean.

"Did I want the beatings to stop. I just thought he was crazy, I didn't think… And the next thing I know, Dad's dead. Am I going to jail?" asked Charlie, looking worried and terrified.

"You didn't do this, Charlie," answered Mary, speaking gently to the young teenager.

"Did the stranger want something in return?" asked Dean, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black pants.

"No, he didn't want anything," explained Charlie.

"C'mon, Chuck, he wasn't just handing out freebies now, was he?"

"He did say something about coming to call ten years from now. Maybe he'd want something then."

"Something like what?" asked Dean, his face suddenly very serious.

"I don't know, okay? Look, I told you he was nuts," said Charlie, his Southern accent coming out in his voice as he got more and more upset.

Mary glanced at Dean and gently grabbed him by the elbow, pulling him a few feet away from Charlie. Dean rubbed a hand over his face as Mary let go of his elbow and faced him.

"What do you think?" she whispered.

"I think he just pimped his soul to a demon and he doesn't even know it," said Dean, pulling his hands out of his pockets and resting them on his hips.

Mary sighed and walked back over to Charlie, Dean following right behind her.

"Charlie, do you remember what this stranger looked like?" asked Mary, her hands stuffed in her jacket pockets.

Charlie nodded.

"Yeah. He was about 5'10", white. He was kind of normal looking really."

"Anything else?" asked Mary, her blonde hair blowing gently in the wind.

"There was one thing."

"What?" asked Dean, gruffly.

"It's just, the light hit his eyes in a weird way and… for a moment, I could've sworn…"

"What, that they were black? Or red, maybe?" asked Dean.

"No. They were yellow. Pale yellow," said Charlie.

Dean's face hardened and he glanced over at Mary, who was looking over at him.

Dean threw a map down on Mary's dining room table, looking over it.

"What do you say we just slow down and talk this thing through?" asked Samuel, standing next to the table and looking over at Dean as he worked.

"There's nothing to talk about," said Dean, not even looking over at Samuel, but keeping his attention focused on the map he had laid out in front of him.

"Yes, you're saying this thing is a demon and none of us has ever heard of a demon with yellow eyes," said Samuel, his arms crossed over his chest.

Dean finally looked over at him and slowly stood up from his hunched over position.

"Yeah, well, I have. This thing killed my family," whispered Dean.

"Just calm down, son."

"You don't get it, do you? I mean, you are in danger, we are all in danger. In fact, you need to get yourselves someplace safe," said Dean, turning his attention and focus back on the map in front of him.

"Not until we know what we're dealing with here," said Samuel.

"Sam's right, Dean. It could be a demon, it could be a shape-shifter, any number of things," said Deanna, standing next to her husband now.

"I know what this thing is! And I'm gonna kill it. That's all the talking I need to do," said Dean.

Deanna walked away from them and walked back into the kitchen, setting down the large bowl of fruit she had been previously holding.

"You're gonna kill a demon? How?" asked Samuel, crossing his arms over his chest once again as he stared at Dean.

"There's a hunter named Daniel Elkins, lives in Colorado. He has Colt's gun. The Colt," said Dean.

"Yeah, I heard about the Colt. I used to tell it to Mary as a bedtime story."

"Well, it's real."

Samuel looked over his shoulder at his wife, who was leaning against the entryway between the kitchen and the dining room, drying off a plate in her hands. She raised her eyebrows and shrugged as her husband looked over at her. Samuel turned his attention back over to Dean.

"Alright, say that it's real. You got some kind of a crystal ball telling you where this demon's gonna be?"

"Yeah, maybe I do," said Dean.

He reached over and grabbed his dad's journal from inside his jacket that was resting on the chair closest to him. Samuel and Deanna exchanged another quick glance before Samuel walked back over to stand beside Dean, who had opened his dad's journal and was hunched over the kitchen table once again, flipping through the journal's pages.

"What's this?" asked Samuel.

"It's a list," answered Dean.

"Of what?"

"My dad wrote down anyone he ever thought came in contact with this yellow-eyed demon. Who, where, and when."

"Why?"

"Because the more he could learn about this son of a bitch, the more he could figure out why he killed my mom," said Dean, standing up and looking Samuel in the eyes.

Samuel looked away from Dean for a split second as Dean flipped to another page in the journal.

"Look," said Dean, pointing to a name and listing in his father's journal.

"Whiteshire Farm. I told you that name sounded familiar."

"Whiteshire Farm, that was two days ago. How the hell is that on your dad's list?" asked Samuel, leaning over the table to look in the journal with Dean.

Dean paused and looked around the room before he quickly glanced at Samuel. He looked back at the journal as he spoke.

"Um, my dad could see the future," lied Dean, looking back over at Samuel.

Samuel looked at him until Dean looked away, turning his attention back to the journal.

"Look at this. This thing's gonna hit here tomorrow night."

"Liddy Walsh?" asked Samuel, surprise coloring his tone of voice as he read the entry in the journal.

"That's close," said Dean.

"Yeah, it's about three miles, but…"

Samuel trailed off as he looked back at his wife, who was still standing in the entryway between the kitchen and the dining room. Dean stood up when he felt them looking at him curiously.

"Look, I know you guys think I'm really crazy," said Dean.

"You seem like a really nice kid, Dean, but, yeah, you're crazy," said Samuel, his hand resting on the back of one dining room chair as he looked at Dean.

"Yeah, maybe. But I know where this bastard's gonna be and I'm gonna stop him. Once and for all," said Dean.

He looked at Samuel and Deanna one last time before closing his dad's journal and throwing his jacket back on, the journal tucked under his arm as he left the room.

Dean had put the journal back in his jacket pocket and was walking down the hallway, looking for Mary. He found her in the study, listening to some vinyl records. He stood in the doorway for a few moments, just looking at his mother. He walked into the room and cleared his throat. Mary looked over at him, smiling.

"Hey, I'm headed out. I just wanted to say bye," said Dean, throwing up his hand in a slight wave as he looked over at Mary.

"Really? So soon?" asked Mary, pushing the vinyl records aside and standing up from the armchair she had been sitting in.

"Yeah, well. I've got a job to do," answered Dean.

Mary nodded and Dean stepped towards her.

"Hey, I, uh, wanted to tell you. You know, for what it's worth, um. It doesn't matter what your dad thinks. I like that John kid."

Mary laughed a little bit, a smiling breaking across her pretty face.

"You do?"

Dean smiled along with her.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think you two were meant to be. Hell, I'm depending on it," added Dean.

"What?" asked Mary, a confused look crossing her face.

"Oh, nothing. Um, can I ask you a question?"

Mary shrugged her shoulders, smiling once again.

"What's he like? John?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"Hmm, I don't know. Uh, he's sweet, kind. Even after the war, after everything, he still believes in happily ever after, you know. He's everything a hunter isn't," explained Mary.

Dean's eyebrows rose and he shrugged.

"No offense," said Mary, noticing his facial expression.

"No, none taken," explained Dean.

Mary smiled.

"Can I tell you something?"

Dean nodded and Mary's smile grew larger.

"He's gonna ask me to marry him. Tomorrow, I think."

"Yeah?" asked Dean.

"Oh, Dad's gonna explode! But I don't care. I'll run away if I have to, I just… I love John and…"

Mary trailed off and Dean looked at her curiously.

"And what?"

"I want to get out. This job, this… life. I hate it. I want a family. I want to be safe. You know the worst thing I can think of? The very worst thing? Is for my children to be raised into this like I was. I won't let it happen," said Mary, sternly.

Dean nodded, looking down at the floor.

"Yeah," said Dean, looking down at the floor.

After a few seconds had passed, he looked back up at his mother, sadness in his eyes.

"Hey, Mary. Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," said Mary, nodding.

"Even if this sounds really weird, will you promise me that you will remember?" asked Dean.

"Okay," laughed Mary.

Dean paused for a few seconds, not exactly sure where to start.

"On November 2nd, 1988, don't get out of bed. No matter what you hear or what you see, promise me you won't get out of bed," cried Dean, a single tear falling from his eyes and dripping down his face as he stared at his mother.

"Okay," promised Mary, looking at him curiously.

Dean nodded and smiled gently, wiping a hand over his face to get rid of the tears he had let escape as he spoke to his mother. He turned around and walked out of the house and away from his family, Mary watching him leave.

Dean was driving down a long road later that night, the night surrounding him as he drove. He glanced over in his passenger seat and was startled when he saw Castiel sitting there.

"So, what? God's my co-pilot, is that it?" asked Dean.

Castiel looked at him, but said nothing.

"Alright then. Tell me something, my siblings would have wanted in on this, so why didn't you bring them back too?"

"You had to do this alone, Dean."

"And you don't care that Sam and Alex are tearing up the future looking for me right now?"

"Actually, Sam's not looking for you. Alex is the only way and she's not making very much progress, so we're not worried about her."

"Alright, if I do this, then the family curse breaks, right? Mom and Dad live happily ever after and Sam, Alex, and I grow up normally?"

"You realize, if you do alter the future, your father, you, Sam, Alex, you'll never become hunters. And all those people you saved, they'll die," said Castiel, looking over at Dean.

Dean stared ahead at the road in front of him.

"I realize."

"And you don't care?"

"Oh, I care. I care a lot. But these are my parents. I'm not gonna let them die again. I can't. Not if I can stop it," said Dean, finally looking over at Castiel, but Castiel was gone.

Dean glanced around his rental car, but Castiel was nowhere to be found. Dean sighed, but continued on his journey to Colorado for the Colt.

The next morning, Dean was in Colorado, in Daniel Elkins' home, looking for the Colt. Dean was kneeling down in front of a safe, which he had just cracked open. He grabbed the Colt from the top shelf of the safe and smiled, holding it in his hands. He heard it click in his hands, but a second click came from behind him. Dean's smile faded as a gun was pointed to the back of his head.

"Hold it right there, friend. Drop the gun and be on your way."

Dean slowly stood up from his crouch, acting as if he was going to set the gun down on top of the safe. As he stood up to his full height, he quickly whirled around, aiming the Colt at the man who now stood in front of him.

"Can't do it, Daniel."

"Who the hell are you?"

"A hunter, just like yourself," explained Dean.

"Thief's more like it," shot back Daniel, glaring at him.

"I just need it for a few days."

"Not happening, mister."

"Look, I have the chance to save my family's lives. My family. But I need this gun to do it. So if you wanna stop me, kill me," said Dean.

He held the Colt close to his side as he slowly inched toward Daniel Elkins to move past him. Once he was in the entryway, Dean looked back at Daniel. Daniel sighed, his face softening slightly as he lowered his own gun.

"There's some hunters in Lawrence. The Campbells."

"Never heard of 'em," said Daniel, shaking his head.

Dean nodded.

"That's where she'll be."

Daniel nodded at Dean and Dean nodded back, finally walking out the front door.

A few hours later, Dean ran into Liddy Walsh's house, the front door already open as he ran inside quickly. Dean saw Liddy looking terrified on her paisley couch, Samuel stuck on the wall, and Mary was in the yellow-eyed demon's grasp, struggling. Dean aimed the Colt at the demon, who was smirking over at Dean as he held onto Mary.

"You let her go!" yelled Dean.

The yellow-eyed demon took in the Colt and his smile quickly faded.

"Where'd you get that gun?" he asked Dean.

Instead of replying, Dean loaded the gun and the demon chuckled darkly. Mary used this to her advantage and elbowed the man holding her in the abdomen, causing him to let her go. A large cloud of black smoke erupted from his mouth and disappeared through the nearest air vent, located above him in the ceiling. Dean sighed, cursing under his breath as he let his arm fall to his side.

"Mary, what else did he say to you?" asked Dean.

The two of them were on the front lawn of Liddy Walsh's house, Mary with her arms crossed across her chest and Dean walking in front of her. Samuel stepped onto the front porch as Mary began answering Dean's question.

"I already told you, just that he liked me."

Mary looked down at the ground, her eyes wide with fear once she looked up at Dean's face again.

"What did he mean by that?"

Dean didn't have time to answer as Samuel stepped off of the front porch, walking over to them.

"Liddy's a strong kid, she'll be perfectly fine. Are you okay?" he asked his only daughter.

"No, Dad, I'm pretty far from okay. Can we go?" yelled Mary, walking towards her father's vehicle, which was parked close to the curb.

"Nice job in there," said Samuel, looking over at Dean now.

"I missed the shot," whispered Dean, very angry with himself.

Samuel sighed.

"Take a compliment, son. I'm saying that I was wrong about you."

Dean looked over at him.

"We need to talk alone."

Dean glanced over at Mary in her dad's passenger seat and then walked over to his own car.

Dean peeked out the curtains of Samuel's large dining room window as Samuel sat at the head of the table, his back currently to Dean as Dean spoke to him.

"We need to kill this thing now or Mary dies," said Dean.

"What? How do you know that?" asked Samuel, turning around in his chair to face Dean.

"I just do, okay?" said Dean, struggling with his father's notebook that he was holding in his hands.

"When?" asked Samuel, still looking at Dean even though Dean hadn't yet looked over at him.

"I don't know, maybe today. Probably years from now, but it's happening, trust me," said Dean, finally looking at his grandfather before returning his attention back over to his father's leather journal in his hands.

"So what are you, some kind of a psychic now too?"

Dean looked at Samuel, his eyebrows raised. He took a few deep breaths before answering.

"No."

Dean walked over to the table and sat down next to Samuel.

"Alright, listen to me. Now, this is gonna sound a little… Actually, it's gonna sound massively, massively crazy," began Dean.

"Okay," said Samuel, his eyebrows raised as he looked at Dean.

"Mary is my mother."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm your grandson. And I know what in the hell I'm talking about."

"Would you maybe like to run that by me again, son?"

"My real name is Dean Winchester. I was born January 24, 1985. My parents are Mary and John Winchester."

"I know I don't have to listen to this," said Samuel, leaning back in his chair, away from Dean.

"Mary gets killed by a yellow-eyed demon in 1988. And I think that this, what happened tonight, I think that this is the moment that he caught her scent."

Dean took in a deep breath through his teeth, a slight whistle emitting from his mouth before he continued on with his speech.

"Now, if we don't catch this thing now, and kill it, and it gets away, then Mary dies. So I'm asking you, please," pleaded Dean, finishing his speech and looking over at Samuel sadly.

Samuel said nothing, but just looked at Dean, so Dean sighed angrily and threw up his hands.

"So how did I know about this Colt, huh? How did I know about the yellow-eyed demon or where it would be? I'm not making all of this up, Samuel."

"Every single bone in my body is making me want to put you six feet under, but… there's something about you and I just can't shake it. Now, I may be crazier than you, son, but I believe you," explained Samuel, sighing as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"Thank you," whispered Dean, slightly nodding at Samuel.

"Now, how do we find this bastard?"

"Right here. The list," said Dean, flipping open his father's leather journal.

"And with the Colt?"

"Yeah," said Dean, raising his eyebrows as he pulled it from out of inside his jacket, setting it down on the table beside him.

Samuel looked from the Colt and then back to Dean, sighing. He pointed over to the Colt as Dean looked up at him.

"Here, let me see it," he asked.

Dean moved the Colt farther down the table.

"Sorry, I don't really let anyone else hold it."

"But I'm your grandfather," said Samuel, in a sense of disbelief.

"Nothing personal."

"Sure it is. Considering it's me, the one you're trying to kill."

Samuel's eyes turned to a yellow color as a smirk spread across his face slowly. Dean's eyes widened, but Samuel flung his palm up and Dean was shoved out of the room, his chair ramming into the bookcase along the living room wall two rooms down from the dining room where they had just been sitting. Dean glared at the yellow-eyed demon, pure hatred in his eyes.

Samuel looked over at Dean, shrugging his shoulders as his eyes returned to a normal color.

"Future boy, huh?"

Samuel stood up and began walking over to Dean.

"You know, I only know of one thing that's got the juice to spin something like that, so you must have some friends in some pretty high places."

Samuel had finally reached Dean's chair, Dean glaring up at him.

"So, I kill your mommy? That's why you came all this way, to see little old me?"

"Oh, I came here to kill you."

"Hey. Wait a minute. If that slug marries your mommy, are you… are you one of my psychic kids?" asked Samuel, leaning in closer to Dean.

Dean turned away, closing his eyes as Samuel leaned forward, sniffing Dean's neck.

"No. Not you. Maybe you've got a sis."

Dean still didn't look over at him.

"Or a bro, that's terrific."

Dean finally turned his head back to the front, looking at Samuel with pure and absolute hatred.

"Well, that means it all works out. After all, that's why I'm here."

"So that's what this is about. These deals you're making. You don't want these people's souls," said Dean, staring into Samuel's face.

"No," said Samuel, shaking his head.

"I just want their children. I'm here to choose the perfect parents, like your mommy."

"Why her? Why any of them?" whispered Dean, shaking his head at Samuel.

"Because they're strong. They're pure. My own little master race, they're ideal breeders."

Samuel stood up and stepped slightly away from Dean, smirking down at him.

"Although Mary, she's my favorite so far," said Samuel.

Dean began to struggle as Samuel watched him, but Dean stopped when he noticed Deanna peeking her head around the corner of the kitchen's entryway, watching them.

"So why make the deals?" asked Dean, looking up at Samuel.

"I need permission. I need to be invited into their houses. I know, I know, I know, the red tape will drive you nuts. But in ten short years, it'll all be worth it. Because you know what I wanna do? To your siblings? I'm gonna stand over their crib and I'm gonna bleed into their mouth, demon blood is better than vitamins, minerals, it makes you big and strong."

"For what? So they can lead your discount demon army? Is that your big plan?" whispered Dean, absolutely disgusted with the yellow-eyed demon's plans for Sam and Alex.

"Oh, please. My end game's a hell of a lot bigger than that, kid."

"End game? What end game?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you. All those angels, sitting on your shoulders? No. I'm gonna cover my tracks well."

"You can cover whatever the hell you want. But I'm still gonna kill you, you sick bastard," promised Dean.

"Right. Now that I'd like to see."

"Maybe not today. But you look into my eyes, you fucking son of a bitch. Because I'm definitely the one that kills your sorry ass."

The yellow-eyed demon stared at Dean and began chuckling, a smile spreading across his face slowly.

"So you're gonna save everybody, is that right? Is that it? Well, I'll tell you one person that you're not gonna save."

The yellow-eyed demon pulled a knife from the holder on Samuel's hip, holding the sharpened blade in his right hand.

"Your grandfather," he finished.

He winked at Dean before plunging the knife straight into Samuel's stomach.

"No!" cried out both Dean and Deanna.

Samuel turned to look at Deanna, who was crouched behind the entryway leading into the living room. She ran over to grab the Colt from where it laid on the floor, but Samuel's eyes flashed yellow and he threw up his free hand, flinging Deanna across the dining room table. She landed on the other side of the table and Samuel pulled the knife from his gut. He began walking towards her and Deanna began crawling away into the kitchen, Dean struggling to break free of the hold he was still stuck under. Deanna made it around the corner of the kitchen, but Samuel grabbed her by the neck and twisted it, killing her instantly. Dean finally managed to break free and he grabbed the Colt on his way into the kitchen. He ran around the corner, the Colt raised, but Samuel was gone. Dean looked down at his grandmother's lifeless body, sighing.

"Mary," he whispered, suddenly realizing she hadn't come downstairs during all of the commotion.

"Mary!" yelled Dean.

"What did I tell you?" said Samuel, as he banged on the passenger side window of John Winchester's Impala.

Samuel pulled the door open and dragged Mary from the car, John quickly opening his door and stepping outside.

"Dad, stop it! You're hurting me!" yelled Mary, struggling against her father's hold on her forearm.

"Sir, just listen!" yelled John, shoving Samuel.

Samuel let go of Mary, grabbed John's head, and twisted his neck, killing him instantly. Mary cried out and fell to the ground, pulling John's head into her lap. She looked up at her father, whose eyes were now yellow and she glared at him.

"You killed him," she said.

"Oh, not just John, dear. Mommy and Daddy too. Yep, they're all gone," said Samuel, unzipping his jacket to reveal his fatal stab wound.

"You son of a bitch," said Mary, through gritted teeth.

"Well, sticks and stones may break my bones. But they won't bring your family back either," said Samuel, kneeling down next to Mary now.

"I'll kill you. I swear to God."

"Whoa, let's not get nasty," said Samuel, pulling himself into a sitting position on the ground beside John's dead body and next to Mary's kneeling form.

"Now, look. We've both said some things that we regret. Let's uh… kiss and make up," suggested Samuel, as Mary began silently crying over John's dead body.

"I'll tell you what. I'll arrange to have lover boy here brought back breathing."

Mary never looked at yellow-eyes as she spoke.

"My parents too?" she gently asked, tears streaming down her pretty face.

"Nope. Sorry, doll, that's not an offer that's on the table. But think about it. You could be done with hunting, forever. The white picket fence, the station wagon, a couple of little kiddos. But no more monsters or fear, I'll make damn sure of it."

"What? And all it costs is my soul?" yelled Mary, finally glaring over at him.

"Oh, no, no, no, you can keep your soul, I just need permission."

"For what?" asked Mary, after a very long pause.

Mmm, ten years, I need to swing by your house for a little something, that's all."

"For. What?"

"Relax. As long as I'm not interrupted, no one will ever be hurt. I promise," vowed Samuel, winking at Mary.

Mary looked away from him and looked at John's lifeless form in her lap. She took a few deep breaths in, trying to hold back her tears.

"Or you can spend the rest of your life desperate and alone. Mary?" asked Samuel, watching Mary's tears fall over her cheeks once again.

"It's a good deal. So, what do you say?" asked Samuel, in a whisper as he leaned closer to her.

Mary looked into his eyes, fear evident in them.

Dean drove as fast as he could possibly drive in his older rental car. He drove up to the ravine and his headlights flashed on two people kissing in the middle of the gravel road. As soon as his headlights hit them, they pulled apart. Dean could see that it was Mary and yellow-eyes.

"No," cried out Dean, yelling as he quickly got out of his car.

Mary looked over at him and Dean raised the Colt, but it was already too late. A large cloud of black smoke burst from Samuel's throat and disappeared into the night sky. Samuel's now lifeless body fell to the gravel road. Dean lowered his arm, the Colt now hanging from his fingers at his side. Mary looked back at him sadly, tears in her wide, vibrant blue eyes. Dean stared at his mother. John suddenly gasped from his spot in Mary's lap and Mary turned her attention back to him, stroking his face and his chest.

"Mary?" asked John, looking up at her.

Mary placed both of her cold hands on John's face, smiling through her tears.

"John," she cried, placing her forehead to his as John reached for her shoulder, pulling her in closer.

A fluttering noise came up behind Dean as he watched his parents reunite. Castiel placed a hand on Dean's shoulder and Dean took in a sharp intake of breath, startled. He turned to look at Castiel, who was looking at him almost sadly.

Dean jolted awake back in his motel room bed. He threw his jacket off of him and saw Castiel standing at the foot of his bed, looking off into the distance at nothing in particular. Dean glanced over at Alex, who was still fast asleep in her own bed, a small, sleepy smile placed on her lips. Dean looked back over at Castiel and sat up in his bed.

"I couldn't stop any of it."

Dean took in a large breath, placing his hands on either side of him and holding onto the bedframe of his bed.

"She still made the deal. She still died in that damn nursery, didn't she?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You couldn't have stopped it," responded Castiel, never looking over at Dean.

Dean's eyebrows pulled together in the middle of his forehead in confusion. He stood up from his bed and stared at Castiel.

"What?"

"Destiny cannot be changed, Dean."

Castiel finally turned to face him.

"All roads lead to the same destination."

"Then why in the hell did you send me back?"

"For the truth. Now you know everything we do."

"What in the hell are you talking about?"

Castiel's gaze turned to the bed that Alex was sleeping in. Dean looked over as well and saw that Sam's side had never been slept in. Dean looked back over at Castiel.

"Where's Sam?"

"We know what Azazel did to your brother, what we don't know is why," said Castiel, his gaze finally turning back to Dean's as he finished his sentence.

"What his end game is. He went through great lengths to cover all of that up."

"Where's Sam?" demanded Dean.

"425 Waterman," answered Castiel.

Dean glared at him before walking over to the other side of his bed, gathering his things together to go and find Sam. Dean threw on his leather jacket, shrugging it on over his shoulders.

"Your brother is headed down a dangerous road, Dean. And we're not exactly sure where it's gonna lead. So stop it. Or we will," threatened Castiel.

Dean loaded his gun, but turned to face Castiel as he openly threatened Dean and his family. Castiel gave one Dean one final warning glance before he disappeared into thin air. Dean sighed and finished loading his gun before walking over to Alex's sleeping form. Dean sat on the end of Alex's bed and gently rubbed her back. Alex stirred and turned her head to look over at him.

"Alex, baby, we have to go find Sam, okay?" whispered Dean, looking at his little sister gently.

Alex nodded and slowly sat up, yawning as she did so. She stretched her arms over her head and stood up, getting ready to leave as Dean had asked. She looked over at the other side of her bed and saw that Sam was missing.

"Dean, where's Sammy?" asked Alex, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

"Well, that's what we're trying to find out," answered Dean.

Alex nodded and finished grabbing all of her belongings. She followed Dean out to the Impala and they loaded all of their stuff inside, Alex climbing into the passenger seat and falling asleep with Dean's hand enclosed in one of her hers.

Dean and Alex stood outside of the small warehouse where Sam was located. Sam was with Ruby and a man, who was possessed by a demon, was also inside, tied to a chair. Alex and Dean watched as Sam used his psychic powers to expel the demon from the man's body, Alex cringing as this happened. Dean cursed lightly under his breath and Alex sighed, wondering what had happened to her twin brother. Dean began heading toward the front door and Alex followed him, not really sure what the game plan was or what was about to happen. Dean pulled open the large door and Sam looked over at his siblings with wide eyes. Dean led the way into the warehouse, Alex close behind him. Sam helped the man sit back down again and Ruby stayed close to Sam's back, Alex glaring at her entirely, not yet realizing who the woman really was.

"So. Is there anything you would like to tell us, Sam?" asked Dean.

"Dean, hold on, okay? Just let me expl-"

"Were you gonna say 'let me explain?' You were gonna explain all of this? How about this, why don't you start with who she is and what the hell is she doing here," said Dean, cutting Sam off.

Alex and Dean both glared at Ruby and realization suddenly dawned on Alex.

"Hey there, bitch," said Alex, a sarcastic smile on her face as she waved to Ruby with a trill of her fingers.

Ruby gave Alex a sarcastic smirk.

"Good to see you guys again, Dean," said Ruby.

"Ruby? Is that fucking Ruby?" asked Dean, looking at his youngest brother.

Sam looked at his siblings sadly and Dean turned his attention back to Ruby. He gave her a small, sarcastic grin, but then lunged for her. Dean grabbed her around the neck and pushed her up against a wall, pulling out his knife from on his hip. Sam ran over to help Ruby, grabbing Dean's arm that held his knife and pulling it from Dean's grasp. Dean glared at Sam and shoved him away. Ruby took advantage of the situation and grabbed the lapels of Dean's leather jacket, pushing him up against the wall where he had previously been holding her. Dean glared into her eyes as Ruby grabbed onto his neck, beginning to choke him. Sam watched her do this, but Alex jumped onto Ruby's back, causing her to let Dean go. Ruby tried to throw Alex off, but Alex was holding on with all of her might around Ruby's neck. Ruby finally pulled Alex off of her, but Alex quickly got up on her feet. Ruby headed for Alex, but Sam called out.

"Stop it."

Ruby paused in her steps and turned to face Sam.

"Well, aren't you an obedient little bitch?" snarled Alex, wiping her hands off on her jeans as she glared at Ruby.

"Ruby. Ruby, he's hurt. Go," said Sam, nodding towards the man who had previously been possessed only moments before.

Ruby grabbed the man's arm and flung it over her shoulders, helping him stand on his feet and she began walking towards the door.

"And where in the hell do you think you're going?" asked Dean, calling out to Ruby.

"The ER. Unless you maybe want to go another round first," said Ruby, raising her eyebrows at Dean.

Dean and Alex both glared at her as she walked past them toward the front door of the warehouse, the man stumbling along beside her and coughing as they walked. Once she was gone from the building, Dean and Alex looked over at Sam. Sam shook his head.

"Dean…" he began, but Dean ignored him and walked from the room.

Sam sighed and called after him.

"Dean!"

Sam heard the door slam closed and he shook his head, sighing. He looked over at Alex, who was looking at him sadly.

"Alex…" Sam trailed off, not entirely sure what to even say.

"Sammy, I don't even know who the hell you are anymore. And I'm terrified because of that," whispered Alex.

She left the room also and Sam cursed under his breath, not even knowing where to begin to fix this situation.

Sam sat at the small table in the motel room that was against the window by the front door. A stack of pamphlets advertising the motel were sitting on the table in front of Sam, but he was focused on the magazine in front of him. Alex sat down in the only other seat, which was across from him. She had a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of her. She held another plate in her hands and she set it down in the middle of the table, gently pushing and sliding it over to Sam. Sam took it once it was within his grasp and they shared a small smile. A few minutes later, Alex heard the Impala pull up to the motel. Dean stormed into the room, not looking at either one of them. Sam stood up from his seat and watched as Dean began grabbing all of his clothes, stuffing them into one of his many duffel bags. Sam sighed.

"Dean, what are you doing?" asked Sam.

Dean said nothing, just completely ignoring his brother.

"What, are you leaving?"

"You don't need me. You and Ruby can go fight some demons," explained Dean.

Sam sighed.

"Hold on. Dean, come on man," said Sam, grabbing Dean's arm as he walked past him.

Dean turned to face Sam and punched him directly in the face, causing Alex to gasp and jump up from her seat. Sam held his face for a few seconds before he turned back to face his brother, blood seeping from his now split lip.

"Are you satisfied?" asked Sam, his eyebrows raised.

Dean pulled back and landed another punch to the other side of Sam's face. Sam held his wrist to his lip, moving his face around slightly as he examined the slight damage.

"I guess not."

"Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone? How far from normal, from human?" asked Dean, almost yelling at Sam, but not quite yet.

"I'm just exorcising demons," explained Sam.

"Yeah, with your fucking mind!" yelled Dean.

Alex flinched at Dean's tone of voice and she watched the exchange between her brothers with wide eyes. Sam was still breathing somewhat heavily from the punches Dean had thrown at him.

"What else can you do?" asked Dean, looking at his little brother.

"I can send them back to Hell. It only works with demons and that's it," explained Sam.

Dean nodded, but grabbed Sam by the shirt, walking him backwards a few steps.

"What else can you do?" gritted Dean through his teeth.

"I already told you!" yelled Sam.

"And I have every single reason in this world to believe that?"

Dean turned away from his brother, but Sam followed after him.

"Look, I should have said something and I'm so sorry, Dean, I really am. But try to see the other side here."

"The other side?" asked Dean, whirling around to face Sam once again.

"I'm pulling demons out of innocent people."

"Use the knife!"

"The knife kills the victim! What I do, most of them survive! Look, I've saved more people in the last five months then we save in a freaking year."

"Is that what Ruby wants you to think? Huh? Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers? That's some slippery slope, brother. Just you wait and see. Because it's gonna get a whole hell of a lot darker and darker and God knows where it even ends."

"I'm not gonna let it go too far."

Dean smirked sarcastically and walked over to the end table by the TV stand. He threw the lamp that was on the end table across the room in anger, causing Alex to rest her back against the wall. Alex slid down the wall silently, neither one of her brothers noticing as she began to cry, her knees curled up to her chest as she sat along the wall and watched her family fall apart in front of her eyes.

"It's already gone way too far, Sam. If I didn't know you, I would want to hunt you. And so would other hunters."

Sam nodded, tears filling his hazel green eyes.

"You were gone. I was here, Alex was here. And we had to keep on fighting without you. And what I'm doing, it works."

Dean nodded.

"Well, tell me. If it's so terrific, then why'd you lie about it to me, to Alex?"

Sam dropped his head to his chest in shame and Dean continued.

"Why did an angel tell me to stop you?"

"What?" asked Sam, picking his head back up to look at Dean once again.

"Cas said that if I don't stop you, he will. See what that means, Sam? That means that God doesn't even want you doing this. So are you just gonna stand there and tell me that everything's all good?" asked Dean, looking into his little brother's face.

Sam looked at him sadly and Dean stared back, the silence finally broken by the shrill ringing of a cell phone. Sam reached down into his jeans pocket, realizing it was his Blackberry ringing. He pulled it from his pocket and answered it in one smooth movement.

"Um, hello? Hey, Travis, yeah, hey. Uh, it's good to hear your voice too, yeah. Um, look, it's not really a super good time right now… Yeah, okay, um, well, just give me the details. Yeah, um, Carthage, Missouri…" said Sam, trailing off as he turned away from Dean to find some stationary and a pen to write down the information an old friend was giving him.

Sam hung up his phone a few minutes later, looking back at Dean, who just shook his head. Dean walked over to Alex, who was looking up at him with tears rolling down her face. Sam watched as Dean pulled Alex to her feet, pulling her in for a tight hug. He whispered into her ear and caressed her hair, occasionally kissing the side of her head every now and then. Sam sighed sadly as he watched the two of them.

Dean was driving the Impala that night, Alex in the backseat and Sam in the passenger seat. The car ride was completely silent, Dean having just finished telling Alex and Sam what he had learned about their parents a few days ago.

"I can't believe it. Mom, a hunter?" asked Sam, glancing over at Dean in complete disbelief.

Dean shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"I wouldn't have believed it either had I not seen it myself. Man, that woman could kick some ass. I mean, she almost took me down."

"How'd she look? I mean, was she happy?" asked Alex, leaning forward from her seat to join in the conversation.

"She was awesome. Funny and smart. So hopeful. Dad too. Until, of course…" said Dean, trailing off.

Sam sighed and looked out his window.

"What?" asked Dean, glancing at Sam.

Sam shook his head.

"Nothing. It's just, our parents and now we find out our grandparents too? Our whole family was murdered and for what? So yellow-eyes could get in my nursery and bleed in my mouth?" asked Sam, scoffing.

Dean and Alex's eyebrows pulled together in confusion as they both looked over at Sam.

"Sammy, Dean never said anything about demon blood," said Alex, biting her lower lip as she stared at her twin.

"You knew about that?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, for about a year," whispered Sam.

"A whole year," stated Dean, turning his attention back to the road.

"Look, I should've said something and I'm sorry," said Sam.

"You know, you've been saying that a whole lot lately, Sam. But whatever. You don't wanna tell me, you don't have to, it's fine," said Dean.

"Dean," whispered Sam, but Dean looked straight ahead at the road, not saying anything more.

Sam sighed.

"Whatever."

Alex scooted back in her seat and stared out the window, wishing her brothers would just get along again. Dean glanced in his rearview mirror at Alex and smiled.

"You know, you look just like her, Lex," said Dean.

Alex smiled.

"I do?"

"Yep, you're the spitting image of mom. It was kind of creepy actually, I felt like I was fighting you for a little while there."

Alex smirked.

"Well, I'm pretty much a bad ass."

Dean and Sam both chuckled at Alex's comment.

A few hours later, Dean had the Impala pulled up across the street from the Montgomery's house. He was using binoculars to see into the kitchen window, where Mr. Montgomery was currently located. Dean watched as he pulled a beer from his fridge, taking a large swig from it as he stood in front of his fridge, the door still open wide.

"Are you sure that's him?" asked Dean, watching the man closely through his binoculars.

"It's the only Jack Montgomery in town," said Sam.

Dean pulled his binoculars away from his eyes to look at Sam.

"And we're looking for..?" asked Alex.

"Travis said just to keep an eye out for anything weird," remarked Sam, shrugging.

"Weird?" asked Dean.

"Yeah," said Sam, turning back to look at Jack Montgomery.

Dean pulled the binoculars back up to his face.

"Alright. Well, I've seen big weird, little weird. Weird with crazy on top. But this guy? I mean, c'mon, this guy's boring," said Dean, pulling his binoculars back down again and looking over at Sam.

"Well, I don't know, Dean. Travis seemed pretty sure," said Sam, using his own pair of binoculars to check up on Jack Montgomery.

Alex sighed and laid back in the passenger seat. A few minutes later, Sam made a disgusting noise from the back of his throat and Alex shot u, looking at the Montgomery's house. She pulled Sam's binoculars from his grasp and used them to see Jack Montgomery still standing in front of his fridge, holding an opened pack of raw hamburger meat that he had just eaten. Alex's face scrunched up in disgust and she handed the binoculars back to Sam.

"I'd say that qualifies as pretty weird," remarked Alex.

Dean and Sam nodded.

Dean unlocked the motel room door, sticking the key in his pocket as he pushed the door open and stepped inside. He looked up and saw an older man sitting at the table in their motel room, nursing a beer bottle. Sam and Dean smirked and Alex's smile broadened as they took in the man.

"Travis," said Dean, smirking over at him.

Travis smiled back at them and took a drink from his beer before setting it down on the table and standing up, beginning to walk over to them. Dean turned to Sam.

"See, Sam? I told you we should've hid the beer," whispered Dean.

Travis stopped in the middle of the room, chuckling, as Sam, Alex, and Dean began walking towards him.

"Smartass. Get over here!" said Travis, opening his arms for a hug with Dean.

Dean obliged and Travis clapped him on the back a few times before letting go of him.

"Aww, good to see you," said Travis.

"You too," said Dean, as Travis hugged Sam and then Alex.

"I swear, you look more and more like your mother every day," said Travis, taking in Alex.

Alex smiled gently.

"Well, how long has it been?" asked Travis, standing before the three of them.

"Hmm, it's gotta be ten years," said Sam, shaking his head.

Travis shook his head, his smile still spread across his face.

"Man, it's been too long, kids. I mean, look at the three of you. Two grown men and a pretty lady. John would've been so damn proud of the three of you, sticking together like this," said Travis.

Dean nodded.

"Yeah, no. We're as thick as thieves. Nothing more important than family," said Dean, glancing at Sam.

Sam's smile faded as he looked down at the ground sadly.

"Well, sorry I'm so late. Thanks for helping out an old man, I'm a little, uh, short-handed," said Travis, holding up his right arm, which had a bright white cast on it.

Dean nodded and sat down across from Travis at the small table, removing his jacket and rolling up his sleeves. Alex looked at Sam, grabbed his hand gently, and pulled him over to the table with her. Sam sat down next to Dean and Alex pulled another chair over, sitting next to Sam and Travis.

"So. Have you three tracked down Montgomery yet?" asked Travis, looking between the three siblings.

"Yeah, we found him at his home," answered Sam.

"And?"

"And he had one hell of a case of the munchies. Topped off with a burger that he forgot to cook," said Dean, his eyebrows raised as he looked at Travis, who was nodding his head.

"Yep, that's him all right."

"What's him?" asked Alex.

"Kids, we got a rugaru on our hands," answered Travis.

"A rugaru? Is that made up, that sounds made up," said Dean.

"Yep, they're mean, nasty little suckers. Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works," answered Travis.

"Well, that isn't this guy. I mean, he was wearing a cell phone on his belt," said Dean.

"He'll turn ugly soon enough. They start out human, for all intents and purposes."

"So, what, they go through some kind of metamorphosis?" asked Sam.

"Yep. Like a maggot turning into a bull fly. But most of all, they're always hungry," said Travis.

"Hungry for what?" asked Alex.

"Well, at first, for everything. But then, for long pig," said Travis.

Sam scoffed while Dean and Alex just looked confused.

"Long pig?" asked Dean, leaning forward in his chair.

"He means human flesh," said Sam.

Alex made a face of disgust while Dean nodded.

"And that is my word of the day," said Dean.

Travis smiled for a second, nodding.

"Hunger grows in until they can't fight it any longer. Till they've gotta take themselves a big, juicy chomp and then it happens."

"What happens?" asked Sam.

"They'll transform completely, and fast too. One bite's all it takes. Eyes, teeth, skin, it all turns. And there's no going back either. They feed once, they're monsters forever. And, unfortunately, our man Jack's headed there on a bullet train," explained Travis.

"Well, how'd you find this guy of he's a walking, talking human?" asked Dean.

"Let's just say, it runs in his family."

"You mean, uh…" said Sam, trailing off.

Travis nodded sadly.

"Yep, I, uh, killed his daddy back in 1978. That son of a bitch mangled eight bodies before I finally put him down. The guy used to be a dentist. Owned a Cadillac, had a beautiful trophy wife. But little did I know, a pregnant trophy wife. She put him up for adoption and by the time I found out, he was long gone and lost in the system."

"You mean to tell me you couldn't find someone?" asked Alex, nudging Travis with her elbow and smiling.

Travis gave her a gentle smile as he sighed.

"I'm not sure I wanted to, honestly. The idea of hunting down some poor, innocent kid? I don't think I'd have had the heart. Nope, I wanted to wait and make damn sure I had the right man. And apparently, I do," finished Travis, picking up his abandoned beer bottle and taking a large drink from it.

About an hour or so later, Dean had his blow torch and was firing it up, watching the flames blow out.

"So fire, huh?" asked Dean, switching it off.

Travis nodded.

"The only way I've ever found to kill these bastards. Deep fry 'em."

Dean nodded, turning his blow torch completely off and wiping off the handle with a cloth rag.

"Well, that's gonna be… horrible. Is that what you did to Jack's dad?"

"Uh-huh," answered Travis, as Sam walked back into the motel room, Alex right behind him.

"Not wasting any time, are you?" asked Alex, bounding past Sam and sitting across from Travis, but next to Dean at the table.

"No time to waste. Once Jack breaks loose and Hulks out, we won't be finding bodies, just remains," said Travis, screwing a part back onto his own blow torch.

Sam sat down on his bed and took off his jacket.

"And what if he doesn't Hulk out?"

Dean and Travis looked over at Sam and Alex nodded excitedly.

"Alex and I did a little homework. And, um, we've been checking out all of the lore on rugarus," explained Sam quickly, flipping through the pieces of paper he held in his hands.

"What, is all my 30 years of experience not good enough for the both of you?" asked Travis, taking a swig from his water bottle.

"What? No, we just wanted to be prepared," said Alex, looking defeated as her shoulders slumped.

"Sam loves research. He does," said Dean, explaining the situation to Travis, who nodded, a smile on his face.

"Look, everything you told us checked out, of course. But, um, we found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this… rugaru gene, or whatever. See, they start to turn, but they never actually take that final step," explained Sam.

"Really?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised as he looked at his little brother.

"So, since they never eat human flesh, they don't fully transform."

"So what, they go vegan and then stay human?" asked Dean.

"Basically! Or, in this case, eat a whole lot of raw meat. Just not…" trailed off Alex.

"Long pig!" filled in Dean, a large smile on his face.

"Right!" said Alex, smiling at her oldest brother.

"Good. But those are fairy tales, Sam. The fact is, every rugaru I ever saw or heard of… took that bite," said Travis, standing up and pouring himself a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

"Okay, well, that doesn't mean that Jack will," said Sam, standing up also.

Dean and Alex also stood up and looked between the two men.

"Okay, so, what do we do? Sit and hope and wait for a body count?" asked Travis, his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised.

"No, we talk to him. Explain what's happening that way he can fight it," said Sam.

"Fight it?" asked Travis.

He began laughing and Sam clenched his jaw in slight anger.

"Are you kidding me? Sam, have you ever been really hungry? I mean, haven't eaten in days, hungry?"

"Yeah," said Dean, his voice taking on a deep and guttural tone.

"Right then. So somebody slaps a huge, juicy sirloin in front of you, are you walking away? Hmm?"

Dean looked at Sam and Alex.

"That's what we are to him now. Meat on legs. Look, I'm sorry, I'm sure he's a stand-up guy, but it's now pure base instinct for him. I mean, everything in natures gotta eat, you think he can stop himself because he's nice?" asked Travis.

"Look, I have no clue, I don't know. But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for," said Sam.

He looked at Travis before he stormed from the room, the motel room door slamming closed behind him. Travis looked over at Dean and Alex.

"What's up with your brother?"

Dean shook his head and a sarcastic smile graces his features.

"Don't even get me started."

Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed her jacket from off of her bed.

"You two are assholes."

Alex made sure the motel room door slammed closed behind her as she ran to find Sam.

"What's up with your sister?" asked Travis, scoffing.

"That I really don't know," said Dean, looking confused as he stared at the door that Alex had just disappeared through.

"Sammy!" yelled Alex, watching as he walked slowly down the hall and away from their motel room.

Sam turned and smiled as he saw Alex running towards him. He turned to face her just as she approached him.

"Look, I don't think what you're doing with Ruby is right, not at all. But we're family and family sticks together no matter what, through thick and thin. I love you, Sammy, you're my twin brother. I'll always be around, okay? I'll be here for you, I'm not abandoning you, ever," said Alex, looking up at her twin brother.

Sam grinned down at her and pulled her in close. He kissed the top of her head gently and Alex welcomed his embrace. After a few seconds, she pulled away from his hold and she grabbed his hand.

"C'mon, let's go find a basketball court or something and shoot a little bit of hoops. You think they've got a river court around here like the one back home?" asked Alex, smirking up at Sam.

Sam chuckled.

"I don't know, but we can sure find out."

Sam slung an arm over Alex's tiny shoulders as they took off down the hallway, laughing as they went.

About thirty minutes later, Alex and Sam had found a river court and a basketball and were shooting some hoops, Alex obviously losing due to Sam's size.

"Alright, I'm seriously gonna make this one, Sammy," said Alex, bouncing the ball by her side.

Sam chuckled.

"Alright, whatever you say, little sis."

Alex smirked and began dribbling toward the basket, Sam watching her every move. Just as she was about to move past him, Sam grabbed her by the waist and carried her down the court, Alex laughing the whole way. Once Sam had let her go, she pushed on his chest.

"Sammy! You don't play fair," pouted Alex, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sam laughed.

"I can't let my little sister beat me. That would be more than embarrassing."

Alex laughed and she saw down in the middle of the court, Sam joining her.

"You know, most days I wish we could just do this all day. That we wouldn't have to fight monsters or demons or stuff from nightmares. I hate it, Sammy. I haven't even talked to Kellan in God knows how long. I just want to be normal like everyone else, you know?"

Sam nodded and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side on the basketball court.

"At least I'm not some demon exorcizing freak like you," said Alex, poking Sam in the ribs.

Sam chuckled.

"Yeah, thank God there's not two of us walking around or Dean would probably flip," said Sam.

Alex nodded, her eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, that's for sure. Sometimes I wonder, how did I end up with visions, but not the rest of that stuff? Why is it only you, Sammy?"

Sam shrugged and glanced at his little sister.

"Maybe because I was the first-born twin? Maybe there weren't supposed to be two of us."

"Or maybe I can, but I haven't ever actually tried," said Alex, shaking her head.

Sam nodded, squinting into the sunlight.

"Yeah, maybe."

Suddenly, the sound of a car pulling up sounded from behind them and Sam and Alex both turned to see Dean pulling up to the river court in his Impala.

"C'mon, let's go, you two. We've got a man to go talk to," said Dean, motioning them into the car.

Dean was driving the Impala to Jack Montgomery's house, but he and Sam were currently in a heated argument about whether or not they would have to kill Jack Montgomery.

"I mean, he's a regular guy with something evil inside of him. Maybe you can relate," said Dean, glancing at Sam out of the corner of his eye.

Sam sighed and his jaw tightened as Alex looked at him, biting her lip in nervousness.

"Stop the car," said Sam.

"What?" asked Dean.

"I said, stop the car or I will," threatened Sam.

Dean looked over at his little brother, but did as Sam had asked, pulling the car over to the side of the currently deserted road. He pulled into a small grove full of trees and Sam climbed out before the car was completely stopped. Alex climbed out on Dean's side of the car and stood at the back of the car.

"Do you wanna know why I've been lying to you, Dean? Because of crap like this!" yelled Sam.

"Like what?" asked Dean, watching as Sam walked over to his side of the car.

"The way you talk to me, the way you look at me like I'm a freak!"

"I do not."

"Or even worse, like I'm an idiot, like I don't know the God damn difference between right and wrong."

Sam turned around to catch his breath, placing his hands on his hips. He turned back around to look at Dean a few moments later, Dean looking down at the ground with a small smirk on his face.

"What?" asked Sam.

"Do you know the difference, Sam? I mean, you've been kind of strolling a pretty dark road lately," said Dean, his smile fading as he yelled at his younger brother.

"You have absolutely no idea what I'm going through. None."

"Then enlighten me!"

"I have demon blood in me, Dean. This disease is pumping through my veins and I can't ever rip it out or scrub it clean. I'm a whole new level of freak! And I'm just trying to take this… this curse and make something good out of it. Because I have to," finished Sam.

Dean looked at Sam for a few minutes, not saying anything. Alex looked between Sam and Dean.

"Let's just go talk to the guy. I mean, Jack. Okay?" asked Dean, looking at his sibling.

Sam scoffed, but nodded. Dean climbed into the car first and Sam let Alex climb into the backseat before he also climbed into the passenger seat.

Sam led the way into Jack Montgomery's backyard. Jack was standing over his plants, holding a hose, but not moving. Jack was just standing there, a blank expression on his face as he held the hose in his hands. The siblings were a few feet behind him when Sam finally spoke up.

"Jack Montgomery?" he asked.

Jack's eyes seemed to widen and he focused in on them as he turned his head to look at the three of them.

"I'm Sam Winchester and this is my brother, Dean, and my twin sister, Alex. We need to talk to you," said Sam, looking at the man sadly.

"About?" asked Jack, no sense of emotion in his voice whatsoever.

"Um, about you. About how you're changing," said Sam, taking the lead on this conversation with Jack.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you're probably feeling your bones move under your skin. And your appetite's reaching, um, hungry, hungry, hippo levels, how am I doing so far?" asked Dean.

Jack looked over at him and then looked back at Sam.

"Who in the hell are you guys?"

"We're some people who know a little something about something," explained Dean, sticking his hands in his jacket's pockets.

"We're people who can definitely help. Please, just hear us out," begged Alex, her features softening as she looked at the man in front of her.

After about twenty minutes, Sam, Alex, and Dean had explained the whole story to Jack, who was shaking his head as he looked at the three siblings, confused.

"Um, I'm sorry, a what?" asked Jack, shaking his head as he looked at the three of them.

"A rugaru. I know, it sounds made up, but believe me, it's not," explained Dean.

"Okay, alright. I mean, I've noticed certain things, some strange things, but I just… I don't know, I'm sick or something," said Jack.

Sam sighed.

"Your father was one of these things. I mean, your real father. He passed it on to you," explained Sam.

Jack shook his head, closing his eyes for a few brief seconds.

"No. Are you guys even listening to yourselves? You sound like you're-"

"We get the whole you guys sound crazy thing, alright? Look, you're hungry, Jack. And you're only gonna get hungrier," said Dean.

"Hungry for?"

"Long pig. Yeah, a little human flesh. Has it crossed your mind already?" asked Dean, staring down Jack.

"No," answered Jack, beginning to step away from them slightly.

"Look, it doesn't have to be like this, Jack, you can fight it off. Others have," said Sam.

"We're not gonna lie to you though, it's certainly not gonna be easy," said Alex.

"You're probably gonna feel like an alcoholic swimming around in whiskey. But I'm telling you, you've got to say no. Or…" said Dean, trailing off

"Or what?"

"You feed once and then it's all over for you. And then we'll have to stop you," said Sam, lookin up at Jack gently.

"Stop me? My dad, did, uh, somebody stop him too?" asked Jack, nodding his head in disbelief.

"Yes," whispered Alex, looking up at Jack sadly.

Jack nodded.

"Get off of my property. Right now. If I see any of you guys again, I'm calling the police," threatened Jack.

"Jack, your wife and everyone else you know, they're in complete danger," explained Sam, slowly standing up.

"Now!" yelled Jack, causing a neighbor who was trimming his hedges to look over at them curiously.

"Good talk," said Dean, very sarcastically, as they walked away from Jack.

That night, Jack was sitting on a park bench outside of an apartment complex, watching a girl begin to get undressed in front of her windows. The Winchester siblings were parked across the street in the Impala, watching Jack. They all watched as Jack stood up and strode toward the apartment complex. Sam cursed as Alex reached underneath her seat, handing both Sam and Dean their blow torches.

"Damn it, Jack!" yelled Sam, grabbing his blow torch from Alex's grasp.

"C'mon!" yelled Dean, grabbing his own blow torch and letting Alex climb out of the backseat.

The siblings all ran over to the bench where Jack had been sitting down and ran straight past it, up the front steps of the apartment complex, and into the lobby of the apartment complex. They bypassed the elevators and ran straight up the stairs to the top floor, where Jack had climbed up the fire escapes outside to reach the girl's window. They found the girl's apartment and Dean quickly kicked the door in. The girl screamed in terror as she saw them standing in the doorway and ran back into her bedroom.

"Um, we're here… to… save… you," said Dean, looking confused since there was no sign of Jack Montgomery anywhere in the apartment.

"I'm calling the police!" yelled the girl from somewhere off in her apartment.

"We should probably leave," said Alex, heading back down the hallway.

Sam and Dean nodded.

"Yeah," said Sam, running after Alex as Dean politely shut the woman's broken front door.

Dean pulled up to the Montgomery's house. Travis's truck was parked across the street from the house and the three siblings slowly climbed out of the Impala, their blow torches in hand. They kept a close eye out for Jack in case he was still on the prowl as they walked up the front porch steps of the Montgomery house.

"Well, I guess now we know where Travis is," said Dean, pointing out Travis's truck across the street from the house.

Sam shook his head.

"That stupid, reckless son of a bitch," said Sam.

Dean opened the front door of the Montgomery house very slowly, stepping inside first. Alex was between her brothers as usual as they all stepped into the foyer together. The living room was off to the left side and it had clearly been disturbed. A dining room chair that had been moved in there temporarily was knocked over, rope hanging from it as if someone had been previously tied up there. There was also a large blood stain all over the once pristine white carpet underneath the two couches. The large blood stain led behind one of the couches, so the siblings followed it. Pieces of a human body were located behind the couch and Alex looked away in disgust as soon as she spotted all of the pieces.

"Oh, God. Do you think that was Travis?" asked Dean, also looking away from the grimy scene.

Sam nodded, shaking his head and raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, what's left of him," said Sam.

Dean looked at his little brother, who sighed.

"I guess you were right about Jack."

Dean was still staring at Sam when suddenly, he was shoved forward from behind. Jack was definitely no longer human looking, his face all wrinkled and blood all over his mouth. Alex screamed in terror as Dean hit the coffee table, breaking it in half with splinters of wood flying everywhere as it broke.

"Dean!" yelled Sam, his eyes widening in horror.

Jack turned on him next, watching as Sam tried to grab his lighter and turn it on to ignite the flames that would demolish Jack, but Jack was too quick for him. He knocked Sam to the ground and across the room. Jack grabbed the blow torch from beside Sam's arm and knocked him over the head with it twice, knocking him unconscious. Jack finally turned to look at Alex, who was standing in the middle of the room, terrified. She ran into the dining room, but Jack ran the other way, meeting her in the middle and grabbing her around the waist. Alex screamed and struggled in his hold, but Jack was much too strong. He threw her into a coat closet along the hallway and locked the door, only unlocking it to throw Sam's unconscious form in there as well.

Alex sat in one corner of the closet, waiting for Sam to wake up. Sam's nose was bleeding and he had a large cut on his forehead with dried blood caked around it. He startled awake and Alex cried in relief. Sam looked over at her and sighed in relief.

"Alex. Thank God you're alright," whispered Sam.

"Sammy, Dean's still out there with that monster," cried Alex, tears rolling down her face.

"Shh, it's okay, we're gonna save him," said Sam.

He sat up and tried turning the handle, but it was clearly locked. Sam banged on the door loudly.

"Dean!" yelled Sam.

"I'm sorry, but Dean can't come to the phone right now," responded Jack.

"Jack! If you hurt him, I swear to God…" trailed off Sam, banging on the closet door repeatedly.

"Calm down! Your brother's alive. But not if you don't calm down."

Sam sighed, but leaned his head against the closet door, breathing heavily and closing his eyes. He took a few seconds to calm down, his breathing finally evening out and returning to its normal rhythm.

"Alright, Jack, please, listen to me. Open the door and we can figure this out, okay?" asked Sam, pleading with Jack.

Jack scoffed.

"Oh, we'll have ourselves a little brainstorming session."

"Jack, please," pleaded Sam.

"I don't think so. After what you did?"

"What? What are you even talking about?" asked Sam, standing up slowly and reaching for something inside one of his jeans pockets.

Sam was looking for something in his pockets to help them get out from the closet, but he found nothing, so he sighed and cursed under his breath as Jack continued talking.

"You sent your friend here. And he tried to burn my wife alive!"

"What?" asked Sam, becoming truly confused now at Jack's statements.

Sam glanced at Alex, who just shrugged. Sam's eyebrows pulled together in the middle of his forehead in confusion.

"Why?" asked Sam.

"He didn't say. I mean, I guess psychopaths don't really even know how to explain themselves!" yelled Jack.

Alex looked up at the top of the closet and saw wire hangers hanging from the bar in the closet. She slowly stood up and grabbed one, making sure it didn't clang into any of the other hangers so that Jack wouldn't know what they were up to in the closet. She handed it to Sam, who smiled at her, absolutely beaming. He pulled her in for a quick hug, kissing her forehead.

"You're a fucking genius, little sister," whispered Sam.

Alex smiled proudly as she stood behind Sam, watching him work on the closet door.

"Listen to me. You gotta believe me. My brother and sister and I, we never would have hurt her, okay?" called out Sam.

He bent the wire hanger into something he could use to get them out.

"Oh, God, I'm so hungry," whined Jack.

Alex's eyes widened as she heard Jack's last statement and she urged Sam to hurry up and move a little bit faster. Sam nodded and crouched down, leaning in closer to the door and sticking the wire hanger inside the lock.

"Jack, don't do this," pleaded Sam, beginning to unlock the closet door.

"I can't ever even see my family again. You three, your friend. You made me into this monster!" yelled Jack, looking towards the closet where Sam and Alex were being held.

"No one's making you kill us," yelled back Sam.

He sighed as the hanger still wasn't working and unlocking the closet door. He leaned his head against the closet door and spoke back to Jack.

"Listen to me, I know you feel like you have a black pit inside of you. Please, believe me, because I definitely know how that feels. But this doesn't mean you have to fall inside of it, you can't fall inside of it, Jack. You don't have to be a monster, ever," said Sam, beginning to try and unlock the closet door once again as Alex looked on.

Jack laughed sarcastically, looking back at the closet door once again.

"Have you happened to have seen me lately?" he asked Sam.

"Look, it doesn't matter what you are. It only matters what you do. It's your choice," said Sam, still struggling to get the closet door open for him and Alex to escape and save Dean.

"Sammy, hurry, please," urged Alex, not liking that they could no longer hear Jack's movements.

Sam nodded and after a few more minutes, he finally heard the lock click, indicating that the closet door had been opened once again. Alex grabbed her blow torch and handed it to Sam, who ran out from the closet, seeing Jack hovering over Dean's still form.

"Jack!" called out Sam, looking over at the man who now looked like an evil monster.

Sam and Alex, who was now standing beside Sam, looked over at Jack gently, urging him to step away from Dean, who was now beginning to stir. Jack looked at Dean, looked at them, and then quickly jumped up, heading straight for Alex and Sam.

"Alex, turn around," said Sam, as he grabbed his lighter from his pocket.

Alex did as she was told by her older twin brother and turned away just as Sam lit the flames even more with his lighter, causing Jack to stop directly in his tracks as a large wall of flame hit him. Dean looked over just as the flames erupted even more, so he quickly turned away. Jack screamed in terror and in pain as the flames washed over his body, burning him alive. Sam stared at Jack as he fell to his knees in the middle of his foyer, burning to death. Alex and Dean looked at their brother as he gave them a slight, imperceptible nod.

Later that night, Dean glanced over at Sam in the passenger seat, who hadn't spoken since they had left Jack Montgomery's house.

"You did the right thing, you know. I mean, Sam, that guy was a monster and there was no going back after that," said Dean, turning his attention back to the road as he spoke to his little brother.

Sam didn't acknowledge Dean's comments, but just looked down at his lap. Dean licked his lips before speaking again.

"Sammy, I just want to tell you that I'm really sorry. I mean, I've been kind of hard on you lately and-"

"Don't worry about it, Dean," whispered Sam, not even looking over at his brother.

"It's just that your, uh, your psychic thing, it scares the crap out of me," said Dean.

"Look, if it's all the same, I'd really rather not talk about this right now," said Sam, finally looking over at his brother.

Dean looked over at Sam, chuckling.

"What? You don't wanna talk? You?"

Sam sighed.

"There's nothing more left to say. I can't keep explaining myself to you, I can't make you understand," explained Sam.

"Well, why don't you try?" asked Dean, beginning to become angry as he looked at Sam.

"But I can't. Because this thing, this… blood, it's not in you the way that it's in me. And that's just something that I myself have got to deal with," said Sam, very calmly.

"Not alone," said Dean, finally turning his attention back to the road.

Sam sighed and looked at his reflection in the passenger side window for a few moments before finally speaking again.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter. These powers, it's playing with fire. And I'm done with 'em. I'm done with every single thing," whispered Sam.

"Really?" asked Alex.

"Well, that's a relief. Thank you," said Dean.

Sam scoffed.

"Don't thank me because I'm not doing it for you. Not for the angels or for anybody. This is my own choice, so I'm doing this for me and only me. That's all," explained Sam.

Alex nodded and smiled at Sam from the backseat. Dean looked back at the road, not acknowledging Sam's admission.

"Hey, Alex. Can I climb back there in the backseat with you and get some sleep?" asked Sam, looking at his twin sister through the rearview mirror.

Alex smiled and nodded her head. Sam climbed in the backseat with her and laid down, Alex laying her head on his chest as he closed his eyes and stroked her back gently.

"I love you, Sammy. Always have and I always will," whispered Alex.

Sam smiled and leaned down, quickly placing a kiss on her temple.

"I love you too, sis."


	35. Chapter 35

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines._

**Chapter 35**

Lightning flashed behind them as Dean passed the sign that said, "Welcome to Pennsylvania!" Alex was cuddled up in the backseat of the Impala, watching as they passed the sign, her forehead pressed against the somewhat cold glass of the window. Sam was also looking out his window as they entered into the state of Pennsylvania. Dean sighed and glanced at the car's radio as he drove. They hadn't been able to find a good radio station and the only station they could find was playing old horror and monster movie themes. Dean flipped off the radio before turning his attention back to the rain-slickened road.

"The radio stations around here sure do suck," commented Dean.

Neither Sam nor Alex said anything and Dean glanced over to look at Sam. Sam had pulled out the file folder on the job they were currently headed for and was using his small, pocket-sized flashlight to read the files inside the folder. Dean sighed.

"C'mon, man, the jobs don't really get much sweeter than this, you know? Dead vic with a gnawed on neck, the body drained of blood, and a witness who swears up and down that it was a vampire," said Dean, a smile forming on his face as he thought of the case they were headed towards.

Sam shook his head, a small smile on his lips as well.

"No, I agree, it's one hell of a case," said Sam.

Alex smirked and smacked Sam on the shoulder.

"I think Dean's looking for a little more gusto, please, Sammy," remarked Alex.

Dean nodded over at Sam, who flipped off his flashlight.

"It's just… I mean, the world is coming to an end and things are a little complicated, you know?" said Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Yes, well, we can't save the whole entire world, Sammy. Not today, anyway, but what we can do is chop off some vamps' heads," said Dean.

Sam sighed and looked away from Dean, back out his passenger side window.

"C'mon, man, it's like the real good old days. An honest to goodness monster hunt. I mean, it's about time the Winchester siblings got back to fighting a straight black and white monster case," said Dean, smiling over at Sam.

Sam ignored him and just kept his gaze forward, focused on the road ahead of them. Alex sighed from the backseat, flopping back down into her seat.

Dean parked the car outside of the large festival, Oktoberfest. They were all dressed up somewhat fancy, Dean and Sam with suits and ties on and Alex in a nice and simple black dress. Music blared from the live band of tuba players while Sam glanced inside the festival, seeing people dressed in traditional German outfits. He sighed and turned back around as he adjusted the collar of his white shirt underneath his suit jacket. Dean led the way into the festival, the music getting louder as they entered the large place.

"Big pretzels!" yelled Dean, sounding like a small child as he ran over to the pretzel stand.

Alex and Sam chuckled and watched him grab three large pretzels from the older man's stand. He handed the man a ten dollar bill, told him to keep the change, and then handed Sam and Alex their own pretzels.

"Thank you," said Alex, passing one pretzel over to Sam and holding the other in her grasp.

Dean nodded, taking a large bite from his own large pretzel and Sam and Alex began munching on their pretzels as well.

"Guten Tag," said a beautiful blonde woman as she passed by them eating their pretzels.

"Guten Tag, yourself," remarked Dean, appreciating the view as the woman walked away from them.

Alex rolled her eyes as both Sam and Dean watched the girl walk away. She turned around slightly to look at Sam and Dean once more as she was walking away and Sam looked at Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Alex sighed, but swallowed the last bite of her pretzel, pointing out a man in a small crowd off to the right of them.

"Looks like that's our man," said Alex, heading towards the man dressed in a security uniform.

Sam and Dean followed her, Dean still munching on his rather large pretzel as they walked over to the man.

"Sheriff Dieterich," called out Sam as they approached.

The man turned to look at them as they approached him.

"Are you three from the Feds?" he asked them.

Sam nodded, pulling out his badge from his jacket pocket and briefly showing it to the sheriff.

"Agents Angus, Young, and Smart. We called ahead about your, uh, problem," responded Sam, putting his badge back into his jacket's pocket and raising his eyebrows.

The sheriff nodded in understanding.

"Right, yes. Um, well, I'll tell you what, why don't we talk this out of the way of the crowd, huh?" asked the sheriff.

The three siblings nodded and he led them into the building closest to them.

Sheriff Dieterich pulled out a silver gurney tray on which a dead body was located down in the morgue. Once the body was completely out of its case, he pulled back the gray sheet, revealing a young woman's lifeless face.

"Marissa Wright. 26 years old. Just up from Laughert for the fest," explained the sheriff.

Sam, Dean, and Alex nodded at him before they turned to look at the girl's dead body. Sheriff Dieterich made a sympathetic clicking noise using his tongue as he also looked down at the now lifeless girl.

"Absolutely terrible, what happened to her, just terrible. I mean, it's the absolute last thing this town needs during the busiest tourist season of the year."

Sam nodded, smiling somewhat.

"Well, it was definitely the last thing Marissa Wright would've needed," said Sam.

Dean reached over, past Sam and Alex, and turned the girl's head over to the other side. Two large teeth marks were visible in her neck, dried blood surrounding both of them.

"What in the hell is that?" whispered Alex, staring at the fang marks.

"Yeah, well, you've certainly got me. I mean, this killer has got to be some kind of Grade A wacko, right? I mean, some Satan worshipping, Anne Rice reading, gothic, psycho vampire wannabe," said the sheriff, looking at the three siblings.

"Sheriff, in your report, would you have maybe happened to have mentioned a witness?" asked Dean, staring at the older gentleman standing across from him.

"Yeah, although I wish I didn't. But the witness insisted. That would be Mister Ed Brewer. Not exactly who you would call a reliable gentleman," explained the sheriff, pushing the girl's dead body back into the morgue's container.

The three siblings walked into the building that was currently serving as the bar for Oktoberfest. Drunk people were milling around all over the place, beer splashing all over the floor and the bar's countertops. Alex made a disgusted face as warm beer sloshed onto the floor by her feet. She sighed as Sam and Dean kept walking on, finally making it up to the bar. The waitress leaving gave the two boys an appreciative glance before walking back out from the bar, returning to her tables. The blonde bartender smiled at the three of them as they approached her bar. Sam smiled back at her first.

"Hello, Jamie," said Dean, glancing at the girl's nametag right above her breasts.

He gave her a very flirtatious smile and Alex just rolled her eyes, sighing loudly.

"Hi. We're looking for an Ed Brewer," said Alex.

"What do you want with him?" asked Jamie, crossing her arms over her chest and almost glaring at Alex.

"Well, we're, uh, federal agents," explained Dean, holding up his badge for Jamie to quickly glance at.

She nodded imperceptibly and they all began putting their badges away once again.

"Mister Ed Brewer was a witness for a serious crime and we just need to-"

"Wait a minute, you're a Fed?" asked Jamie, smirking over at Dean.

Dean nodded, shrugging his shoulders with a smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

"Well, you definitely don't come on like a Fed. Seriously?" she asked, smiling.

Dean leaned forward on the sticky bar, resting his elbow on the very edge as he winked at her. Jamie smiled back and Alex rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Mr. Smooth Maverick. So, please, where can we find Mister Brewer?" asked Alex.

Jamie sighed, but pointed to a little booth off in the corner. Alex and Sam headed towards it while Dean winked at Jamie once again before following his siblings.

Ed Brewer took a gulp from his large glass of beer, his mustache beginning to freak Alex out. It looked like a 1970's porno mustache and she frowned as she looked at the weird looking man. He used his palm to wipe off his face as he stared at them, placing his hands on the edges of his booth.

"I told the cops every single thing I saw. No one believes me, so why should you be any different than all of them?" asked Ed, obviously very drunk and disoriented.

"Believe me, Mr. Brewer, we're very different from all of them," explained Dean, smiling at the drunk man.

Ed Brewer nodded.

"I spoke the God's honest truth. And now, I'm the town joke," said Ed, looking around at all of the people surrounding him.

"Marissa Wright's murder is definitely no joke for us," said Sam, very serious with the man.

Ed's head snapped back over to look at Sam's face.

"And we would like to hear everything you have to say. No matter how strange all of it may seem," finished Sam.

Dean and Alex nodded along with him.

"Believe us, we have a lot of experience with strange," said Alex.

Ed Brewer nodded a few times at the three of them. He quickly grabbed his large glass of beer, took another large gulp from it, and then set it back down on the table they were currently sitting at. He wiped his face off with his palm and then gave them two thumbs up before starting his strange tale.

"It was just after midnight. I had just left here and, like I do every night, I cut through the small park on the way home. At first, I thought it was just a couple kissing, you know, making out. But she was… struggling way too much. And then this man, he was… Well, he was biting her neck."

"Um, can you maybe describe her assailant?" asked Alex, gently.

"Oh, he was definitely a vampire," said Ed, answering her question without missing a single beat.

Dean, Alex, and Sam all raised their eyebrows and took in a deep breath.

"Um, okay. And by that, you mean…" trailed off Dean, letting Ed fill in the rest.

"You know, a vampire."

"Uh-huh," said Alex, nodding apprehensively.

"Yeah," said Sam.

"So, he looked like-" began Dean.

"He looked like a vampire. You know, with the fangs and the slicked back hair and the fancy cape and the little gold medallion thingy on the, the ribbon," said Ed.

"Um, so, you mean like a Dracula?" asked Dean.

"Exactly! Like a Dracula. Right down to the accent," said Ed, smiling over at Dean and pointing to him.

"The accent?" asked Sam, smiling bigger.

Ed looked at him weirdly, so Sam's smiled faded and Alex chuckled behind her hand as Sam looked defeated.

"Um, what did he say?" asked Sam.

"You know, something like…"

Ed trailed off, but then brought his left arm up to cover his face and his eyes. The three siblings jumped back with a little surprise, having not expected that action from Ed.

"Stay away if you want to live! The night is mine," finished Ed in his perfect Romanian accent, removing his arm from covering his face and eyes once he was finished talking.

The three Winchester siblings looked at him weirdly, all of their faces in shock.

"You do believe me, don't you?" asked Ed.

The siblings said nothing, but just continued staring at him.

Dean walked over to the bar, flagging Jamie down to ask her for a drink. She obliged and went off in search of his beer while Sam and Alex joined their brother at the bar. Sam grabbed a folded-up napkin from off of the bar, a woman's lipstick prints on it. He looked at it, cocking his head to the side.

"So, what do you all think? Hmm? Goth, psycho vampire wannabe, right?" asked Dean, his back turned to the bar as he leaned against it.

Sam shrugged and threw the folded-up napkin back onto the top of the bar as he joined Alex and Dean in leaning up against the bar. He shook his head.

"Definitely not our kind of case, Dean," said Alex.

"Agreed, sister. But who cares?" asked Dean, smiling at her as he began walking away from the bar and over to a now empty booth.

"I mean, our room's already paid for and it is Oktoberfest, children. Beer and bar wenches, Sammy," said Dean, sitting across from his siblings in the booth and smirking at Sam.

Sam scoffed.

"I'm pretty sure women don't react well to the whole wench thing, Dean," said Sam, looking around the bar room at all of the women currently working around them.

"Yeah, this is true," said Alex, raising her eyebrows.

Dean smirked and called over to Jamie.

"Hey, bar wench, where's my beer?" he asked her.

"Just coming up right here, good sir!" yelled back Jamie, pointing to the glass she was filling up for him.

"Yeah, well, she's just a slutty whore," whispered Alex, glancing around the bar.

Sam laughed, shaking his head.

"Man, Oktoberfest," whispered Dean, as Jamie approached their table with his beer.

She set a large glass of foaming beer right in front of Dean, who smiled over at her before taking a rather large drink from his beer. Alex looked disgusted as Jamie put her hands on her hips, looking at Sam and Alex next.

"And what can I get for you two?" she asked them.

"Oh, they don't drink," said Dean.

Jamie nodded, smirking as she walked away. Dean watched her walk away and whistled under his breath. Alex glared at him.

"You know what, you're just an asshole. Sam can drive and do this hunt all on his own, I'd rather be drunk as hell right now," whined Alex.

Dean chuckled and Alex sighed.

"Man, you guys, it is time to right some wrongs," said Dean, checking out Jamie as she finally stepped back behind the bar.

"Um, excuse me?" asked Alex, her eyebrows coming together in confusion as she looked over at Dean.

"Please, come again?" asked Sam, at the exact same time as Alex.

"I mean, I just came back from Hell with no scratches on me, not a single one. No broken bones, no nothing, which has led me to conclude, my virginity must still be intact," said Dean, smiling as he took a drink from his large glass of beer.

Alex and Sam looked at him like he was crazy, Sam chuckling under his breath.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" asked Alex.

"I've been re-hymenated," said Dean.

"Re-hy… Oh, man," said Sam, bursting out into full on laughter now.

"Please. Dean, maybe angels can pull you out of Hell, but no one could do that," said Alex, laughing at him.

"Siblings, I have been re-hymenated. And the dude will not abide," smirked Dean, watching as another group of hot girls passed by him and their table.

Alex sighed, laughing as she looked down at the table in front of her. Sam chuckled as well before they both looked back up and over at Dean.

"Alright, well, _dude_. You go do whatever the hell you've gotta do and we're gonna go back to the room and get some sleep," said Alex.

Dean smiled and raised his beer up at the both of them before taking a large gulp from it. Sam and Alex chuckled once again as Alex led the way out of the booth, Sam following right behind her. Sam threw an arm over Alex's shoulders as they walked out of the bar, both of them still chuckling at Dean's ridiculous thought process.

Alex sighed as she turned over once again in her sleep. She sighed, realizing she wasn't sleeping well in her own bed. Dean still wasn't back from the bar yet, so she sighed, climbing out of her own motel room bed and walking over to Sam's bed. Sam was on the right side of the bed, but he was facing the left side, breathing steadily. Alex climbed in under the covers and made sure to give Sam his space, but Sam was awake, smiling as he felt Alex climb into his bed. He let her get situated before throwing an arm over her waist. Alex smiled and turned to face Sam.

"Having trouble sleeping, huh, little sis?" asked Sam, teasing her with a smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

Alex shoved him off of her, moving as far away from him as possible.

"Fine, I was having trouble sleeping. But will you stop being a jerk about it and just let me sleep here for now?" asked Alex, whining as she rolled back over and unleashed the puppy dog put on Sam.

She stuck out her bottom lip and her chin trembled as she looked at her twin brother. Sam chuckled, pushing her bottom lip back in.

"I don't mind, Alex, you know that. Just no hogging the covers, you know you always steal them!" teased Sam.

Alex gasped and slugged Sam's shoulder gently, pulling half of the covers over to her side of the bed.

"Whatever, Samuel. Just go back to sleep," argued Alex.

Sam chuckled at her using his full name, but rolled back over, facing away from her as he got comfortable once again. Alex smiled as she closed her eyes, feeling much more comfortable lying next to Sam.

The next morning, Dean stared at the young girl who was currently sitting across from him. Sam and Alex were on either side of Dean, also staring at the young girl. She was slurping from her large, 44 oz. soft drink from the local gas station and she looked nervous as she quickly glanced over at the three of them staring directly at her. She finally finished slurping the rest of her drink up through her straw and she set it back down on the table.

"And then, then it just, it just… tore Rick up into little pieces," said the girl, looking over at the three of them.

Sam sighed as he glanced over at his two siblings, shaking his head.

"Ma'am, we understand how hard this is for you. But could you please describe the creature, perhaps?" asked Dean, very gently to the girl.

She took a deep breath in.

"Oh," she said, grabbing her large soft drink once again and beginning to slurp from it.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"It was definitely a werewolf," answered the girl, still holding her drink in her hands.

Sam rolled his eyes discreetly.

"A werewolf?" he asked her.

The girl nodded, her black, bouncy curls shaking as she did so.

"Mm-hmm."

"And you're completely sure about this?" asked Alex.

"Oh, yes. With the furry face and the black nose and the claws and… And the torn up pants and shirt. Like from the old movies," said the girl, looking over at Dean and nodding as she finally set her large drink back down on the table once again.

Sam glanced over at Dean and Alex, who were just staring at the girl, their eyebrows raised in complete disbelief. Sam leaned forward in his chair slightly.

"Um…" began Sam, but he trailed off, not really sure what else to say.

"Well, okay. So…" trailed off Dean, fidgeting with his thumbs while they sat in his lap.

"Well, thank you for your time," said Alex, smiling over at the girl as she stood up first, her brothers following her lead.

The girl nodded, grabbing her drink and beginning to slurp from it once again as the three siblings headed off for the morgue to look at the most recent dead body.

"First _the_ Dracula and now a full on werewolf? What the hell's going on in this damn town?" asked Dean, placing his hands on his hips as he stood behind Sam, who was looking at the different containers that held the dead bodies.

Sam finally found the body they were looking for and unlatched the silver door, pulling the body out on the gurney it was currently resting on. Once the gurney was fully out, Sam unzipped the black body bag, wincing and turning away as he looked inside. Dean turned away as well and Alex flinched.

"Damn," said Dean, avoiding looking at the body.

Sam nodded and looked at the body once again.

"Alright. Whatever did this wasn't a psycho wannabe," said Sam.

He pulled a pencil from his jacket pocket and used it to poke at the body.

"Look at those bite marks," said Sam, pointing to a particular spot on the dead man's body.

Dean leaned in closer to see the marks, but Alex stepped back, shaking her head.

"Hell no. I feel like I'm gonna throw up," said Alex.

"Fine. They're right down to the bone. And deeper," explained Sam.

"Strong enough to tear a healthy man apart limb from limb. It definitely could be a werewolf," said Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Yeah. Except look," said Sam, pointing to the heart.

"The heart's still there. And werewolves, they never leave the heart behind."

"So I reiterate. What in the hell is going on?" asked Dean, looking at his brother.

Alex turned as she heard footsteps from behind her. Sheriff Dieterich entered the room they were standing in and Alex walked over to stand by Sam as the sheriff stood at the end of the gurney, looking at the three of them.

"Well, I was hoping you three could tell me. Those fibers we found on the body are canine. Wolf hairs, specifically," said Sheriff Dieterich.

He pulled the evidence out of the manila folder he was holding in his hands and held up the clear envelope with the wolf hairs in it, showing it to them. Sam and Alex looked over at Dean, who shook his head. He rubbed a hand over his face, sighing heavily.

"I'm getting a headache," whispered Dean.

Alex picked at her fries as she sat next to Sam at the table in the bar. Dean was finishing his cheeseburger as Sam took a drink from his water.

"I don't know, guys, it's like we've stumbled upon a midnight showing of Dracula meets Wolfman," said Dean, shaking his head and taking a large gulp from his beer.

"But werewolves don't grow wolf hair. I mean, that's just a myth," said Alex.

"So what, we've got a vampire and a werewolf monster mashing this town?" asked Dean.

Alex and Sam both shrugged and watched as Jamie brought Dean another large glass of beer. She took his empty glass and held it in one of her hands, looking at the three of them.

"So, it looks like you three will be here for a while. I just heard about Rip Deacon," said Jamie.

Dean nodded.

"Yeah, this case just got weird enough for, uh, our department," answered Dean, smiling warmly over at Jamie.

"Well, your beer is on me then. And just so you know, I get off at midnight tonight," said Jamie, winking at Dean.

"Oh, it's not another girls night out tonight?" asked Alex, nodding over to the bar where Jamie's colleague was sitting down behind the bar, flipping through a magazine and holding a napkin in between her lips, getting rid of the excess lipstick she had on.

"It sure doesn't have to be," responded Jamie.

"Okay then. I guess I will see you tonight," said Dean.

"Okay then."

Jamie walked away and Alex rolled her eyes as Dean watched her walk away, his signature smirk on his face the entire time.

"Hey, do you think this Dracula guy can turn into a bat? Because that would be super cool," said Dean.

Alex and Sam looked over at him, their eyebrows raised. Dean nodded and took another drink from his large beer glass.

Alex heard Sam's phone ringing next to her later that night. Alex stirred in her sleep, feeling Sam's chest under her head. Sam's arm was around her, his hand on her back as he gently slept. Alex sighed and rolled over and out of Sam's embrace, grabbing his phone from off of the nightstand beside her.

"Hello?" she answered sleepily, glancing over at the clock and noticing that it was around 11:00.

Sheriff Dieterich spoke on the other end of the line and Alex straightened up as she listened to him talk.

"Okay. Thanks, Sheriff. Yes, we'll be there very soon. Alright, thanks again," finished Alex, ending the call and throwing Sam's phone back on his nightstand.

She sighed and pulled her long blonde hair back into a ponytail. She gently nudged Sam's shoulder, waking him up.

"Sammy, there's been another murder. We have to go to the local history museum right now," whispered Alex.

Sam groaned and rolled over, nodding at her.

"Now, you get to call Dean while I'm in the shower. Let's go, let's go," said Alex, climbing out of the bed and heading into the bathroom.

Sam looked over at Dean's empty bed. Dean was still at the bar, waiting for Jamie to get off so he could take her out. Sam groaned as he got up and began getting ready for the job ahead of them.

Sam, Alex, and Dean were at the local history museum, checking out the sarcophagus that had been brought in only hours earlier that night. Sam pulled a sticker off of the sarcophagus lid and scoffed.

"What is it?" asked Alex, looking over at her twin brother.

"This sarcophagus isn't ancient at all. It's from a prop house in Philly," explained Sam.

Dean nodded and pulled out a small bucket full of dry ice from the sarcophagus.

"It certainly goes well with the bucket of dry ice he was keeping in it."

"What, is this guy making his own special effects?" asked Alex, her eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"This is stupid," said Sam, scoffing once again.

Dean nodded and checked the time on his watch, cursing under his breath. He stood up from his crouch and wiped the palms of his hands off on his knees.

"Shit, I'm late to meet Jamie. But you guys can handle this, right?" asked Dean, looking at his siblings.

Sam and Alex nodded and Dean smiled back at them. He took off out of the basement of the museum, Alex and Sam sighing as they began looking at the fake sarcophagus once again.

About two hours later, Sam opened the motel room door and Alex pushed past him, flopping down on one of the beds. She sighed with contentment as she felt the cool pillows underneath her face and Sam chuckled. He glanced at the clock, which read 1:59 AM and sighed. As Sam began removing his jacket, his phone rang. He saw that it was Dean, so he quickly answered.

"Hey, man, what's up?" asked Sam.

"Sammy, I need you and Alex to come meet me down at the bar right now. And hurry," said Dean.

Dean immediately hung up and Sam sighed, wondering what was so urgent. He loosened his tie and began finding his jeans so he could change into his street clothes.

"Alex, you've gotta get back up. We've got to go help Dean."

Alex groaned as Sam began changing.

Sam led the way into the bar, Alex right beside him. All of the lights were off and they walked over to the table that Jamie and Dean were sitting at, each of them nursing a beer.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Sam, approaching the table with Alex right beside him.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so," said Dean, glancing over at Jamie.

Jamie looked down at the table and Dean reached over next to him, pulling out a bar towel and setting it down on the tabletop.

"And I'm pretty sure I know what's going on."

"Yeah?" asked Alex.

Dean nodded.

"Yeah, part of it, at least."

Sam unfolded the towel and both he and Alex flinched as they saw an ear wrapped up inside of the towel.

"Uh, the ear part?" asked Sam.

Jamie looked over at the single ear with disgust, looking away very quickly.

"Yep, I ripped it off of Dracula's head. Touch it," said Dean, looking at his siblings.

Alex scoffed, but then noticed that Dean was extremely serious. She nudged Sam, who reached forward slowly, grabbing the ear between his forefinger and thumb.

"Ugh," groaned Sam, as he touched the ear.

"Does that feel familiar to you?" asked Dean.

Sam still looked disgusted, but then recognition dawned on his face as he looked over at Dean, his head cocked somewhat to the side.

"Oh, man," whispered Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Yep, the skin of a shape shifter. Just like St. Louis and just like in Milwaukee. Except this one's all kinds of holy buckets of crazy," said Dean.

"Oh, and, uh, this. I, uh, pulled it off of him during our fight," said Dean, handing Sam another object from his pants pocket.

Alex folded up the towel, making sure the ear was all the way covered up as Sam looked at the new item Dean had given them.

"Look at the label on the ribbon," explained Dean.

Sam flipped over the ribbon and scoffed as he read the label sewn onto the ribbon.

"It's a costume rental," said Sam.

"All three monsters, the, uh, Dracula, wolfman, the mummy. All the same critter. Which means we need to catch this freak before he creature from the black lagoon's somebody," explained Dean, taking a large drink from his beer.

"So does this mean that the _X-Files_ are real, or something?" asked Jamie, looking between the three of them.

Alex smirked.

"No, honey. The _X-Files_ is a TV show. This is real."

"Ah," said Jamie, giving Alex a scared smile.

"Okay, so the stagecraft, the costuming. It's like he's trying to re-enact his favorite monster movie moments. Right down to the bloody and grisly murders," explained Sam, leaning up against another table as he spoke.

"Wait one second, who the hell is Meena?" asked Jamie, looking over at Dean.

"Meena?" asked Alex.

Dean nodded, pointing over to Jamie.

"Yeah, that's what he kept calling Jamie and he called me Mister Harker."

"Jonathan Harker?" asked Alex.

Dean looked over at his sister, his eyebrows raised as he waited for an explanation.

Alex looked over at Sam, who had a large smile on his face.

"They're characters from the movies and the novels. Um, Meena, Dracula's intended bride. Harker, the fiancé that stands in the way, duh," explained Alex, rolling her eyes at Dean.

"It seems like he's fixating on you, like he sees you as his bride or something," finished Sam, looking over at Jamie.

"Oh. Well, lucky me," said Jamie, grabbing the bottle of scotch that rested between her and Dean and pouring herself a large shot.

"But to fixate on you, my guess is that the shifter has to have seen you before or been around you," explained Sam.

"Jamie, has anyone strange come to town? Anybody that's taken a specific notice of you?" asked Dean, leaning forward towards Jamie across the table.

"I don't know, Dean. I mean, it's Oktoberfest. I'm a bartender. There's lots of people," said Jamie.

She sighed, but then she paused.

"Wait a second, there is Ed."

"Ed Brewer, Ed?" asked Sam.

"Yeah. He moved here about a month ago, Lucy swears he has a crush on me. I mean, he comes in almost every single night. But you know, I don't think he's the type of guy-"

"Where does Ed live?" asked Dean, his voice gruff and deep.

Jamie sighed.

"I really don't know. But he works at the old movie theater, I think he's the projectionist there."

Dean sighed and looked at his siblings.

"Take care of Meena?" asked Alex, hopping off of the bar stool she had been reclining on.

"Yep," answered Dean.

"Alright then. C'mon, Sammy, let's get this shit done," said Alex.

Alex and Sam were standing outside of the old theater, fog seeming to surround them as they stared at the sign that read what was playing.

"Ooh_, Phantom of the Opera_," said Alex, following Sam's lead into the dark theater.

Sam opened the glass doors and walked inside first, Alex following directly behind him. There was a set of three stairs a few steps away from the door and Sam and Alex walked up them. The theme from the _Phantom of the Opera_ was being played loudly throughout the theater and Sam grabbed his gun from his waistband, making sure it was loaded before he stuck it back in his waistband. They walked into the dark theater and saw a shadow on the movie screen. A man was playing the theme to the movie on the organ. Sam and Alex walked behind the large movie screen and faced Ed Brewer playing the organ in his boxers and a white wifebeater. They slowly inched closer and were only a few feet away from Ed when he suddenly turned around.

"Whoa!" yelled Ed, once he had spotted them behind him.

Sam rushed forward and grabbed Ed by the neck, Ed's back hitting the organ as his chair went flying across the room.

"What did I do?" asked Ed.

"Shut up, okay? You know what the hell you did," yelled Sam.

Ed nodded.

"What?" asked Ed.

"We know what you are, Ed," said Alex, standing slightly behind Sam.

"I'm not anything, I just like to play the organ," explained Ed.

"Had time to grow the ear back, huh?" asked Sam, nodding towards Ed's left ear, which was completely still intact on the side of his scrawny looking head.

Sam grabbed Ed's left ear and pulled on it, causing Ed to scream in pain and terror. Sam quickly let go as he realized that Ed's ear was, in fact, real.

"It's supposed to come off," said Sam, looking back at Alex, who just shrugged.

"No, it's not," said Ed, glaring at the siblings.

"Oh, that sounds horrible. Jamie, honey, are you okay?" asked Lucy.

Lucy was now sitting with Dean and Jamie at their table. She had come in to grab a drink for herself and Jamie had invited her to stay with them. Jamie had just finished telling Lucy about their hectic ordeal earlier that evening.

"Oh, I am fine. Dean, he just flew right in and fought him off," said Jamie, slurring her words slightly and chuckling.

"Well, I didn't actually fly, but it sure seemed that way at the time," said Dean, looking over at Jamie.

Lucy smiled and used her cocktail napkin to get rid of the excess lipstick on her lips, leaving an imprint of her lips on her napkin.

"It was really something," said Jamie, closing her eyes as she spoke.

"Jamie?" asked Dean, looking over at her with concern.

Jamie opened her eyes slightly to look at him and smiled, but her eyes quickly closed once again after a few seconds.

"So, Dean, are you like a black belt or what?" asked Lucy.

Dean looked over at Lucy to answer her question, but realized that his vision was blurry. He looked down at the table and everything was spinning, three shot glasses spinning around in front of him on the table. He looked back up at Lucy and punched her in the face. Lucy fell from the booth and onto her hands and knees on the floor. Dean grabbed Jamie's arm and pulled her out of the booth quickly, catching his balance as he stumbled out of the booth.

"Dean, what are you doing?" whispered Jamie.

Jamie's eyes fluttered closed and she fell backwards into the booth. Dean looked down at Lucy, who was staring up at him, her jaw out of place from where Dean had punched her.

"It's you, isn't it?" asked Dean.

Lucy pushed her jaw back into its place and Dean kicked her in the stomach. Lucy rolled over a few times, but quickly stood up from her position on the floor. Dean closed his eyes and rubbed a palm over his face as he groaned.

"Ugh, damn it. What did you put in our drinks?" asked Dean, grabbing the scotch bottle from off of the tabletop.

He smashed the bottle on the edge of the table and looked over at Lucy. His vision was still very fuzzy and Lucy faded in and out of his vision as he tried walking towards her.

"It's alright. I'll skin you myself," whispered Dean.

He took two steps towards Lucy before he fell face first onto the hardwood floor, Lucy smiling as she watched him fall.

Dean woke up and took in his surroundings. He was in some sort of basement laboratory, a light flickering above his head. Dean was chained down onto a large piece of wood, like in the _Frankenstein _movies. He was wearing the outfits that the boy servers would wear during Oktoberfest. He spotted a picture on the wall across from him of a beautiful young woman with raven colored hair and red lipstick on.

"She is beautiful, no?" asked Dracula, who was now standing on the last step leading into the basement laboratory.

Dracula stepped off of the step and into the basement.

"Bride number three from the first movie. She never got the acclaim that she deserved."

Dracula walked over to the picture and touched it reverently.

"Which is why I chose her shape, her form, to move among the mortals unknown. To listen to the cricket's songs of the living. That is when I discovered that my bride had been reborn! In this century," said Dracula.

Dean looked over at Dracula, laughing hysterically.

"I can't get over what a crazy son of a bitch you really are. Listen to me, you're not Dracula! I mean, you get that, right? Or even if you think you are Dracula, then what the hell is up with the mummy?" asked Dean, yelling.

Dracula was standing beside Dean now and he reached over, punching Dean directly in the face.

"I am all monsters!"

"This ain't a movie, you sorry sack of shit!"

Dracula punched Dean once again before walking to stand in front of Dean.

"Life is small and meager. The movies are grand and elegant. I have chosen elegance!"

Dracula flung out his cape so it surrounded him and Dean looked at him, his eyebrows pulled together in the middle of his forehead.

"You think elegance is really the word for what you did to Marissa? Or Rip Deacon? Or any of the others?" yelled Dean.

"But of course. It is a… monster movie, after all."

"You do realize what happens at the end of every monster movie, right?" asked Dean.

"Ah, but this movie is mine. And in it, the monster will prevail. The monster gets the girl. And the hero is electrocuted," said Dracula, letting go of his cape and walking towards a lever on the wall, laughing as he did so.

"And tonight, Jonathan Harker, you will be my hero!"

Dracula began reaching for the handle as Dean struggled to get free from his bonds. Just as Dracula was about to grab the handle, the doorbell rang. Both men stopped what they were doing and looked at the ceiling above them.

"Please. Excuse me," said Dracula, flinging his cap around his face and fleeing up the stairs to answer the door.

Alex and Sam walked into the bar, looking around for Dean. Sam pulled out his cell phone and dialed Dean's number, which went straight to voicemail after only two rings.

"Hey, Dean, it's me. Um, listen, Ed is not our guy. Um, I'm guessing you went home with Jamie, so just call me or Alex when you can, okay?"

Sam hung up and walked over to Alex, who was crouched down and looking at the glass scotch bottle that Dean had broken earlier in the night. Sam cocked his head to the side in confusion and looked over at the table. The three shot glasses were still there, along with Lucy's lipstick covered napkin. Sam looked at the cocktail napkin and recognition dawned on his face. Alex stood up from her crouch and looked at Sam.

"Alex, it's Lucy. C'mon, we've gotta go. Now," urged Sam.

Sam grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her from the bar as they ran out to look for Dean.

Sam picked the lock on the front door of Lucy's house. The door creaked open as Sam and Alex walked inside, but they quickly shut it behind themselves. Sam and Alex both pulled out their guns as they walked slowly down the hallway, passing multiple closet doors on their way down the hall. They found a large wooden door and Sam and Alex both pulled it open. It led down into a large staircase and Sam let Alex go first. Alex walked slowly down the stairs and sighed in relief when she saw Dean in the large basement. She put her gun back in her waistband and Sam quickly climbed down the rest of the stairs after her, sticking his gun in the crook of his elbow and grabbing a crowbar from off of the large table, using it to get Dean free from his bonds.

"Oh, thank God. Just in the nick of time. That guy was about to frankenstein me," said Dean.

Sam pried Dean loose and then Dean jumped down from the place where he had been held. Alex and Sam took in Dean's outfit, laughing as Dean glared at them.

"Hey there, handsome," joked Sam, smirking.

Dean pointed a finger at him in warning.

"Shut up."

Alex led the way over to a smaller wooden door that was another way out. Sam handed Dean a small silver knife as protection before he stepped in front of the door. He kicked the door down and looked back at his siblings.

"Let's go," said Sam, leading the way into the unfamiliar hallway.

Sam opened the doors at the end of the hallway and stepped into a large master bedroom, his gun in front of him always. He saw Jamie lying on the bed, her nose bleeding from when Dracula had hit her earlier. Sam rushed over to her and was in the middle of the room when Dracula grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and flung him across the room and through a wall. Dracula whirled around as Dean entered the room and grabbed Dean before he could throw a punch.

"And Harker. Now, you die," said Dracula.

Dean kneed Dracula in the stomach and Dracula stumbled backwards a few steps.

"How about now, you shut the hell up," said Dean.

Dean glanced at Sam's gun on the ground, directly beside Dracula's right foot. Dean rushed towards it, but Dracula grabbed Dean and punched him in the nose, sending him flying backwards. Dean landed on his back, holding his nose as Dracula reared up, his fangs showing. Suddenly, three shots rang out and Dracula looked down at his chest, where blood was beginning to seep through his white shirt. He looked over at Alex, who had just entered the room, her gun raised as she glared at Dracula.

"Silver," said Dracula, as he looked over at Alex.

He stumbled backwards, but he still looked over at Alex.

"'Twas beauty who killed the beast," he whispered.

Dracula stumbled over to his large chair on one side of the room and he sat down in it, finally succumbing to his death as his eyes fluttered closed. Alex sighed and lowered her gun as Dracula was finally dead. Dean and Sam both stood up, Jamie slowly beginning to wake up as well. Dean got to Alex first and he looked her over.

"Are you alright?" he asked Alex.

"Dean, I'm fine. I'm not the one who was punched in the face, remember?" asked Alex, holding his chin in her hands as she looked at his face.

Dean smiled and gently held her wrists in his hands as her hands rested on his somewhat swollen face.

"Just as long as you're alright, little sister."

"Well, I did save your life, so I think I'm doing pretty damn good. But you better go check on sleeping beauty over there. She's been through quite a lot recently."

Alex nodded her head towards Jamie, who was now sitting up on the large king-sized bed. Dean smiled at Alex and leaned down, kissing her forehead gently. He walked over to Jamie and sat down beside her. Sam walked over to Alex, wincing as he rolled his shoulder back.

"You alright over there, Sammy?" asked Alex, as he approached her.

Sam smiled gently at his twin sister.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. My shoulder's just a little bit bruised from flying through that wall over there."

Alex nodded, smiling back at him and Sam pulled her into his chest for a hug.

"Thanks for saving our lives today, little sis. You know, sometimes you can be pretty bad ass."

Alex laughed into Sam's chest and Sam laughed along with her.

"C'mon, let's get outta here. Dean will take care of Jamie," said Alex.

Sam nodded and released Alex from their hug. He kissed the side of her head before she began walking out of the room. Sam quickly glanced back at Dean and Jamie, who were talking. Sam smiled and followed his twin sister from the room.

The next morning, Alex and Sam stood behind Dean as he kissed Jamie goodbye. After a few minutes, Alex cleared her throat. Jamie smiled over at her and Sam and Dean looked back at them. Alex and Sam had huge, sarcastic grins on their faces as their older brother looked at them.

"Bye," said Jamie, giving Dean one last kiss before he walked away her.

"You three saved my life, you know. So, thanks," said Jamie.

She smiled at the three of them one last time before walking back into the bar.

"I like her," said Sam, smiling over at Dean.

"Feels good to be back on the job, doesn't it?" asked Dean, smirking.

"Yeah, it sure does," said Alex.

"Hero gets the girl, monster gets the gank. All in all, a very happy ending," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Hey, now. Just remember who saved who in this particular scenario. Where's my Prince Charming? I mean, I should get one for saving everyone here!"

Alex stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and Dean and Sam laughed, exchanging a look. Sam nodded to Dean, who nodded back imperceptibly.

"Well, we thought you might say that," said Dean.

Alex's eyebrows pulled together in confusion as she looked between her brothers.

"What are you talking about?" asked Alex, biting her bottom lip.

Sam smiled and pointed across the street. Alex looked and gasped as she saw Kellan standing there, leaning against his new black convertible Mustang, smiling back at her.

"We leave tomorrow at eleven AM sharp. Don't be late," warned Sam, giving Alex some sort of a stern look.

Alex nodded, still smiling, and Sam pulled Dean away from Alex.

"Dean, let it go. She's an adult and we planned this together, remember?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded and they watched as Kellan walked across the street, Alex launching herself into his arms and kissing him as soon as he was close enough.

Dean smiled as he saw how happy Alex was and walked over to the Impala with Sam, driving away as his sister reunited with Kellan.

Alex held Kellan's hand as they walked through the local park that night.

"I still can't believe you're actually here! Or that Dean and Sam called you and told you to come," said Alex, sneaking a glance at Kellan.

Kellan smirked and scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, Sam said that on a job a couple of weeks ago, you mentioned me. And I've been missing you like crazy, Alex."

Alex smiled and they stopped walking to kiss. Alex smiled as she kissed Kellan and Kellan wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back as they kissed.

"Can we go back to your room now?" asked Alex, pulling away from their kiss.

Kellan smiled.

"Of course, baby."

Kellan glanced at the clock the next morning, seeing that it was 9:30 AM. He sighed as he realized that he needed to leave soon so Alex could go on her next job with her brothers. He quietly climbed out of the bed, smirking when he saw that Alex had slipped on his shirt in the middle of the night while he was sleeping. Kellan sat on the edge of the bed, shirtless and wearing only his boxers as he thought back to last night.

_Kellan groaned as he tried to get his motel room door open. Alex was planting open mouthed kisses all over his neck as he fumbled with the key to get the door open. _

"_Whoa, baby, hold on," whispered Kellan, his voice gruff with lust as he finally got the door open. _

_He pulled Alex inside and shoved her up against the door, attacking her mouth with fervor. Alex moaned into his mouth and Kellan moved his lips to her neck, Alex tilting her head back so Kellan could have better access. Alex groaned loudly as he nipped and sucked at her neck and Kellan moved back to her lips, kissing her forcefully. He grabbed her hips and Alex jumped up, locking her legs around his waist. Kellan held onto her thighs and Alex moved her hands to the hem of his cotton t-shirt. They separated briefly as Alex removed his shirt and she grinned when she saw his rock hard abs. Kellan grinned back at her, his chest rising and falling as he looked at her._

"_Baby, bed. Now," demanded Alex. _

"_Anything you want."_

_Kellan carried Alex over to the bed and laid her down on the comforter, looking at her. Alex raised her arms up and Kellan removed her shirt. He stared at her for a few more seconds. _

"_God, you're so beautiful," whispered Kellan. _

_Alex smiled and grabbed the chain around Kellan's neck, pulling him towards her lips so she could kiss him again. Kellan obliged, and kissed her lips, reaching around her to unclasp her bra. Alex shrugged out of it and tossed it to the side. Kellan kissed down her neck and to her breasts. His tongue swiped over her left nipple and Alex groaned in pure pleasure, holding the back of Kellan's head to her breast._

"_Kellan," moaned Alex, as he worshipped one of her nipples with his tongue and the other nipple with his hand. _

_As Kellan continued worshipping her breasts, Alex managed to move her hands to the front of his jeans. She quickly undid his belt buckle and used her feet to push his pants all the way off. Kellan leaned back, removing his pants as Alex undid her own jeans, kicking them off. This left the both of them in only their underwear. Kellan kissed Alex softly as he reached for the waistband of her panties. _

"_Are you sure about this, Alex? We don't have to do this tonight," said Kellan, looking into Alex's blue eyes. _

_Alex gently smiled and grabbed Kellan's chin in her hand. _

"_I'm sure, baby. I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you right now," whispered Alex. _

_Kellan groaned at her words and quickly removed her underwear, leaving him in only his boxers. Alex took care of that situation and removed his boxers with her feet. Kellan held himself above Alex once they were both undressed, propping himself up on his elbows as he looked down at Alex and into her sparkling blue eyes. Alex nodded at him and Kellan leaned down, kissing her as he slowly slid inside her. Alex moaned loudly at the feeling of Kellan inside her. He moved so slowly and Alex groaned, wanting more. She grabbed the back of Kellan's neck and made him look at her. _

"_You better start moving faster, Kellan. I swear to God-"_

_Kellan cut her off by kissing her forcefully and pulling almost all the way out of her before thrusting back in, hard. _

"_That's it, baby. Just like that," moaned Alex. _

_Kellan groaned and thrust faster into her, sweat dripping down his perfectly toned back. Alex scratched her nails down Kellan's back, leaving marks and Kellan moaned in pain and pleasure. One of Alex's hands left Kellan's back and fell to the sheets, so Kellan grabbed it and laced their fingers together gently. Suddenly, Kellan changed angles and Alex cried out in immense pleasure. _

"_Kellan. Faster," she pleaded. _

_Kellan nodded and increased his pace as Alex cried out. Suddenly, Alex yelled his name as her whole body shuddered from the force of her orgasm. Kellan came undone as he watched her and he whispered her name. He laid down beside her as they both panted heavily, coming down from their high. Alex smiled when she was finally able to catch her breath. She rolled over and snuggled into Kellan's side. Kellan wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead. _

"_God, I've missed you," said Alex. _

_Kellan chuckled and smiled. _

"_I've missed you too, Alex." _

_Alex smiled and lifted her head up, kissing him on the lips slowly. _

Kellan smiled as he felt Alex's hands wrap around his shirtless back. She planted a kiss on his neck and Kellan turned around to face her, planting a kiss straight on her lips.

"I don't want you to leave," said Alex, sticking her bottom lip out in a pout.

"I know, baby. But you know I have to help Mom and Joe with the bar. And you need to be with your brothers."

Alex nodded sadly and Kellan tilted her chin up so she would look at him.

"But you can call me whenever and I'll meet you wherever you are. I'll go anywhere for you, Alex."

Alex smiled and kissed Kellan quickly. She got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom.

"You up for some shower sex, lover boy?" asked Alex, winking at Kellan as she stood in the bathroom doorway wearing only his t-shirt.

Kellan smirked back at her and stalked towards her.

"Of course I am."

Alex laughed as Kellan grabbed her and hauled her into the bathroom over his shoulder, slamming the door closed behind them.

"I hate saying goodbye," whispered Alex, her head buried into Kellan's chest.

Dean and Sam were waiting in the Impala as Alex and Kellan said goodbye.

"I know, baby. But we'll see each other again soon, I can promise you that. This isn't goodbye forever, you know."

Alex nodded and Kellan tilted her chin up, kissing her gently. Dean honked his horn after a few minutes and Alex sighed, flipping Dean off. Kellan chuckled and pushed a strand of hair behind Alex's ear.

"Bye, Alex."

Alex kissed Kellan one last time before she walked over and climbed into the Impala. She waved to Kellan until she couldn't see him any longer. Sam looked back at her.

"You alright, baby sister?"

Alex smiled.

"Yes, I'll be fine. Thanks for doing that for me, guys."

Sam nodded and Dean smiled at Alex as they headed out on the road for their next job.

"Agents Tyler and Perry, meet Frank O'Brian," said the coroner, unzipping the black body bag.

The Winchester siblings were in Rock Ridge, Colorado on a new case. They were currently posing as FBI agents, Sam and Alex posing as brother and sister as well. The three of them looked at the man's dead body in front of them.

"He died of a heart attack, correct?" asked Sam, looking over at the coroner.

"Three days ago," answered the coroner, nodding his head.

"Hmm. But O'Brian was only 44 years old and according to this, a marathon runner," said Sam, glancing at the file in his hands and raising an eyebrow.

"Well, everybody drops dead sooner or later, it's just one of those things. That's why you've got job security."

"Yes, but Frank kicked it here. Now, just yesterday two perfectly healthy men bit it in Malmon, all heart attacks, you don't think that's strange?" asked Alex.

"That sounds like Malmon's problem to me. I mean, why does the freaking FBI give a damn anyway?" asked the coroner.

"We would just like to see the results of Frank's autopsy, please," said Dean.

"What autopsy?" asked the coroner, looking between the three of them.

"Oh, you know, the one you're gonna do right now," said Dean, smiling over at the man.

A few minutes later, they watched as the coroner cut into Frank O'Brian's body, slicing straight down the middle of his chest. Alex made a face of disgust as her stomach churned while Sam and Dean watched, their arms crossed across their chests.

"First dead body?" asked the coroner, a smile on his face as he looked over at all of them.

"Far from it," answered Dean, his eyes never leaving Frank's dead body.

"Oh, well, good. Because these suckers can get pretty ripe. Hey, uh, you wouldn't mind handing me those rib cutters, would you?"

Dean nodded and grabbed the tool that the coroner needed, handing it over to him. The coroner began cutting through Frank's ribs and Alex winced at the sound, Sam and Dean also flinching. Dean looked over the rest of the body and noticed a line around Frank's left ring finger. He reached over and touched Frank's hand with his glove.

"Hey, is this from a wedding ring?" asked Dean.

"I didn't think Frank was married," said Alex, glancing over at Frank's hand as well.

"Ain't my department," said the coroner, focusing on his work.

"Any idea how he got these?" asked Sam, holding up Frank's wrist that was full of cuts, scrapes, bruises, and skid marks.

"His body probably got scraped up when it hit the ground. Huh," said the coroner, pausing in his work.

"What is it?" asked Alex.

"I, uh, can't find any blockages in any of the major arteries."

The coroner plucked the heart from the body cavity and Alex literally gagged, turning away from the body. Sam rubbed her back gently.

"Alex, are you alright?" he asked gently.

Alex nodded and held one finger up to him.

"Yep, I'll be fine. Please, just give me a second."

Sam nodded and turned his attention back to the coroner and Frank's heart, which the coroner literally held in his hands.

"His heart looks pretty damn healthy. Hold this a second, would you?"

Dean held out his hands and the coroner placed Frank's heart in them, Sam chuckling to himself at Dean's disgusted look. The coroner dug around in the body some more and blood squirted out of the body and onto Sam's face. Sam flinched and closed his eyes as Dean chuckled.

"Oh, sorry. Spleen juice," explained the coroner.

Sam, Dean, and Alex were sitting in the lobby of the local police station, waiting to meet with a higher up. The young policeman at the desk smiled over at them and they all smiled back before exchanging glances. Suddenly, one of the side doors leading into the rest of the station opened and the officer looked over at the three siblings, who were now standing up.

"Who are they?" asked the older officer, walking towards the front desk.

"They're federal agents. I, uh…"

"And you kept them waiting?"

"Sir, you said not to disturb," answered the young officer, looking very confused.

"Come on back, you three."

The three siblings walked past the desk and into the office of the older cop. The officer closed the door behind them and shook all of their hands.

"Al Brennan. Pleased to meet all of you," said the officer, introducing himself.

"Yes, you too," said Sam.

Al motioned to the three chairs in front of his desk and the siblings took their seats as Al applied hand sanitizer to his hands. As he rubbed the hand sanitizer into his hands, it made some sort of squishing noise and the siblings all looked at each other, exchanging curious glances.

"Okay. So, what can I do for Uncle Sam?" asked Al, sitting down behind the desk and across from all three of them.

"Well, we're looking into the death of Frank O'Brian. We understand that some of your men happened to have found his body," explained Sam, looking at Al.

"They did. Me and Frank, we were friends. Hell, we were Gamecocks," said Al.

Dean laughed, but Al gave him a serious glance and Dean stopped laughing pretty quickly.

"That's our softball team's name. They're very majestic animals," said Al, still looking at Dean.

Dean nodded and looked down at the floor in embarrassment.

"I knew Frank since high school. To be honest, I just this morning got up the strength to go and see him. Frank was… He was a good man."

"Yeah. Big heart," said Dean.

Sam and Alex gave Dean a curious look. Dean just slightly shrugged, his eyebrows raised.

"Before he died, did you happen to notice Frank acting strange? Maybe scared of something?" asked Sam.

Al leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk.

"Oh, hell yeah. Real jumpy."

"Do you know what scared him?" asked Alex.

"No. He wouldn't ever answer his phone. Finally sent some of my boys over to check on him and, well, you certainly know the rest."

Sam nodded as Al began coughing profusely. His shoulders shook with his wheezing coughs and Alex looked concerned. Al grabbed his hand sanitizer bottle and squirted a large amount into the palms of his hands.

"So why do the Feds give a crap? I mean, you don't really think there's a case here, do you?" asked Al, looking over at them.

"No, no, it's, uh, probably nothing. Just a heart attack," said Dean, smiling over at Al.

"No way this was just a heart attack," said Dean, as they walked away from the police station.

Sam and Alex shook their heads.

"Definitely no way. Three victims, all with those same red scratches, all went from jittery to terrified to dead all within 48 hours? No way," said Sam.

"So this could be a hundred different things too. Great," said Alex.

"Alright, so, we make a list and start crossing things off," said Sam.

"Good, good. So who was the last person to see Frank O'Brian alive?" asked Dean, his hands in his pockets.

"Um, that would be his neighbor, Mark Hutchins," answered Alex.

"Whoa, whoa, hang on, hold on," said Dean, stopping Alex and Sam from walking any farther.

"What is it, Dean?" asked Sam.

"I don't like the looks of those teenagers down there," answered Dean.

He nodded his head towards a group of about six teenagers, all boys. They each had a bike and were all just talking. Sam and Alex exchanged curious glances.

"Let's walk this way," said Dean, heading across the street using the crosswalk.

Sam and Alex looked at Dean's retreating form, back at the teenagers, and then back to Dean.

"Tyler and Perry. Just like Aerosmith!" said Mark Hutchins, Frank's neighbor.

The three siblings were sitting in the man's living room, surrounded by cases and tanks of reptiles. A yellow-spotted lizard in a rather large tank was located behind Dean's head and Mark had a smaller python snake wrapped around his neck casually.

"Yes, it's a very small world. So, please, tell us, when was the last time you saw Frank O'Brian?" asked Sam.

"Um, Monday. He was watching me from his window," said Mark, nodding towards the open window in his living room.

"I waved to him, but he just closed the curtains."

"Hmm. Did you speak to him recently, did he seem different or, uh, scared?" asked Sam.

"Oh, totally, he was really freaking out!" answered Mark.

Sam looked at Dean, who was glaring at the baby alligator in the tank next to his head. Dean looked over at Mark after a few seconds, attempting a small smile.

"Do you, uh, do you know what scared him?" asked Dean.

"Well, yeah, witches."

All three of the siblings' heads turned to attention as they looked at Mark.

"Witches?" asked Alex.

"Like…?" asked Sam.

"Okay, so, _The Wizard of Oz_ was on TV the other night, right? And he said that that green bitch was totally out to get him."

"Um, okay, was there anything else scaring him?" asked Alex.

"Oh, yeah, everything scared him. Al Qaeda, ferrets, artificial sweetener, those Pez dispensers with their dead little eyes. Lots of stuff," said Mark.

"So, tell me, what was Frank like?" asked Sam.

"Um, I mean, he's dead, you know? I, uh, don't want to hammer him, but he got better," explained Mark, playing with the small snake around his neck.

"He got better?" asked Alex.

"Well, in high school, he was a dick."

"A dick?" asked Sam.

"Like a bully. I mean, he probably taped half of this town's butt cheeks together. Mine included," said Mark, looking over at Dean, who was chuckling.

Dean's smile faded as Mark looked over at him. Dean cleared his throat.

"So, he pissed a lot of people off. Do you think anyone would've wanted to get revenge?"

"Well, I don't… Frank had a heart attack, right?"

"Just answer the question, sir," said Sam, nodding his head.

"No, I don't think so. Like I said, he got better, he was much better. And after what happened to his wife-"

"His wife?" asked Alex.

"So he was married," stated Dean.

Mark nodded sadly and slowly.

"She died. About 20 years ago. I mean, Frank was really broken up about it."

Dean nodded and looked at the snake around Mark's neck. Mark noticed Dean's stare and pointed to the snake he was holding. Mark laughed.

"Oh, don't be scared of Donnie. He's such a sweetheart! It's Marie you've got to look out for," said Mark, nodding his head towards the yellow python that was currently slithering around the back of the couch the siblings were sitting on.

"She smells fear," said Mark.

Alex scooted closer to Sam as she took in the snake and Dean took in a deep breath as the snake crawled over his leg.

Later that night, Dean sat in the car alone, reading an old newspaper article he had printed off and scratching his arm. He jumped slightly as Sam and Alex returned to the vehicle and climbed inside, Alex climbing in first. Sam slammed the door closed behind him.

"Hey," said Sam, looking over at Dean, who nodded towards them.

"Any luck at the county clerk's office?" asked Alex from the backseat.

"Well, I'm not so sure I would call it luck," said Dean, handing the article he had previously been reading over to Sam.

"Frank's wife, Jessie, was a manic depressive. She went off of her meds back in '88 and then vanished. They found her two weeks later, three towns over, strung up in her motel room. Suicide."

"Any chance Frank helped her along to the other side?" asked Sam, looking over the article Dean had just handed him.

"No, Frank was working a swing shift when she disappeared. Airtight alibi," explained Dean, starting the Impala and pulling it out onto the street.

"How was Frank's pad?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex shook their heads.

"Clean and pristine. We searched from top to bottom, no EMF, no hex bags, no sulfur," said Alex.

"So, probably no ghost, no witches, no demons," stated Dean.

Sam rolled his eyes and scoffed while Alex nodded.

"Three down and 97 to go," said Dean, sighing.

"Yeah," agreed Sam.

Alex glanced over at Dean's speedometer and noticed that he was driving incredibly slowly.

"Dean, you're only going twenty," said Alex.

Sam looked over at the speedometer as well and frowned when he saw that Alex was right.

"Yes, and?" asked Dean.

"Um, that's the speed limit," said Sam.

"So, what, safety's a crime now?" asked Dean.

Alex and Sam shrugged as Dean drove right by the motel they were supposed to be staying at.

"Dean, where are you going, that was our motel!" yelled Sam, turning around to look at the place they had just driven past.

"Guys, I'm not gonna make a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic, that's suicidal," said Dean.

Alex nudged Sam as she began hearing a noise. Sam began hearing it as well and they both cocked their heads to the side in confusion.

"Did I just say that? That was kind of weird," laughed Dean.

"Do you guys hear something?" asked Alex.

Sam nodded and reached inside his jacket pocket, pulling out the EMF meter, which was going off and lighting up like crazy as it was pointed at Dean. Dean's and Alex's eyes widened as the EMF only went off when it was close to Dean.

"Am I haunted? Am I haunted?" asked Dean, panic entering his voice as he looked over at Sam and Alex.

"Yeah, alright. Thanks, Bobby," said Sam, hanging up his phone as he approached the motel's front door.

Sam was carrying a box of doughnuts in his hands as he approached the door of the motel. He stopped when he heard music blasting from the Impala, which was parked across the street. No one seemed to be in the car, so Sam quickly crossed the street and looked inside the car, which was blasting "Eye of the Tiger." Dean was lying down in the front seat, pretending to play the drums. Sam banged his hand on the roof and Dean shot up, startled. He flipped off the radio and climbed out of the car.

"Sam, look at this," said Dean.

He rolled up the sleeves of his right shirt a little past his elbow. Three long, red scratch marks were on his arm.

"I just talked to Bobby," said Sam, handing Dean the box of doughnuts.

"And?"

"Um, well, you're not gonna like it. Where's Alex?" asked Sam, looking around for his twin sister.

"She's sleeping in the motel room. What is it?" asked Dean, sniffing the box of doughnuts and then throwing them into the passenger seat of his car.

"It's ghost sickness," answered Sam.

"Ghost sickness."

"Yeah."

"Oh, God, no. Um, I don't even know what that is," said Dean, leaning against his car.

"Okay, well, some cultures believe that certain spirits can infect the living with a disease, which is why they stopped displaying bodies in houses and started taking them off to funeral homes."

"Okay, so, get to the good stuff, please."

"Symptoms are you get anxious, scared, then really scared, and then your heart gives out. Sound familiar?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, but Sam, we haven't seen a ghost in weeks."

"Well, I doubt you caught it from a ghost. Look, once the spirit infects that first person, ghost sickness can spread like any sickness. Through a cough, a handshake, whatever, it's just like the flu. Now, Frank O'Brian was the first to die, which means he was probably the first infected. Patient zero."

"Our very own outbreak monkey."

"Right. Get this. Frank was in Malmon over the weekend. Softball tournament. Which is where he must have infected the other two victims," explained Sam.

"Were they Gamecocks?" asked Dean.

Sam shook his head.

"Cornjerkers."

"So, a ghost infected Frank. Then, he passed it on to the other guys and I got it from his corpse?"

"Right."

"So, now what, I have 48 hours until I go insane and my heart stops?"

Sam sighed and looked down at the ground.

"More like 24."

"Super," said Dean, very sarcastically.

"Yeah."

Dean sighed, leaning against his car once again.

"Well, why me, why not you? I mean, you got hit with some of his spleen juice."

"Yeah. Um, see, Bobby and I have a theory about that too. Turns out all three victims shared a certain, um, personality type."

Dean looked at Sam, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, Frank was a bully and the other two guys, one was a vice principal and the other one was a bouncer."

"Okay…" said Dean, still not understanding what Sam was trying to say.

"Basically, they were all dicks," said Sam.

Dean scoffed and raised his eyebrows.

"So, you're saying I'm a dick?"

"No, no, it's not just that. All three victims used fear as a weapon and now this disease is just returning the favor," explained Sam.

"But I don't scare people."

"Dean, all we do is scare people."

Dean sighed.

"Okay, well, then you're a dick too."

"Apparently, I'm not," said Sam, a large smile on his face.

"Whatever. How do we stop it?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed.

"We gank the ghost that started all of this. We do that and the disease should clear up."

"You thinking Frank's wife?"

Sam shrugged, squinting as the sun began shining in his eyes.

"Who knows why she killed herself, you know?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Hey, what are you doing waiting out here anyway?"

Dean sighed and pointed to the motel.

"Our room's on the fourth floor. It's, uh, it's really high up there," said Dean.

Sam nodded, scoffing as he put his hands in his pockets.

"I'll see if I can move us down to the first."

"Thanks," said Dean, relief washing over his features.

"Sure," said Sam, heading across the street and into the motel to wake up Alex and to see if he could get their room moved down to the first floor instead of the fourth.

Dean climbed back into the Impala to wait for Sam and Alex, looking at the doughnuts and then throwing them off to the passenger side.

Dean sat in the large motel room later that afternoon, watching the clock carefully as it ticked. It seemed extra loud to Dean. He shrugged and looked back down at the book about ghost sickness that he was currently flipping through. He coughed a few times and stared at the horrible images on the pages. One was of someone coughing up blood and another was of a man whose heart was being ripped from his chest, blood going everywhere. Dean stared at the book, rubbing his eyes as he saw words on the page that didn't belong. The ticking of the clock seemed to be getting louder and longer. Dean sighed and stood up, grabbing the clock from off of the wall and throwing it on the ground, glass shattering and going everywhere.

Sam and Alex walked back into the motel room, noticing the clock on the floor and not on the wall. They glanced over at Dean, who was nursing a beer while he sat on the ugly green cough, his feet propped up on the coffee table.

"Everything alright in here?" asked Sam.

"Oh, yeah. Just peachy," said Dean, smiling sarcastically over at them.

Sam and Alex looked at him weirdly.

"Did you two find anything?" asked Dean.

"Yeah. Jessie O'Brian's body was cremated, so I'm pretty sure that she's not our ghost," explained Sam, sitting down in the armchair and propping his feet up as well.

Alex sat down next to Dean and knocked his hand away from his arm.

"Hey. Quit picking at that," scolded Alex, nodding to the scratches on Dean's arm.

Dean glared over at her, but stopped scratching his arm. Alex smiled at him.

"How are you feeling?" asked Sam.

"Awesome. Since I have my head on the chopping block again, I almost forgot what that feels like. It's freaking delightful," said Dean, sarcastically as he took another drink from his beer.

"Yeah, well, we'll keep looking," said Alex.

Dean nodded as he began to cough profusely.

"Dean?" asked Alex, looking very concerned as Dean continued coughing.

Dean leaned forward, setting his beer down on the table as he rushed towards the bathroom, choking and coughing now.

"Whoa, Dean!" yelled Sam.

He and Alex stood up quickly and followed Dean into the bathroom. Dean spit up into the sink. Blood came up from his mouth along with a small wooden chip. Dean washed it off and grabbed it between his thumb and forefinger.

"What the fuck?" whispered Dean, twirling the wood chip between his fingers.

"We've been ignoring the biggest clue we have. You," said Sam, smiling now.

"Well, I don't want to be a clue," said Dean, slightly pouting as he walked back into the room and out of the bathroom, Sam and Alex following him.

"The disease, it's trying to tell us something!" said Sam.

"Tell us what, wood chips?" asked Dean, very sarcastically.

Sam laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Exactly."

Dean pulled the car up to the local lumber mill, slowly pulling the car into a place where it wouldn't be in the way. He put it in park and climbed out of the driver's side, pulling the seat forward so Alex could climb out on his side as well. The place looked deserted as the three siblings looked up at it.

"I'm not going in there," said Dean.

Sam sighed and leaned his hands on the roof of the car.

"Dean, we need you," said Alex, sticking her lower lip out and pouting at Dean.

"You're going in, Dean," yelled Sam, as he walked around the back of the Impala.

Alex watched as Dean reached inside the Impala and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from under his seat. He took a large gulp from it, downing almost half of the bottle in a few swallows. Alex rolled her eyes as Dean stuck the whiskey back into its hiding spot.

"Yeah, let's do this!" yelled Dean, walking to the trunk and unlocking it.

He looked over at the lumber mill as he unlocked the trunk.

"It's a little spooky looking, isn't it?" asked Dean, looking between his siblings.

Sam and Alex shook their heads as Dean finally opened the trunk. Sam ducked under the trunk's open lid and began grabbing guns, handing one to Alex and then another one to Dean. Dean just looked at the gun, not taking it.

"Oh, I'm not carrying that," said Dean.

Sam stood up straight, looking at Dean.

"It could go off!" argued Dean.

Sam rolled his eyes as Dean reached inside the trunk, grabbing the flashlight and holding it to his chest tightly. He smiled.

"I'll man the flashlight."

Sam smiled sarcastically.

"You go ahead and do that."

Sam led the way into the darkened lumber mill, his shotgun aimed and ready. Alex stood in the back this time as Dean walked in between her and Sam, holding his flashlight. The EMF meter began going off in Sam's pocket as they walked further into the building. Sam took it out of his pocket to check it, but then noticed that Dean's hand was gently resting on his arm.

"The EMF's not gonna work with me around, is it?" asked Dean, smiling gently.

"You don't say," answered Sam, sarcastically.

Sam stuck the EMF meter back into his pocket and zipped his pocket back up.

"C'mon," said Alex.

They took only a few steps when Sam suddenly flung out his arm to stop all of them, startling Dean. Alex rolled her eyes as Dean flinched and jumped away from Sam. Sam bent down in a crouch and picked up a round piece of metal from underneath a cloth. He looked at it closely.

"It's to Frank. It says, 'Love Jessie.' Frank O'Brian's ring," said Sam.

"What in the hell was Frank doing here?" asked Alex, standing over the boys.

"No idea," answered Sam.

They found a dark and empty hallway as they continued walking further into the lumber mill. As they walked, they began to hear a clanking and banging sound coming from one of the rooms farther down the empty hallway. Sam located the room and stepped slowly inside. It was an old locker room and the banging was emerging from one of the middle lockers in the first row. Sam reached for the handle of the locker, as Dean shook his head, his eyes wide.

"On three," mouthed Sam.

Dean and Alex nodded as Sam began counting, whispering the numbers to them. Sam yanked the locker door open and a little brown cat meowed back at him, jumping from the top shelf of the locker onto the floor. Dean let out the most girlish yell Sam and Alex had ever heard, screaming at the top of his lungs. He bent over at his waist to catch his breath once he was done screaming, Sam and Alex just staring at him.

"That was scary," said Dean, smiling broadly at his siblings as he tried to catch his breath.

Sam and Alex just brushed past him to head farther into the lumber mill building, Dean quickly following after them. They walked into a much larger room at the very end of the hall. The floors were just dirt and papers were strewn all about them. A desk was pushed against the walls directly across from the doorway and on the wall to the right of them as they walked inside the room. Sam and Alex headed for the desk to the right of them while Dean headed for the other desk. Sam pulled an employee's ID out from under a large book that rested on the desk.

"Luther Garland," he read from the ID card.

Dean swatted some papers away from a drawing of Jessie O'Brian that was resting on the tabletop of the desk. Dean pulled out the paper he had printed out from his pocket and looked from the charcoal drawing on the desk and back to the paper he held in his hands.

"Hey, this is, uh… This is Frank's wife!" yelled Dean, looking down at the drawing.

"And the plot thickens," said Alex, walking over to see the drawing on the desk Dean had found, Sam stuffing Luther Garland's ID in his jacket pocket as he followed behind his twin sister.

"Yeah, but into what?" asked Dean, ripping the paper drawing from off of the tabletop.

Suddenly, the machinery in the lumber mill began churning and turning on. Alex and Sam listened, but Dean's eyes widened and he flinched back in horror as he heard the machines turn on and begin moving. As Dean faced the doorway, his eyebrows flew up in surprise as he saw a man standing in the corner of the room the three of them were currently standing in. Sam and Alex looked over at Dean, took in his terrified facial expression, and whirled around, their eyes' widening as they also took in the large man in the corner. Sam and Alex held their guns up, but didn't shoot at the man yet. Sam slowly walked forward only a few steps.

"Hey!" yelled Sam.

He turned around to look for Dean, but Dean had taken off running in the other direction, outside, towards the car. Alex and Sam both sighed as they saw Dean running away from them, but they quickly turned around to face the ghost in front of them. The man was staring at them, his chin trembling as he looked over at them. He had marks all over his face and he suddenly charged toward them, whimpering. Sam didn't hesitate as he shot the gun, the man disappearing after one shot.

Dean was crouched behind the Impala, drinking the rest of his whiskey. Sam and Alex ran over to the Impala, catching their breath as they stood before him. Sam held up the employee ID card he had found.

"I guess we found the right place," said Sam.

Dean and Alex nodded, both of them still trying to catch their breath.

"This is the Garland file," said the young police officer, handing Sam the manila file folder he currently held in his hands.

"Thanks," said Sam.

The young police officer glanced behind Sam to look at Dean and Alex. Alex was inspecting her split ends and her nails while Dean looked absolutely horrible. He was scratching at his arm, he had large black circles under his eyes, and he was very pale.

"Is he… drunk?" asked the police officer, looking back at Sam.

Sam glanced back at Dean for a split second. Dean gave him a thumbs up and a slight wink as Alex smiled at them. Sam turned back to face the young officer.

"No, he's definitely not drunk. But Deputy, according to this, Luther Garland's cause of death was physical trauma. Well, what does that mean, exactly?" asked Sam.

"Um, sir, the guy died twenty years ago. Before my time. Sorry."

"Well, can we talk to the sheriff then?"

"Um, he's out sick today," answered the young officer, quickly stealing a glance at the sheriff's closed office door.

"Well, if you happen to see him, will you have him call one of us? We're staying at the Bluebird," said Sam, glancing back at the sheriff's office door as well.

The young officer nodded and Sam held up the manila file folder, his attention focused back on the very young deputy.

"Mind if I take this?"

The boy shook his head and Sam slapped his hand on the counter, thanking the kid. He walked out of the police station, Alex following directly behind him. Dean stayed behind, pointing his finger at the kid.

"You know what? You're awesome," said Dean, smiling over at the kid.

The kid cracked a large smile.

"Hey, thanks! Um, you too, I guess…"

Dean nodded, his smile growing larger until Sam and Alex walked back inside the police station, dragging Dean away from the kid.

The three siblings rounded the corner in a private nursing home, an old woman walking down the hallway with her IV attached to her arm. Dean jumped back when he spotted the woman, and Alex grabbed Dean's hand dragging him along with her and Sam as they continued walking down the hallway.

"I mean, these badges are fake. What if we get caught? I mean, I can't go to jail," argued Dean.

"Dean, shh! Just calm down, alright? Deep breaths, okay?" asked Sam.

He stood in front of Dean and all three of the siblings took in one deep breath together, exhaling through their noses.

"There. Do you feel better?" asked Alex, looking straight at Dean.

Dean shook his head and Sam cursed under his breath.

"Just come on."

Sam grabbed Dean's elbow and dragged him along down the hallway.

"Don't scratch," said Alex, noticing Dean start to reach for his arm.

Sam led the way into the large and sunny recreational room, where an older man was sitting down at one of the tables. Sam cleared his throat as the three of them approached and the man looked up at them, a bored expression on his face.

"Mr. Garland, hi," said Sam, as the three of them walked around the table to stand in front of the man.

"Um, I'm Agent Tyler and this is my sister, also Agent Tyler. That's our colleague, Agent Perry. We're from the FBI and we'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your brother, Luther," explained Sam.

The man looked over at them and leaned back in his chair.

"Let me see some ID," he demanded.

Dean looked over at Sam and Alex, his face full of fear.

"Oh, most certainly," said Alex, reaching inside her jacket pocket for her fake federal ID badge.

She nudged Dean's elbow and he pulled out his badge as well. The man took all three of their badges and looked up at the three of them.

"Those are real. Obviously," said Dean, raising his eyebrows as the man looked over at him.

Sam cleared his throat and gave Dean a look, telling him to stop talking. Alex sighed.

"I mean, who would pretend to be a federal agent, huh, that's just nutty," finished Dean, nervously laughing as he looked at the much older man in front of him.

Sam gave Alex a knowing look and Alex stepped on Dean's foot, hard. Dean flinched back from the pain while Alex and Sam continued looking at Mr. Garland, smiling gently. The man nodded, closed all of their ID's, and handed them back to the three of them.

"So, what would you like to know?" he asked them.

"Um, well, according to this, your brother Luther died of physical trauma," explained Sam, sitting down in the only available chair across from Mr. Garland.

Mr. Garland scoffed at Sam's information.

"So, you don't agree?" asked Alex, looking down at the man who was sitting in front of her.

"No, I don't."

"Well, then what would you call it?" asked Sam.

"It doesn't matter what an old man thinks."

"Mr. Garland. We're just trying to get the truth on your brother. Please, help us," pleaded Sam.

Mr. Garland reached over and grabbed a picture from off of the top of the file folder Sam had lying out in front of him on the table top. Mr. Garland stared at the picture of his brother as he spoke.

"Everyone was always so scared of Luther. They called him a monster. He was too big, too mean looking. Just too… different. It didn't matter if he was the kindest man I ever knew. Didn't matter that he would never hurt no one."

Mr. Garland began getting choked up and they could hear the tears in his voice as he continued talking.

"A lot of people failed Luther. And I was one of them. I was a widower with three young ones and I told myself that there was just nothing I could do."

"Mr. Garland, um, do you recognize this woman?" asked Sam, unfolding the picture of Jessie O'Brian that was in the file folder in front of him.

Mr. Garland held the photo up slightly so that he could get a better look at it.

"Yep, that's Jessie O'Brian. Her man Frank killed Luther."

"And how would you know that?" asked Alex, exchanging curious glances with her siblings.

"Ah, hell, everybody knows. They just don't really wanna talk about it," answered Mr. Garland.

"You see, Jessie was a receptionist at the mill. She was always really nice to Luther. And he had a crush on her. But Frank didn't like it. And when Jessie went missing, Frank was sure that Luther had done something to her, so he blamed Luther. Turns out the old gal killed herself, but Frank didn't know that. They found Luther with a chain wrapped around his neck. He was dragged up and down the stretch outside that plant until he was past dead."

"And O'Brian was never arrested?" asked Dean.

"I screamed to every single cop in town. They wouldn't look into Frank. He was the pillar of the community. And my brother was just a giant freak."

"You must have hated Frank O'Brian," said Alex, looking at Mr. Garland sadly with a small, gentle smile on her face as well.

"I did for a very long time, but life's too short for hate, sweetheart. And besides, Frank definitely wasn't thinking straight. His wife had vanished, he was terrified. It's a damn shame that he had to go and put Luther through the same, but hell, that's fear. It just spreads and spreads," finished Mr. Garland, smiling over at the three of them.

Sam, Dean, and Alex walked out the back door of the nursing home after their conversation with Mr. Garland.

"Now I know what these are," said Dean, pointing to the scratch marks on his arms.

"Road rash. And I'm guessing Luther swallowed some wood chips when he was being dragged down that damn road," said Dean.

Sam loosened his tie around his neck as they approached the Impala.

"Makes sense. You're experiencing his death in slow motion," said Sam, resting his arms on the hood of the Impala.

Alex nodded in agreement and then placed her hand on her stomach, suddenly feeling queasy. Sam looked at her strangely.

"Alex. Are you alright?" asked Sam.

Alex shook her head and she ran over to the corner of the building, throwing up in the bushes there. Sam and Dean made faces of disgust as they heard her retch a few times before she pulled herself together. She spit into the grass and then walked back over to the car.

"Whoa, what's going on?" asked Sam, looking into Alex's face.

Alex shook her head.

"It's probably just food poisoning or something. Let's just move on," pleaded Alex.

Sam nodded.

"Right. Well, I say let's burn some bones and make me healthy once again," said Dean.

"Dean, it, um, won't be that easy," said Sam.

"No, no. It'll be that easy. Why wouldn't it be that easy?"

"Luther was road hauled. His body was ripped to pieces, he was probably scattered all over that road. There's no way we're gonna find all of the remains."

"You're kidding me," said Dean.

"Look, we'll just have to figure something else out."

Dean shook his head.

"You know what, screw this."

Dean began walking away, but Alex and Sam followed him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Dean, calm down," said Alex.

"No, I mean, c'mon, Sam, Alex. What are we doing?" asked Dean.

"We're hunting a ghost," explained Sam.

"A ghost, exactly, who does that?"

"Us," responded Alex, looking confused.

"Us, right. And that, guys, that is exactly why our lives suck. I mean, come on, we hunt down monsters. What the hell? I mean, normal people, they see a monster and they run far, far away, but not us, oh, no, no, no. We… We search out things that want to kill us, eh, huh? Or eat us! You know who does that? Crazy people! We are insane!"

Sam and Alex cocked their heads to the side as Dean continued on his angry tangent about their horrible lives.

"And then there's the horrible diner food, and then, and then the skeevy motel rooms and then the truck stop waitress with the bizarre rash. I mean, who wants this life, guys, huh? Seriously? I mean, do you two actually like being stuck in a car with me for eight hours a day every single day? I don't think so! I mean, I drive way too fucking fast and I listen to the same five albums over and over and over again and I sing along, I'm annoying, I know that. And you know what? You can forget it," said Dean, throwing his car keys over to Sam, who caught them effortlessly.

"Dean, where in the hell are you going?" asked Alex, watching Dean pace beside the driver's side of the Impala.

"Stay away from me, okay? Because I am done with it. I'm done with the monsters and the hell hounds and the ghost sickness and the whole damn apocalypse. I'm out, I'm done, I quit," said Dean, finally walking away from them and away from the nursing home.

Sam sighed and expelled a large breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He looked over at Alex, who just stared back at him, blowing a stray hair out of her face.

"Well, that was certainly interesting," said Sam.

Alex nodded, looking down at her stomach and placing her hand over it.

"Yeah, to say the least," she whispered.

About an hour later, Sam and Alex entered their motel room and saw Dean sitting on the couch. Sweat beads were all over his forehead and he looked like a deer in headlights.

"We looked everywhere for you, Dean. How in the hell did you even get here?" asked Sam, walking over to stand in front of Dean.

"I ran here," answered Dean.

Sam and Alex stared at him sadly before they sat down next to him on the couch.

"So, what do we do now? I mean, I've got less than four hours on the clock. I'm gonna die, Sammy."

Sam sighed, nodding his head.

"Yeah, you are. And you're going back."

"Back?" asked Dean.

"Downstairs, Dean. Hell. It's about damn time, too. Because the truth is, you've been a real pain in my ass," said Sam.

Dean looked over at him, his vision blurry and his heart pounding extremely loudly in his chest. Sam's eyes were yellow as he looked over at Dean, a sadistic smile on his face. Dean reached over to punch him, but Sam flung his palm up, knocking Dean against the wall.

"You get out of my brother, you evil son of a bitch!" yelled Dean.

Sam laughed and Alex looked terrified, sitting on the sofa, looking from Dean to Sam and back again.

"No one's possessing me, Dean. This is what I'm going to become. This is who I want to become. And there's absolutely nothing you can do about it," said Sam, his eyes turning yellow once again.

Sam grabbed Dean by his neck and began suffocating him. Dean struggled to release Sam's hold from around his neck.

"Hey, hey, hey, Dean! Relax, it's just me. Dean!" yelled Sam.

Dean focused back in on the present and saw Sam standing in front of him, Alex standing behind Sam as they both looked at him, very concerned. Dean tried to calm down his breathing as he looked at his siblings. He nodded and Sam slapped him on the shoulder gently, making sure he was alright.

Alex quickly stumbled from the bed she shared with Sam and ran into the bathroom, making it in just the nick of time as she began throwing up as soon as she opened the lid of the toilet. Sam sighed as he heard her retching, Dean sound asleep as usual. Sam checked the clock, which read 6:30 AM. He rolled over and climbed out of bed, walking over to the bathroom doorway, standing in the doorway as Alex brushed her teeth and rinsed out her mouth.

"I didn't mean to wake you up, Sammy. I'm really sorry," whispered Alex, looking at Sam through the mirror as she finished brushing her teeth.

Sam nodded, gently smiling over at his twin sister.

"I've always been a light sleeper, just like you. I guess it's one of our twin things."

Alex smiled as she turned to face him and Sam walked towards her, meeting her in the middle of the bathroom. He held her close and stroked her hair as she sighed into his chest.

"Alex, is there something going on? Why do you keep getting sick?"

"Sammy, I really don't know. I think it must just be the food I've been eating. I guess my stomach's just bothering me a lot more than usual."

Sam nodded and kissed the top of her head as he let her go. He smiled down at her.

"At first, I thought you were coming in here to take care of your… well, you know," said Sam, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Alex smiled back at him, laughing, but then suddenly froze as she realized what he meant. Sam stared at her, confused.

"Alex, are you alright?"

Alex quickly snapped back into focus and smiled gently at Sam.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just gonna use the bathroom real fast and then I'll be right out."

Sam nodded and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Alex leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, counting on her fingers. She counted three times just to be sure, but she knew she was right. She had never missed a period in her life and now, she was over two weeks late.

"We have to scare the ghost to death in order to save Dean," asked Alex, repeating what Bobby had told her and Sam that morning.

Bobby nodded as he grabbed a shotgun from the Impala's trunk, handing one to Alex, one to Sam, and grabbing one from himself.

"Has someone called Dean to let him know we have a plan in place to save him?" asked Alex, following Bobby and Sam around the corner in the lumber mill.

Sam nodded as they rounded another corner.

"Okay, Alex, stick with Bobby. I've got this one on my own," explained Sam.

"What, Sam, no," whispered Alex.

"Alex, just go. This is the only way it's ever going to work."

Alex sighed, but nodded and Sam kissed her forehead gently before he took off around the corner, Alex following Bobby as they headed straight down the hallway instead.

Sam walked into the room where they had previously found the drawing of Jessie O'Brian. Sam had his shotgun raised as he entered into the room, on the lookout for Luther Garland's ghost.

"Any luck?" asked Bobby, through the walkie-talkies that they were currently using.

Sam grabbed the walkie-talkie from off of his belt buckle and held it up to his mouth.

"No, nothing at all. I mean, I don't know what's wrong, Bobby. The last time, he came right at us. It's almost like he, uh… like he's scared," explained Sam.

"So now what?" asked Bobby.

Sam didn't answer right away, as he was currently putting his shotgun down on the ground.

"I guess I've gotta make him angry," answered Sam.

He ran over to desk that held all of Luther's drawings. He tossed one aside that was of no importance and found one of Jessie O'Brian. Sam glanced around the room as he began ripping it apart.

"Hey, Luther!" called out Sam.

As Sam found another drawing of Jessie O'Brian, the machinery around the lumber mill began turning on like it had before. Sam began ripping up the drawing in his hands as he looked around the room he was standing in.

"C'mon, Luther! Where the hell are you?"

Sam opened the drawers of the desk and found more and more picture of Jessie O'Brian.

"What are you waiting for, Luther?" asked Sam.

As he began ripping up the final picture of Jessie O'Brian, Luther appeared behind Sam. Sam gulped as he felt a presence behind him. He whirled around and saw Luther, his teeth bared as he glared at Sam. Luther threw Sam onto the dirt floor. Sam began crawling away, reaching for his shotgun. As soon as Sam was close, though, Luther grabbed him by the ankles and pulled him backwards. Luther kicked Sam in the stomach, and Sam flinched, but began crawling towards his shotgun again. Luther dragged him backwards yet again and flipped Sam over. Sam was now lying on his back, facing Luther. Sam smirked as Luther grabbed him by the lapels of his leather jacket. Luther began hitting Sam and slamming him down on the ground, but Sam had a plan. He reached up and grabbed the metal chains that were resting above his head. He quickly wrapped them all the way around Luther's neck. Luther let go of Sam, grabbing the chains around his neck as he began to panic.

"Alex, punch it!" yelled Sam.

Alex quickly stepped on the gas pedal in the Impala, Bobby sitting in the passenger seat beside her. Luther's ghost was chained to the back of their car and as she drove faster and farther away, he slowly began to disintegrate into little wisps of black smoke. Once he was completely gone, the machinery in the lumber mill turned off all on its own. Alex quickly stepped on the brake, stopping the car as she looked over at Bobby.

Dean gasped for breath back in their motel room. He blinked his eyes repeatedly just to make sure all of his hallucinations were gone. He rolled up his shirt sleeves and touched the unblemished skin of his forearm. He began to catch his breath as he lay sprawled out on the hardwood floor of their motel room.

"Alex, Bobby!" yelled Sam, running out from the lumber mill.

Alex and Bobby climbed out of the car and Alex quickly ran over to the nearest vacant area, emptying the contents of her stomach into the dirt. Sam and Bobby stared at her as she did so.

"Um, is she a little weaker than I thought or does she have the flu?" asked Bobby.

Sam shrugged.

"I don't know, Bobby. She's been throwing up for a few days now. She also sleeps all the time and eats almost as much as Dean now. Maybe that's why she keeps throwing up," said Sam.

"Hmm. Interesting," said Bobby, looking at Alex curiously.

"So, let me get this straight. You three road hauled a ghost with a chain?" asked Dean, standing in front of the Impala as he looked at his siblings and Bobby.

"It was with an iron chain. And that's how the spell worked," said Sam, pointing over to Bobby.

"Hmm. That's a new one," said Dean, taking a long drink from his bottle of beer.

"Well, that's what he was most afraid of. It was pretty damn brutal though," said Sam, looking over at Alex and Bobby, who nodded in agreement along with him.

"But on the upside, I'm still alive, so go team," cheered Dean, lifting his bottle towards all three of them in a toast.

They all chuckled.

"Yeah. How are you feeling, by the way?" asked Alex, kicking some rocks with the toe of her shoe as she looked over at Dean.

"I'm fine. Doing a lot better than you from what I've been hearing."

Dean raised his eyebrows as he looked over at her and Alex shrugged.

"So, I think I just have some sort of stomach bug. It'll pass in a day or two."

The three boys looked at her and Alex rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine, I promise! You three don't have to worry about me, I can definitely take care of myself," said Alex.

Bobby smiled and headed towards his car.

"Well, I better be going back home. Drive safe, children," said Bobby.

He gave Alex one last, curious glance before climbing into his car.

"You too, Bobby," said Sam.

"And thanks for all of your help!" called out Alex.

Bobby waved them off as he started his car and drove away, dust flying everywhere in his car's wake.

"So, uh, what did you see? Near the end, I mean," asked Sam, looking over at Dean.

"What, besides a cop beating my ass?" asked Dean, smirking.

"Seriously," asked Sam.

Dean looked over at Sam, and swore he saw a flash of yellow in his younger brother's eyes. But a split second later, it was gone and Sam was just looking at him with his normal, green eyes.

"Um, howler monkeys. The whole room full of them. Those things creep the living hell out of me," replied Dean.

Sam and Alex both scoffed at Dean's response.

"Nah, just the usual stuff, guys. But nothing I couldn't handle," said Dean, taking another drink from his beer.

Alex and Sam nodded along with him, Sam and Dean drinking from their beers as Alex watched them.

Later that night, Alex sat in the bathroom, her phone in her hand and tears rolling down her face as she stared at her phone. It was three in the morning and Sam and Dean were fast asleep, both of them snoring soundly and very loudly. Alex took a deep breath and dialed the number she had been trying to dial for an hour now. She held the phone up to her ear as it rang and rang. After the fourth ring, a gruff male voice answered.

"Hello?" answered the man on the other end.

Alex smiled through her tears as the familiar voice washed over her, filling up her senses.

"Hi, baby," whispered Alex, smiling.

"Alex? Honey, what's wrong? Why are you calling me so late?" asked Kellan, suddenly awake as he heard Alex's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Um, I have something to tell you and please, please don't be mad, alright?"

"Alex, you're really starting to scare me."

"Um, Kellan, I'm late. Like, really late," whispered Alex.

"Late for what? Alex, I'm not understanding," said Kellan.

Alex choked back a sob.

"Um, my period is late. Almost three weeks late."

"Oh, baby, you don't think…" Kellan trailed off.

"Kellan, I'm never late, ever. I think I'm pregnant," whispered Alex, her tears flowing freely as she talked on the phone with Kellan.

Kellan expelled a breath through his teeth, whistling as he did so.

"What are we gonna do, babe?" he gently asked.

Alex cried.

"I don't know. But first, we have to be sure. I'm gonna take a test tomorrow."

The next morning, Dean and Sam were eating breakfast at the local diner while Alex took a trip to the local pharmacy. She took deep breaths as she found the aisle full of pregnancy tests. She grabbed two and quickly walked to the register, an older woman, the cashier, looking at Alex as she checked out her items.

"Honey, everything's gonna be alright. Don't worry about a thing," said the older woman, reassuring Alex.

Alex smiled gently at her as the woman handed her the bag with her pregnancy tests in it and left the store.

Thirty minutes later, Alex was pacing the bathroom as she dialed Kellan's number. She glanced at the test that was resting on the edge of the counter as Kellan finally answered.

"Alex. Did you take the test yet?" he asked, not even bothering to say hello.

Alex nodded as she answered.

"Kellan, what if I'm really pregnant? I can't have a baby, I'm a hunter."

"Listen, Alex, we'll figure it out, alright? We're in this together, okay?"

"Okay," whispered Alex.

She looked over at the test, taking a deep breath as she stepped towards it. She grabbed the test with shaking hands and looked at the sign on the test. She began sobbing and slid to the ground, bringing her knees up to her chest.

"Kellan. I'm pregnant," said Alex, staring at the little pink plus sign on the test as her tears flowed down her face.

"Alex, it's okay, calm down. We're gonna figure this out, I promise you."

Alex nodded as Kellan talked to her on the phone, calming her down and reassuring her that everything would be alright.

An hour or so later, Dean and Sam walked back into the motel room to find Alex sleeping on a bed, the dark circles under her eyes as prominent as ever. Dean smiled down at her as he began collecting his stuff and packing it up, getting ready for their next job. Sam walked into the bathroom and walked over to the sink, splashing some water on his face. He glanced down at the trashcan and saw Alex's pregnancy test. He reached down and grabbed it, his eyes widening as he realized what it was.

"Holy shit," whispered Sam, staring at the little pink plus sign.

He looked back into the room where Dean was still packing and Alex was still sleeping. He sighed and held the test in his hands as he walked out into the room and over to Dean. Dean looked at Sam curiously and Sam held out the pregnancy test. Dean looked at the test and then glanced over at Alex, who was sleeping on her side with one hand protectively over her stomach as she slept. Dean looked over at Sam.

"Sammy. What are we gonna do?" whispered Dean.

Sam shrugged.

"We have to tell her we know. We'll figure it out from there, alright?"

Dean nodded and handed the test back to Sam. Sam walked back into the bathroom, throwing the test away again before walking back into the room and packing up all of his things along with Dean.

"How many razor blades did they find?" asked Sam, staring at the woman in front of him.

"Two on the floor, one in his stomach, and one was stuck in his throat," said the woman, her eyes filling up with tears as she looked at Sam.

"He swallowed four of them. How is that even possible?" she asked, shaking her head.

Sam sighed and stared at the woman sadly. Dean opened the door to the oven and the woman looked over at him.

"The candy was never in the oven," she stated.

Dean looked over at her, shutting the oven door and nodding.

"We just have to be very thorough, Mrs. Wallace."

"Did the police find any razors in the rest of the candy?" asked Sam.

Mrs. Wallace turned her attention back to Sam, shaking her head.

"No. I mean, I don't know, I don't think so."

Dean opened the fridge doors, but saw nothing. As he shut the doors, he noticed a black scuff mark by the bottom of the fridge. He began moving the fridge to look behind it.

"I just… can't believe this. I mean, you hear about these kinds of things from urban legends and now, it's actually happening?" cried Mrs. Wallace.

"More than you might imagine," said Sam, glancing over at Dean as he stood up from his crouch, a brown hex bag in his hands.

Sam imperceptibly nodded and Dean put the hex bag in his pants pocket.

"Mrs. Wallace, did Luke have any enemies?" asked Sam.

"Enemies?"

"Anyone who might have held a grudge against him?" asked Dean, walking back towards them.

"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Wallace, looking between the two brothers.

"Coworkers. Neighbors. Maybe a woman," answered Sam.

"Are you suggesting an affair?" cried Mrs. Wallace, uncrossing her arms from her chest as she stared at Sam in complete disbelief.

"Is it possible?"

"No. No, Luke would never."

"I'm very sorry, we just have to consider any and all possibilities."

"Listen to me. If someone wanted to kill my husband, don't you think they would have found a better way than putting a razor in a piece of candy that he might eat?" she asked.

Dean and Sam walked back into the motel room, Alex sitting up on her bed as they entered.

"Hey. How was Mrs. Wallace?" asked Alex, setting her magazine aside as she looked over at her brothers.

"Oh, you know. Completely distraught. But look at what we found," said Dean, throwing the hex bag over to Alex, who caught it effortlessly.

Alex inspected the hex bag in her hands, groaning as she looked at it.

"Freaking witches. Man, I hate those damn things," said Alex, tossing the hex bag over to Sam.

"Yeah, me too," said Dean.

Alex laid back on her bed again as Dean glanced over at Sam. Sam nodded and they headed over towards Alex, sitting on either side of her on the bed.

"So, are you feeling better, sis? You looked pretty sick this morning," began Sam.

Alex shrugged, biting her lip.

"I'm fine now. But I was thinking, maybe I should go to a doctor? I mean, I haven't stopped throwing up yet and I'm getting kind of worried," said Alex, looking between her two brothers.

Sam sighed as Dean took in a deep breath, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Do you think maybe you're throwing up because my niece or nephew is cooking in your stomach?" asked Dean.

Sam looked at Dean, scoffing. Dean raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Real smooth, Dean. Nice," said Sam, very sarcastically.

Dean just shrugged again and both boys turned to look at Alex. Alex's eyes widened as her brothers stared at her gently.

"I don't know what you're talking about," whispered Alex, looking down at the sheets covering her bed.

Sam and Dean both sighed and Sam placed one of his hands over the top of one of Alex's. Alex looked up at Sam and Dean, her eyes filling up with tears as she nodded.

"Alex, we saw the pregnancy test in the trashcan," said Sam.

Alex shook her head and began crying harder. Sam pulled her into his chest as she cried, stroking her hair while Dean looked on sadly.

"What am I gonna do? I can't have a baby, I'm a hunter," cried Alex.

Sam and Dean nodded sadly.

"We know, we know. First, let's get you to a doctor, alright? We have to make sure that you're really pregnant. Sometimes those tests can be false positives, you know," said Sam.

Alex nodded into Sam's chest.

"Now, calm down and we'll find the nearest doctor, alright? Just relax and we'll take care of it," said Dean.

Alex sighed and Sam and Dean sat with her for a few more minutes before Alex laid back down and Sam walked over to the couch, opening the hex bag and beginning to inspect the contents inside. Dean kissed Alex's forehead before leaving the motel room to go complete some research.

Sam held up a sprig of some sort of plant as he inspected the contents of the hex bag. He looked up as Dean entered the room, throwing his keys on the table and chewing on some candy as he removed his jacket. Alex rolled her eyes and Sam scoffed.

"Really? After that guy choked down all those razor blades?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded, walking over to him.

"It's Halloween, man."

"Yeah. For us, every day is Halloween," said Alex, getting up from her spot on the bed and walking over to join Dean and Sam on the couch.

"Don't be a downer, guys. Anything interesting?" asked Dean.

"Well, we're definitely on a witch hunt, that's for sure. But this isn't your typical hex bag," said Sam, pushing the opened bag and its contents over to Dean and Alex.

"Hmm. No?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded and held up the small sprig of plant he had found earlier.

"Goldthread. An herb that's been extinct for two hundred years. And this is Celtic," said Sam, setting down the herb and holding up a small silver coin.

"Now, I don't mean some new age knockoff, it looks like the real deal, like 600 years old real," finished Sam.

Dean nodded and picked up the last item in the bag, bringing it up to his nose and sniffing it as Sam set down the Celtic coin.

"And, um, that is the charred metacarpal bone of a newborn baby," said Sam.

Alex's eyes widened as Dean set the bone back down in disgust.

"Relax, man. It's at least, like, a hundred years old," said Sam, picking up the bone and looking at it himself.

"Right, like that makes it any better. Witches, man. They're so freaking skeevy," said Dean, getting the chills as he stood up from his seat on the couch.

"Yeah, well, it takes a pretty powerful one to put a bag like this together," explained Sam.

"More juice than we've ever dealt with before, that's for sure," said Alex.

"What about you, Dean? Find anything on the victim?" asked Sam, looking over at Dean as he put all of the contents back into the hex bag.

"Luke Wallace. He was so vanilla that he made vanilla seem spicy," joked Dean.

Sam and Alex cracked a smile at Dean's lame joke and Dean shook his head.

"But I can't find any reason why anyone would want this guy dead."

Alex and Sam nodded and they exchanged a knowing glance as they both stood up.

"Well, I'm gonna take Alex to her doctor's appointment. We're gonna get her checked out and see what's going on with her," said Sam as he shrugged on his jacket.

Dean nodded.

"Good plan. Alex, whatever happens, we'll figure something out, alright? Don't be scared," said Dean, smiling at Alex.

Alex smiled back at him.

"Got it, big bro."

She followed Sam out the door and they headed for the Impala.

Alex and Sam looked up at the door as the doctor walked into the room, a broad smile on his face.

"Well, you're definitely pregnant," he said, looking at Alex's file in his hands.

Sam took Alex's hand, squeezing it tightly as Alex looked at him, her face showing her fear as Sam tried to stay strong for the both of them.

"I suppose congratulations are in order then. From this file, I would estimate you're about a month and a half along," said the doctor, smiling over at the two siblings.

Alex began crying and Sam smiled over at the doctor sadly, pulling Alex's head into his chest as she began sobbing.

"Listen, there's every reason to be scared. But you two certainly seem like a very mature and capable couple. I know that you will both be fine," assured the doctor, reaching over and gently patting Alex's knee.

Sam smiled over at the woman, his smile strained and forced. Alex lifted her head from Sam's chest and nodded to him. Sam nodded back and helped Alex climb down from the examination table she was currently sitting on. The doctor stood by the door as they walked out, setting her hand on Alex's shoulder. Alex looked over at the woman, who smiled reassuringly at her.

"I promise you, everything will be alright no matter what you do. Everything happens for a reason, sweetheart."

Alex managed to give the doctor a small smile through her tears. The doctor took her hand off of Alex's shoulder and Sam took Alex's hand, beginning to lead her from the examination room and out of the office. The doctor smiled after them sadly.

Sam and Alex left the doctor's office and Sam watched as Alex quickly let go of his hand and ran towards the nearest trash can, throwing up directly into it only moments later. Sam sadly sighed, but walked over to Alex and held up her hair with one hand as he gently rubbed her back with the other. After a few minutes, Alex spit into the trashcan and Sam stepped away a few steps as Alex finally turned around. He smiled sadly at her and Alex looked down at her still flat stomach, putting her hand over it and slowly rubbing a small circle over it. She looked over at Sam once she was finished.

"Sammy, I can't be a mom. I need you to help me figure this out," whispered Alex, tears filling her eyes once again.

Sam rushed over to Alex, kissing the top of her head gently. Alex's head rested in his neck as she breathed in his calming scent while Sam stroked her back.

"Shh, Alex, we're gonna figure this out, alright? Dean and I will help you figure this out, please, don't worry," whispered Sam.

"Why do we have to be hunters, Sammy? Why can't I raise a child like normal people do? Why can't I be normal?"

Sam closed his eyes, expelling a deep breath into Alex's hair.

"I don't know, sis. I wish I knew, I really do."

Alex nodded into the side of his neck as they stood there on the sidewalk for a few more minutes. Sam was the first one to pull away and he gently placed his hands on Alex's shoulders, forcing her to look up at him.

"Alex, it's all gonna be alright, okay? And hey, I'm gonna have a niece or nephew to spoil now," joked Sam, smiling.

Alex gave him a very weak smile and Sam chuckled.

"Let's get back to the motel, sis. I think you've got a phone call to make. You also have to tell Dean that he's gonna be an uncle," urged Sam, slinging an arm over Alex's shoulders as they walked towards the Impala.

Alex dialed Kellan's number as she stood outside their motel room. Kellan answered after one ring and Alex smiled weakly as she heard his voice.

"Alex. What's wrong, baby?"

Alex sighed, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath.

"Kellan, this is really happening. I'm pregnant, we're gonna be parents," whispered Alex

There was silence for a few seconds from Kellan's end of the call and Alex held her breath, tears falling down her face as she waited for his response.

"Baby, we're in this together, alright? I'm all in and we're gonna be some kickass parents," said Kellan.

Alex managed a small smile and a gentle laugh through her tears and she could feel Kellan smiling through the phone.

"I'm so scared, Kellan," whispered Alex.

"I know, baby, believe me. I'm scared shitless, I have no clue how to be a father. But we're in this together and I'll make sure to be there every step of the way, alright? We're gonna do this and we're definitely gonna do it right."

Alex smiled at his confidence and took a deep breath.

"I think I love you, Kellan."

"I mean, we are having a child together, so let's hope you love me! I love you so much, Alex Winchester. And I'm always gonna be here for you. Now, go tell your brothers they're gonna be uncles and call me whenever you need me, alright, baby?"

Alex nodded, smiling through her tears.

"Got it. I love you, Kellan."

Kellan sighed.

"I love you too, Alex. Goodbye, baby."

Alex smiled as she finally hung up her phone, sliding it back into her jeans front pocket just as Sam rounded the corner, Alex hearing his footsteps before she even saw him. Sam smiled over at her as he approached.

"Was Kellan alright? How'd he take the news?" asked Sam, standing directly in front of Alex now.

"He's all in. We, um, finally said I love you to each other," whispered Alex.

Sam's smile broadened.

"Well, it was about time, baby sis! Now c'mon, let's go tell Dean the good news," said Sam.

He unlocked the motel room door and they saw Dean pacing the room. He looked over at them, his eyes wide as he took in their smiles.

"Well?" asked Dean.

Alex took a deep breath before she looked up and over at Dean.

"Well, congratulations. You're gonna be an uncle, Dean Winchester," whispered Alex, biting her lip as she looked at her oldest brother.

Dean looked over at Alex, a smile on his face.

"And how are you feeling about this, little sister?"

"Honestly? I'm scared as all hell and I don't even know what to do from here. But it's happening and now I have to figure it out. But Kellan's gonna be with me and I know you and Sammy will be there too, as much as you can, at least," whispered Alex.

Dean nodded and walked over to Alex, enveloping her in a rather large hug. Alex clung to him tightly, her frame tiny compared to his large one. Her arms were wrapped around his rather large biceps as he held her in his arms, Sam watching them embrace from the doorway. Dean kissed her forehead gently as he pulled away and held her face in his hands.

"We're all gonna be just fine, alright? This kid's gonna be super cool and bad ass, just like his Uncle Dean," smirked Dean, winking over at Alex.

Alex managed a laugh and Sam rolled his eyes as he finally walked farther into the room, throwing his jacket over a chair. Dean kissed Alex's forehead one more time before finally letting go of her face. Alex wiped away the few tears that had escaped during her embrace with Dean and she looked down at her stomach, placing a protective hand over it.

"We're all going to be alright," she whispered to herself and to her very small, but growing, baby in her stomach.

Dean and Sam smiled over at her as she looked up at them.

A few hours later, Dean, Alex, and Sam walked down into the basement of the house where the second victim had died. The basement was decked out in Halloween decorations and a large tub full of apples was in the middle of the room. They saw a young, pretty blonde girl talking to an officer and Dean held up a hand, stopping Alex and Sam from walking forward.

"I've got this one," whispered Dean.

Sam and Alex looked over at the young teenage girl and rolled their eyes. Sam stuck his hands in his pockets and Alex crossed her arms over her chest.

"Two words," said Alex, looking over at Sam.

"Jail bait," finished Sam.

Dean looked at the two of them, scoffing.

"I would never."

Sam and Alex gave him a look, their eyebrows raised and they walked further into the room. Dean nodded, smiling as he followed them. Sam began removing the couch cushions as he looked for the hex bag. Alex took another side of the room and Dean walked over to the officer and the girl, listening to her story.

"Agent Segar, FBI," said Dean, holding up his fake badge to the girl and the local police officer.

They nodded and Dean put his badge back in his jacket pocket.

"Your friend didn't happen to know a man named Luke Wallace, did she?" asked Dean.

"Um, who's Luke Wallace?" she asked, as the officer stepped away and Dean took his place in front of the young girl.

"He died yesterday," answered Dean.

The girl shrugged.

"I don't know who that is."

Dean nodded and saw Sam and Alex standing in the middle of the room, Sam holding up a small brown hex bag that he had just found in the middle of the couch cushions.

Sam sat on the bed he shared with Alex, flipping through an old book as Dean had the hex bag opened in front of him, scrolling through the Internet on Sam's laptop computer. Sam sat up on the bed as Alex walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair off with a towel.

"I'm telling you, both of these victims are squeaky clean. There's absolutely no reason for wicked bitch payback," said Dean, looking over at Sam.

"Maybe 'cause it's not about that," answered Sam.

"Wow. Insightful," said Dean, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Maybe this witch isn't working a grudge, maybe they're working a spell. Check this out," said Sam.

He began reading from the book he was holding, standing up as he read and walking over to Dean and Alex, who was now sitting beside Dean.

"Three blood sacrifices for three days. The last before midnight on the final day of the final harvest. The Celtic calendar, the final day of the final harvest is October 31st."

"Halloween," stated Alex, as Sam handed the book over to Dean so they could look through it.

"Exactly," said Sam.

"So, what exactly are the blood sacrifices for?" asked Dean, glancing at the gruesome pictures in the book.

"Uh, if I'm right, this witch is summoning a demon. And not just any demon. Samhain," answered Sam, leaning back in his chair.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" asked Dean, his eyes wide as he looked over at Sam.

Alex sighed and rolled her eyes. Sam chuckled.

"Dean, Samhain is the damn origin of Halloween. The Celts believe that October 31st was the one night of the year when the veil was thinnest between the living and the dead," said Alex.

"And it was Samhain's night. I mean, masks were put on to hide from him, sweets left on doorsteps to appease him, faces carved into pumpkins to worship him. He was exorcised centuries ago," finished Sam.

"So even though Samhain took a trip downstairs, the tradition stuck," stated Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"Exactly. Only now, instead of demons and blood orgies, Halloween is all about kids, candy, and costumes," said Alex.

"Okay, so, some crazy witch bitch wants to raise Samhain to attack the night?" asked Dean.

"Dean, this is serious," said Sam.

"I am serious," said Dean, his eyebrows raised.

"We're talking heavyweight witchcraft. This ritual can only be performed every 600 years," explained Sam.

"And the 600 year marker rolls around…"

"Tomorrow night," said Alex, nodding.

"Naturally. Well, this sure is a lot of death and destruction for just one demon," said Dean, looking back at the pictures in the book.

"Well, that's because he likes company. Once he's raised, Samhain can do some raising of his own," said Sam, looking over at Alex, who was biting her lip as she looked at Dean.

"Raising what, exactly?" asked Dean.

"Dark, evil shit, and lots of it too. I mean, they literally follow him around like the freaking Pied Piper," explained Alex, throwing her semi-damp hair up into a ponytail.

"So, lots of ghosts?" asked Dean.

"Yeah. And zombies and all kinds of crap," said Sam, leaning forward in his seat and resting his elbows on the table.

"Listen, Dean, it just starts with ghosts and ghouls. By night's end, though, we are taking every awful thing we've ever seen. Every single thing we fight. All in one place on one night," said Alex.

"It's gonna be a slaughterhouse," whispered Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded seriously, their face grim.

The next day, Halloween, Dean sat in the Impala, a large pile of candy wrappers on the passenger seat next to him as he held his stomach. His phone began ringing, so he quickly reached into his pocket, grabbing it and flipping it open.

"Hey," he said, seeing that it was Sam who was calling him.

"How's it going?" asked Sam.

Sam was back at the motel room with Alex, a book lying open on the bed as he stood beside the bed, talking to Dean on the phone.

"Awesome. Yeah, I talked with Mrs. Razorblade again. I've been sitting out in front of her house for hours and I've got absolutely nothing!" yelled Dean, becoming very frustrated.

Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Look, Dean, someone obviously planted those hex bags, someone with access to both houses. There's gotta be some sort of connection," argued Sam.

"Yeah, well, I hope we find one soon because I'm starting to cramp like a… son of… a… bitch," said Dean, trailing off as he saw the young blonde teenager from last night walking down the street past his Impala.

"Quit whining," said Sam.

"No, Sam, I mean, son of a bitch."

Dean watched as the girl knocked on the front door, Mrs. Wallace answering the door with her son in her arms. She smiled at the teenage girl and beckoned her inside, the girl taking the child from Mrs. Wallace's arms.

Dean threw his set of the motel room keys on the table as he walked back into the room, Sam looking over at him, his eyebrows raised.

"So, our apple bobbing cheerleader," began Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Tracy. The Wallace's babysitter. She told me she'd never even heard of Luke Wallace."

"Huh," said Sam, turning back to his computer.

Dean nodded again and removed his jacket, throwing it on his own bed. He looked around the room for Alex.

"Sammy, where's Alex?" he asked.

Sam pointed to the closed bathroom door. Dean looked over and sighed, realizing that Alex was more than likely throwing up.

"Dude, I thought that shit was called morning sickness, not all day sickness," whined Dean.

Sam chuckled and threw Dean a paperback book. Dean glanced at the cover and saw that he was holding _What to Expect When You're Expecting._

"Apparently it can happen at any time. Read the book, Dean," said Sam.

Dean shrugged and set the book back on the nightstand as Alex came out from the bathroom, wiping her mouth off and smiling weakly over at them. Sam and Dean smiled back as Alex sat on her side of the bed she shared with Sam.

"A blonde teenage cheerleader is certainly an interesting look for a centuries old witch," said Sam, still looking at his computer screen.

"Yeah, well, if you were a 600 year old hag and you could pick any costume to come back in, wouldn't you go for a super-hot cheerleader? I definitely would," said Alex.

Dean nodded and Alex rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, Tracy's not as wholesome as she looks. I did some digging and apparently, she got into a violent altercation with one of her teachers. Got suspended from school," explained Sam, handing the computer over to Dean so he could read over the article.

While Dean looked over this new piece of information, Sam looked over at Alex, who was staring at her flat stomach.

"You alright over there, Alex?"

Alex looked over at Sam, smiling widely at him.

"Yeah, we're perfectly fine."

The three siblings walked into the art room of the high school, papier-mâché masks aligning the ceiling and the walls. One mask reminded Dean of his time in Hell and he could hear the screams of the souls he tortured in his ears. Sam and Alex walked up behind him and Dean whirled around to face them.

"Bring back some memories?" asked Sam, grinning at the artwork around him.

"What do you mean?" asked Dean.

Alex stared at him strangely as Sam answered Dean's question.

"You know, being a teenager and all that angst."

Dean nodded, smiling weakly.

"You three wanted to talk to me?" asked a voice from behind the three siblings.

They all turned and watched as a man walked briskly into the art room, a medium-sized box in his hands with a coffee cup resting on top of the box.

"Ah, Mr. Harding," said Sam.

The man rolled his eyes and reached out a free hand to shake all of theirs.

"Oh, please, just call me Don."

"Even my students call me Don."

"Okay then, Don," said Alex, shaking the man's hand last.

Don nodded after he let go of her hand and brushed past them, setting box he was holding down on his desk.

"I'm Agent Getty, and these two are both Agent Lee. Siblings," explained Dean, motioning between Alex and Sam, who were smiling at Don.

"We just have a few questions about Tracy Davis," explained Sam, putting his badge back in his jacket pocket.

"Um, yeah, Tracy. Um, bright kid, loads of talent. You know, it's really a shame that she was suspended," explained Don, shaking his head as he looked at the three siblings.

"And you two had a, uh, violent altercation?" asked Dean.

Don chuckled.

"Um, yeah, she just exploded. If Principal Morrow hadn't walked by when he did, Tracy would've clawed my eyes out."

"Why?" asked Sam.

"I, uh, I was only trying to rap with her about her work. It had gotten inappropriate and kind of disturbing."

"More disturbing than those guys?" asked Dean, pointing to the scarier looking masks behind him.

Don chuckled behind his slight smile, shrugging his shoulders.

"She would cover page after page of her sketchbook with these bizarre cryptic symbols. And then there were the drawings. Um, detailed images of killings. Gory, primitive. And then she would depict herself in the middle of them, participating," answered Don.

Dean and Alex nodded slowly.

"Symbols. What kind of symbols? Um, anything like this?" asked Sam, pulling a small plastic bag from his pants pocket and holding it up for Don to see.

Inside the bag was the Celtic coin the three siblings had been finding in the hex bags.

"Yeah, yeah, I think that might've been one of them," answered Don, nodding his head as he stared at the coin until Sam put it back in his pocket.

"Would you happen to know where Tracy is now?" asked Alex.

"Well, I would imagine her apartment."

"Her apartment?" asked Dean.

Don nodded, sticking his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Yeah, she got here about a year ago, alone. As I understood it, as an emancipated teen. God only knows what her parents were like."

Dean looked over at Sam and Alex, his eyebrows raised.

Dean pulled his Impala up into a parking spot right out front of their motel room. He stepped outside just as Sam and Alex came walking up to the car. Dean slammed the door closed as Sam spoke to him.

"Well, Tracy was nowhere we could find. Any luck with her friends?"

Dean sighed.

"Hell no, luck is clearly not our style. Her friends have no clue where she is, it's like the bitch hopped on her broomstick and just completely disappeared," whined Dean.

"Well, she could be making the third and final sacrifice at any time," said Alex.

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yes, thanks, Alex."

Alex stuck her tongue out at him and Sam chuckled at their childishness. Alex brushed past Dean and Sam and unlocked the motel room door first. She had only just taken one step inside when she began screaming. Dean and Sam rushed into the room, Sam pulling out his gun as he saw the figure sitting on the corner of Dean's bed.

"Who are you?" yelled Sam.

"Sam, wait! It's Castiel," breathed Dean.

Sam lowered his gun slowly and hesitantly.

"The angel," whispered Alex and Dean nodded.

They all glanced over at a second figure standing in front of the large window on the other side of the room. He was a tall, black man with his back turned to them.

"Him I don't know," whispered Dean, staring at the black man's back.

"Hello, Sam," said Castiel, standing in front of them now.

Sam smiled.

"Oh my God. Er, uh, I didn't mean to… Sorry. It's an honor. Really, I've heard a lot about you," said Sam, rushing forward with his hand out to shake Castiel's hand.

Castiel stared at his open palm for a few seconds, but finally shook his hand while Dean closed the motel room door.

"And I you. Sam Winchester, the boy with the demon blood. I'm very glad to hear you've ceased your extracurricular activities," said Castiel.

Sam's smile faded.

"And let's keep it that way," said the black man, still not turning to look at all of them.

"Yeah, okay, Chuckles," snapped back Dean, standing by Sam and Alex again.

Castiel's gaze turned to Alex, who looked straight back at him.

"Alex Winchester."

Alex nodded and Castiel stared at her face before glancing down at her flat stomach. Alex quickly put her hands over her stomach in a protective stance and glared at Castiel.

"I sense that there may be another Winchester joining this small family in a matter of months," said Castiel.

Alex said nothing and Sam put a protective arm around here.

"I also suspect you'll be running to the restroom in a matter of seconds," said Castiel.

Alex stared at him strangely, but then her face turned pale and she ran into the small bathroom, slamming the door closed behind her as she threw up into the toilet bowl. Sam looked towards the bathroom door, sighing sadly. Dean was still glaring at the second man's back.

"Who's your friend?" asked Dean.

"This thing with Samhain, have you stopped it?" asked Castiel, ignoring Dean's questions.

"Why?" asked Dean.

Castiel turned to him.

"Dean, have you located the witch?" asked Castiel.

"Yes, we've located her," answered Dean, rolling his eyes.

"And is the witch dead?"

"No, but-" began Sam, Dean interrupting his thoughts.

"We know who it is," finished Dean.

"Well, apparently the witch knows who you are too," said Castiel, walking over to the nightstand that rested between the two beds in the grimy motel room.

"This was inside the walls of your room," said Castiel, holding up a small brown hex bag as he turned back around to face them once again.

"If we hadn't found it, surely one or all three of you would've been dead. Do you know where the witch is now?" asked Castiel.

Dean looked back at Sam, who shrugged.

"We're working on it," said Dean, looking back at Castiel.

"That's unfortunate."

"What do you even care?" asked Dean, venom lacing his tone of voice as Alex stepped out from the bathroom.

She walked over to Sam, who pulled her close, kissing the top of her head.

"The raising of Samhain is one of the 66 seals," answered Castiel.

"So this is all about your buddy, Lucifer, huh?"

"Lucifer is no friend of ours," said the black man, still not looking over at them as he spoke.

"It's just an expression," said Dean, after a moment's pause.

"Lucifer cannot rise. The breaking of this seal must be prevented at all costs," said Castiel, moving to stand back in front of them again.

"Okay. Well, why don't you just tell us where the witch is now, we'll gank her and everybody goes home happy," said Dean, a very sarcastic smile on his face as he spoke.

"This witch is very powerful. She's cloaked, even for our methods."

"Okay, well, we already know who she is. So if we work together-" began Sam, but the black man cut him off, finally turning around to face all of them.

"Enough of this."

"Okay, who are you and why should I care?" asked Dean, yelling at the man as he fully turned all the way around to face the three siblings and Castiel.

"This is Uriel. He's what you might call… a specialist," answered Castiel, turning his head to look at the black man.

The man walked towards them, but still kept his distance.

"What kind of specialist?" asked Dean.

Neither Castiel nor Uriel said nothing, but just looked at each other.

"What are you gonna do?" asked Alex, whispering it after a few moments of watching the two men stare each other down.

"The three of you need to leave this town immediately," said Castiel, finally looking back at the three siblings.

"Why?" asked Dean, his gaze never wavering from Castiel's.

"Because we're about to destroy it."

"So this is your plan. You're gonna smite the whole freaking town?" asked Dean, throwing his hands out in frustration and anger.

"We're completely out of time. This witch has to die and the seal must be saved."

"There are a 1,000 people here," explained Sam, his eyebrows raised as he stared down Castiel.

"1,214," said Uriel.

"And you're willing to kill all of them?" finished Sam, the disbelief evident in his tone of voice.

"This isn't the first time I've… purified a city," answered Uriel, his gaze never leaving the three siblings.

"Look, I understand that this is regrettable, but we have to hold the line. Too many seals have been broken already," explained Castiel.

"So you screwed the pooch on some seals and now this whole entire town has to pay the damn price?" asked Dean, anger seeping into his words.

"The lives of 1,000 against the lives of 6 billion, there's a much bigger picture here, Dean."

"Right. 'Cause, uh, you're bigger picture kind of guys."

"Lucifer cannot rise. He does and Hell rises with him. Now, is that something that you're willing to risk?" asked Castiel, stepping closer to Dean.

Dean said nothing.

"Look, we'll stop this witch before she summons anyone. Your seal won't be broken and no one else has to die," whispered Alex.

"We're wasting time with these three," said Uriel.

Castiel sighed, turning away from them as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, but we have our orders."

"No, you can't do this. You're angels. I mean, aren't you supposed to… You're supposed to show mercy!" yelled Sam as Uriel began chuckling at his small outburst.

"Says who?" asked Uriel.

"We have no choice," said Castiel, looking over at nothing as he spoke.

"Of course you have a choice. I mean, you've never questioned a piece of shit order before?" asked Dean.

"Look, even if you can't understand it, have faith. The plan is just."

"How could you even say that?" cried Alex, staring between the two angels.

Sam grabbed her hand to calm her down and Alex squeezed it gently.

"Because our orders come directly from Heaven. That makes it very just," answered Castiel.

"You know, it must be nice. To be so sure of yourselves," said Dean.

"Tell me something, Dean. When your father gave you an order, didn't you obey it with no questions asked?"

Dean said nothing.

"Don't you dare bring our father into this," seethed Alex, pointing an accusing finger at Castiel.

"Well, I'm sorry, boys, but the plans have changed," said Dean.

"You think you three can stop us?" asked Uriel, a small smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

Dean shook his head.

"No, but if you're gonna smite this whole town, then you're gonna have to smite us with it because we're not leaving. See, you went through the trouble of busting me out of Hell, so I figure I'm worth something to the man upstairs. You wanna waste me? Go ahead. See how he digs that," threatened Dean, stepping closer and closer to Uriel as he spoke.

"I will drag you out of here myself," whispered Uriel.

"Yeah, but you'll have to kill me. And then we're back to the same exact problem as before. I mean, seriously. You're gonna wipe out a whole entire town for one little witch? Sounds to me like you're compensating for something," smirked Dean.

Uriel said nothing, but just stared him down until Dean turned back around and walked back over to his siblings.

"We can do this. We will find that witch and we will stop this from happening," said Dean, staring directly at Castiel, who stared right back without blinking.

"Castiel, I will not have these-" began Uriel, raising his voice as he got angrier.

"Enough!" yelled Castiel, never looking away from Dean as he held up a finger to Uriel.

"I suggest you move very quickly," said Castiel.

Dean nodded slightly and he led Alex and Sam out of the motel room, leaving Uriel and Castiel behind them.

Sam twirled the brown hex bag in his hands as they all sat in the Impala. Dean glanced over at him.

"What?" he asked him.

"Nothing, I just… thought they'd be a little bit different. I just… I mean, I thought they'd be righteous or something, you know?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Well, they are very righteous and that's kind of the problem. Of course, there's nothing more dangerous than some asshole who thinks he's on some sort of holy mission," joked Dean.

Sam shrugged and Alex sighed from the backseat.

"But, I mean, this is God and Heaven, and this is what I've been praying to?"

"Look, man, I know you're into the whole God thing, but just because there's a couple of bad apples doesn't mean the whole barrel's rotten, you know? I mean, for all we know, God seriously hates these assholes. Don't give up on this stuff is all I'm trying to say," said Dean.

"Yeah, Sammy. I mean, Babe Ruth was a dick and baseball's still a wonderful game," chimed in Alex from the backseat.

Sam smiled gently and Alex rubbed his shoulder gently for reassurance as Dean started the car. Sam opened the hex bag and picked up the charred bone that they had been finding in every single bag.

"I wonder how much heat it would take to char a bone black like that," asked Alex, lying down in the backseat.

Realization dawned on Sam and he looked back at Alex, a broad smile on his face.

"Alex, you're a flipping genius!" cried out Sam.

Alex's eyebrows pulled together in confusion as she sat back up.

"Um, okay?"

"Dean, drive to the high school. We need to make another stop back in the art room," said Sam.

Dean nodded and began driving over to the local high school, Sam explaining what was happening the entire time.

The three Winchester siblings walked back into the art room, heading for the very back of the room where the pottery kilns were kept. Dean lifted up the kilns' lids, looking for anything suspicious as Sam went through the desk drawers.

"So Tracy used the kiln to char the bones. What's the big deal?" asked Dean, walking back over to the desk when he had found nothing.

"Dean, that hex bag turned up in our room not after we talked to Tracy," said Sam, leaning down to the bottom left drawer.

"After we talked to the teacher," answered Dean, his eyes widening as Sam found a large locked drawer in the bottom left corner.

"Hey," said Sam, holding the lock as he got his siblings' attention.

Both Alex and Dean looked down at the locked desk drawer quickly and then began looking for a way to unlock it. Sam glanced over and saw a hammer lying on the counter behind him. He grabbed it and began hammering away at the metal lock, easily breaking it open after three good hammers. He pulled the drawer open and right on top was a bowl full of non-charred metacarpal newborn baby bones. Alex looked away and hid her head into Dean's chest.

"Oh my God. Those are all from children," whispered Sam, standing up from his crouch and breathing a little heavier from the hammering.

Sam, Dean, and Alex rushed inside of Don's house, running around to find the cellar or the basement. Sam quickly led the way down into the basement. As they walked swiftly but quietly down the stairs, they saw Tracy bound and gagged in the middle of the room. Don was ready to plunge his sharp, long knife into Tracy's chest and just as he brought his arm back to do just that, Sam and Dean began shooting at him, bullets flying everywhere. He fell to the ground after Sam and Dean had each shot him three times. Alex ran over to begin untying Tracy, Sam and Dean following her as they put their guns away back in their jackets. Alex cut Tracy down with her pocketknife as Sam crouched down, checking Don's pulse. Once Tracy was free, she threw off her gag, throwing it to the cement floor. The three siblings stepped back from her, looking at Don down and dead on the floor.

"Oh my gosh, thank you, he was going to kill me!" cried Tracy.

Tracy looked at Don's body on the ground.

"Ugh, that sick son of a bitch!" she yelled, hatred very evident in her tone of voice.

"I mean, did you see what he was doing, did you even hear him?" asked Tracy, her gaze finally turning to the siblings now.

Sam, Dean, and Alex all nodded slowly, Alex grabbing Sam's hand. Sam looked at her strangely as Tracy put her hands on her hips, looking back down at Don's dead body.

"Alex, what is it?" whispered Sam.

"How sloppy was his incantation? My brother always was the dim-"

Tracy trailed off as Dean and Sam reached for their guns, Alex dropping Sam's hand quickly. Tracy said an incantation and flung the three of them across the room, Dean landing on his wrist and groaning in immense pain, holding his arm.

"He was gonna make me the final sacrifice. His idea. But now, that honor goes to him. Our master's return. The spell works a two man job, you understand? So, for 600 hundred years, I had to deal with that pompous, son of a bitch. Planning, preparing, unbearable," said Tracy, crouching down and grabbing the knife from beside her dead brother.

The siblings all squirmed and moaned in pain, not able to get up due to Tracy's incantation on them. Tracy stuck the knife into her brother's chest and grabbed the gold cup from beside his head, squirting the fresh blood from her brother's chest into the gold cup as she talked to the groaning Winchester siblings.

"And then you three come along and just kill him right off the bat with a gun. Ugh, I loved that, I truly did."

Tracy got all of the blood she needed from her dead brother, so she stood up from her crouch, heading over to the table her witch brother had set up.

"You know, back in the day, Halloween was the one night where you actually kept your children inside. Well tonight, you'll all get to see what Halloween really and truly is," finished Tracy, a smile on her face as she placed the gold cup full of her dead brother's blood onto the wooden table, directly in the middle of the table.

She began her long incantation in a different language, Latin exactly. She held the cup up into the air, her eyes closed as she chanted. Sam looked over at her brother's dead body and struggled to scoot himself closer. He finally managed to get near Don's body and he stuck his whole entire palm into Don's blood, wiping it all over his face.

"What in the hell are you doing?" whispered Dean, Alex looking disgusted directly behind them.

"Just trust me, alright?" whispered back Sam.

He stuck his palm back into the blood puddling behind Don's back and wiped some more of it all over Dean's face. Alex managed to scoot herself closer and right in between Sam and Dean, so Sam reached over and gently spread the blood all over her cheeks and forehead. Suddenly, the floor in front of Don's dead body split wide open, a rather large crack forming in the cement floor. Tracy stopped chanting and smiled to herself as a large cloud of black smoke entered the cellar through the huge crack in the cement floor. The crack closed up again once all of the black smoke had entered the cellar. The cloud of black smoke pushed itself into Don's dead body, entering through his open mouth. Don stood up, his eyes a milky white color now and his pupils only tiny black dots in the middle of his white eyes. The Winchester siblings remained motionless behind him as he headed for Tracy's form, which wasn't currently facing him as he stalked towards her slowly. Tracy whirled around, smiling gently as Don walked towards her, only stopping once he was a few feet away from her. He grabbed her, pulled her in close, and cupped her face with his rough and calloused hands, giving her a gentle and small kiss on the lips.

"My love," whispered Tracy, staring up at him.

"You've aged," said Don, his voice gruffer than before.

Tracy looked down in shame and embarrassment.

"This face… I can't fool you," said Tracy, holding his wrists as his hands still held her face.

"Your beauty is beyond time."

Tracy smiled gently again and Don leaned his forehead down towards hers. Once their foreheads were touching, Don twisted her neck around, instantly killing her. Her body fell to the ground and Don looked down at her.

"Whore," he whispered, just staring at her dead body.

He whirled around and walked towards the siblings, who were pretending to be dead on the floor. His vision wasn't very good, so all he could see were their bodies on the ground, not their chests slowly rising and falling with each breath they took. He brushed past them and headed up the stairs and out the front door. They all listened as the front door slam closed and then they slowly turned over, looking at one another.

"What the hell was that?" whispered Dean, looking between his siblings.

"Halloween lore. People used to wear masks to hide from him," answered Alex.

"Samhain," finished Sam.

Sam, Dean, and Alex stepped away from Tracy's house, wiping the blood off of their faces with a red bandanna they had found.

"So now how are gonna find this kook?" asked Dean.

"Well, where would you go to raise all of the dark forces of the night?" asked Sam.

"The cemetery," answered Alex.

"Yep," answered Sam, letting Alex climb into the backseat before he climbed into the passenger seat of the Impala.

Dean drove to the nearest local cemetery, the only sound coming from the engine as he drove. Sam glanced over at Dean, the first one of them to break that silence.

"So this demon's pretty powerful," stated Sam.

Dean scoffed.

"Yep, that's for sure."

Sam took in a deep breath and Alex sat up in the backseat where she had previously been lying down, knowing what Sam was up to.

"It might take more than the usual weapons," continued Sam.

Dean glanced over at him as he drove, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. Sam glanced over at Dean and Alex looked between the two of them, biting her lip nervously and holding her stomach as well, not even realizing she was holding it. Dean sighed and turned his attention back on the road as he spoke.

"Sam, no, you're not using your psychic whatever."

"But-"

"Don't even think about it, Ruby's knife is enough."

"But why?"

"Because the angels said so, for one."

Sam rolled his eyes and looked away from Dean for a split second.

"I thought you said they were a bunch of fanatics, anyway," argued Sam.

"Well, I just so happen to be right about this one," answered Dean.

Sam shook his head.

"I don't know, Dean, it doesn't seem like they're right about much."

"Forget the angels. I mean, you said it yourself, these powers, it's like playing with fire."

Sam sighed and Dean reached over, handing him Ruby's knife as Alex looked on.

"Please," said Dean.

Sam took the knife from Dean's hand and turned his attention back to his passenger side window with a heavy sigh.

The Winchesters ran down into the building of the cemetery where a large group of high school kids were locked in, pulling at the metal gates and screaming as the dead began to rise from their tombs. Sam looked on, wide-eyed.

"Help them," said Sam.

"Sam, you're not going off alone," yelled Dean.

"Just do it!" yelled Sam, running off after Don.

Dean shook his head, but watched as Alex yelled for the kids to move away from the metal gates they were currently grabbing onto. The teenagers all scooted off to the side and Dean took out his gun, shooting the lock on the gate. Alex pulled the gates open and the kids all rushed out, Dean and Alex standing off to the side as they did so.

"Come on, get out. Move!" yelled Dean.

Once all of the kids were gone, he and Alex walked into the shaking room, the dead trying to come out of their tombs. Dean stood in front of Alex, protecting her as two dead men came climbing from their tombs. They stood up straight and the two zombies looked at Dean.

Sam walked down a dark hallway, his eyes narrowing as he spotted Don at the end of the hallway and in a large room. Sam stalked towards him, unafraid, as Don suddenly flung his palm up, a bright white light bursting from it. After a few seconds, the light faded away and Sam was still walking towards Don.

"Yeah, that demon ray gun stuff? Doesn't work on me," said Sam, stopping in the middle of the doorway of the large room.

Don suddenly charged toward Sam, but his vision was still blurry and Sam punched him in the jaw. Don flinched back, so Sam continued punching him anywhere he could reach. After a little while, Don began fighting back and nailed some in the face a few times. He grabbed Sam by the neck and held him up against one wall, Sam beginning to struggle for breath.

Dean stabbed the second zombie in the stomach, laying him flat out on the floor with a grunt. Alex's eyes widened as a woman came up behind Dean. Dean felt a presence behind him, so he whirled around. He tried to stab the woman, but she disappeared quickly and popped up again directly behind him. Dean turned around quickly, but the woman flickered in and out and she flung Dean against the wall as Alex looked on in complete terror. The woman disappeared completely and Dean fell to the floor, gasping for breath as Alex ran towards him helping him stand up straight.

"A zombie ghost orgy, huh?" asked Dean.

"Well, that's it then. We're torching everyone," said Alex.

Dean smiled at her as he brushed himself off.

"That's my baby girl," he beamed.

Sam continued struggling for breath as Don held him against the wall. Don began grunting with the effort it was taking him to hold Sam against the wall. Sam managed to reach into his pocket and grabbed Ruby's knife from one of his jacket pockets. He stabbed Don in the arm with it, but Don just flung the knife off to the side, Sam's eyes widening in disbelief and fear. Don grabbed Sam by the collar of his jacket and flung him across the room into another wall. Sam fell to the floor in a heap, but quickly stood up and brushed himself off. Don stared at him from his place in the doorway before he charged toward him. Sam flung up his palm and squinted his eyes. Don stopped in his steps as Sam began trying to exorcize the demon, Samhain, from Don's body. Sam opened his eyes and tilted his head to the side in his struggle. Samhain fought the exorcism from inside Don's body and began trying to walk forward towards Sam. He would take a few steps, but could never reach Sam. Sam put forth all of his effort to exorcize this large demon from the man's body as Dean and Alex quickly ran around the corner. They stopped at the end of the hallway as they saw Sam trying to exorcize the demon. Sam began groaning with his struggle, his nose bleeding. He glanced over at Dean and Alex, who looked on in shock at her twin brother's actions with one hand over her stomach protectively. Sam looked back at Don and put his free palm over his forehead, a headache forming from his effort to exorcize Samhain from Don's body. Dean and Alex watched as a huge cloud of black smoke came from Don's body and seeped through the floor back into Hell. Sam removed his palm from his forehead as Don's dead body fell to the floor. Sam breathed very heavily as he looked down at Don's body, Dean and Alex still looking at him. Blood dripped from Sam's nose and down over his lips as he finally looked over at his terrified siblings.

Dean sat on a green park bench at the local park the next morning as Castiel appeared on the next bench beside him.

"I am not here to judge you, Dean," began Castiel.

"Then why are you here?" asked Dean.

Castiel sighed.

"Our orders-"

"You know, I've had about enough of these orders of yours."

"Our orders… were not to stop the summoning of Samhain, we were supposed to do whatever you told us to do."

Dean leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and raising his eyebrows.

"You were told to follow my orders."

"It was a test. To see how you would perform under… battlefield conditions, you might say," said Castiel, looking away from Dean.

"It was a witch. Not the ted offensive," said Dean.

Castiel chuckled, a small smile on his face.

"So I, uh, failed your test, huh? I get it. But you know what? If you were to wave that little time traveling wand of yours and we were to do it all over again, I would make the same exact call."

Dean looked over at Castiel, who was looking at him again.

"'Cause I don't know what's gonna happen when these seals are broken, hell, I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. But what I do know is that what's here, these kids, all of it is still here because of me and my brother and sister."

"You misunderstand me, Dean. Not like you think, I was praying that you would choose to save the town."

"You were?" asked Dean, in complete disbelief.

"These people, they're all my Father's creations. They're all works of art. And yet, even though you stopped Samhain, the seal was broken and we are one step closer to unleashing Hell on Earth. That's not an expression, Dean, that's very literal. You of all people should appreciate what that means," said Castiel.

He paused for a few brief seconds before he continued on, talking to Dean.

"Can I tell you something and have you promise not to tell another soul?"

"Okay," answered Dean, raising his eyebrows.

"I have questions, I have… doubts. I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore. Whether you passed or failed here. In the coming months, you'll have more decisions to make. I don't envy the weight that's on your shoulders, Dean. I truly don't."

Castiel looked Dean in the eyes as he said this and Dean looked back for a few minutes. Once Dean broke the eye contact they had, Castiel disappeared. When Dean looked back over to where Castiel had been sitting, he was no longer there. Dean sighed and glanced over at the little kids running around playing on the playground. He smiled sadly and looked over to Alex, who was walking towards him. He stood up and met her halfway, throwing an arm over her shoulder as they walked towards the Impala together.

Alex sighed, rolling over in the bed as she felt something in her stomach. She glanced at the clock, which read 2:53 AM. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and headed for the bathroom, waiting for the nausea to hit her. As she stood in front of the mirror, she grabbed her stomach as immense pain hit her. She fell to her knees in horrible pain, crying out as she fell to the floor. Tears pooled in her eyes as she held her stomach, another wave of pain hitting her. Her tears fell over her eyelids as she cried out again, louder this time. She was hunched over, crying, when Sam ran into the bathroom and fell to his knees beside her. His eyes widened in fear as he took in Alex's position on the floor and he grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him.

"Alex, tell me what's wrong. I don't know what's happening," said Sam.

"Sammy, it's the baby. There's something wrong with the baby," cried out Alex.

Sam nodded and grabbed Alex under her knees, picking her up and holding her to his chest in his arms. Alex cried out in pain once again in Sam's arms and she looked down as she felt liquid running down her legs slowly. She began crying harder when she saw that it was blood. Sam tried to keep Alex calm as her blood began soaking his shirt. He carried her into the motel room and set her down on the bed as he shook Dean awake.

"Dean, please wake up. Something's wrong with Alex and the baby," yelled Sam.

Dean shot straight up and grabbed a shirt from off of the floor, throwing it on as he glanced over at Alex. Alex was sobbing and blood was all over her legs. Dean looked at Sam, who had blood all over his arms, hands, and shirt.

"I'll start the car. Grab Alex and we'll head for the hospital," whispered Dean, his voice gruff with sleep.

Sam nodded and walked back over to Alex, picking her up and holding her to his chest like before. Dean rushed outside and started the Impala, slamming his door closed as he climbed into the driver's seat. Sam quickly rushed outside, gently setting a still crying Alex in the backseat and then climbing in the backseat after her. Dean stepped on the gas, rushing them to the hospital and breaking every speed limit law that had ever been put in place. Dean pulled the car up to the ER's sliding glass front doors ten minutes later, flipping up his seat so Sam could carry Alex out from the backseat. Sam ran inside as the glass doors slid open and three nurses rushed over to him, Alex moaning in his arms.

"What happened?" asked one nurse, waving over a man with a gurney to set Alex on.

"Um, I'm not really sure. She's almost two months pregnant. Please, help her," cried Sam, panting with every deep breath he took.

The nurses nodded and the man arrived with the gurney, placing it directly in front of Sam. Alex held onto Sam's shirt as the nurses tried to get her to let go and place her on the gurney. She was pale from blood loss and Sam easily pried her fingers from his shirt to place her on the gurney. Alex looked at him sadly as the nurses began wheeling her away and Sam's eyes filled with tears.

"Dean and I will be waiting, Alex. We'll be right here, baby girl," called out Sam.

Alex nodded at Sam as the team of nurses rounded the corner, Alex disappearing from Sam's sight. He walked over to the wall and slowly slid down it, bringing his knees up to his chest as he stared at the last place where Alex had been. Sam rested the back of his head on the wall behind him as he looked up at the ceiling, sending a silent prayer up and praying that Alex would be alright. Dean ran into the emergency room then and saw Sam sitting against the wall, Alex's blood covering Sam's arms and shirt. Dean sighed and Sam looked over at him sadly. Dean walked over to Sam, sitting down next to him. The two brothers said nothing as they sat beside one another in companionable silence, watching the nurses and doctors file past them in the almost empty emergency room.


	36. Chapter 36

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think._

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines._

**Chapter 36**

"Mr. Steinway?" called out a man in a white lab coat, his glasses perched on the end of his nose as he looked around the emergency waiting room.

Sam and Dean shot up from their seats, having moved to the waiting room about thirty minutes before. It was currently 4:13 AM and the emergency room was basically empty minus a few patients. The doctor nodded at them as he walked towards the two of them. He took in the blood caked on Sam's arms, hands, and shirt before he looked up at Sam's face.

"Are you Mr. Steinway?" asked the doctor.

Sam nodded.

"We're both Mr. Steinway. Our sister is the one you've been taking care of," answered Sam.

The doctor glanced over at Dean through his glasses, nodding his head in understanding.

"Well, your sister is going to be fine," he said.

Dean and Sam both let out large sighs of relief and Sam sent up a silent prayer of thanks. Dean cleared his throat and looked at the doctor.

"And the baby?" asked Dean.

Sam's gaze zeroed in on the doctor's face as he sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, boys, but the baby didn't make it. Your sister suffered a miscarriage."

Sam nodded sadly and Dean turned around, his face an emotionless mask.

"Dean?" asked Sam, turning around to watch as Dean began walking away.

Dean didn't answer as he walked over to the wall. He stood against the wall as he suddenly began punching it, leaving a large hole in the wall. Sam's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up as he rushed over, grabbing Dean's arm as he tried to punch the wall again.

"Dean! Dean, calm down, buddy," urged Sam.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" yelled Dean.

Sam nodded and let go of Dean's arm as the doctor watched them interact. Once Sam was sure Dean wouldn't punch the wall again, he walked back over to the doctor, giving him a tired smile.

"I'm sorry about that, Doctor. Is Alex alright, can we see her?" asked Sam.

The doctor smiled at him.

"Don't worry about the hole in the wall, we'll get it fixed. You'd be surprised how often that actually happens. And yes, your sister is doing fine. She's probably sleeping, but she'll be ready to go home later today actually. She did lose an awful lot of blood, but you two should be able to take her home later this afternoon," said the doctor.

Sam nodded, smiling over at him and the doctor placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Everything's going to be alright, son."

The doctor brushed past Sam and headed over for the nurses' station. Sam looked over at Dean, who was looking over at him.

"C'mon, Dean. Let's go see our little sister."

Dean nodded and pushed himself off of the wall, following Sam down the hall and around the corner to Alex's hospital room.

Sam peeked his head around Alex's hospital room door and smiled when he saw that she was wide awake. Alex smiled gently over at him and Sam and Dean walked into the room, taking a seat on either side of her. Dean leaned over and kissed her forehead before sitting down. Sam grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently.

"Hey there, little sis," whispered Dean, staring at Alex's still pale face.

"Hi," whispered Alex, her throat sore and scratchy as she talked to her siblings.

"How are you doing? You feeling better?" asked Sam.

Alex looked over at him, shrugging her shoulders.

"I'm doing alright. As alright as a woman can be when she loses her baby," answered Alex.

Dean winced and Alex reached her hand out, stroking his cheek gently as she smiled gratefully at him. Dean melted into her touch, closing his eyes.

"How can you be alright? It's not fair that bad things keep happening to you, Alex! You should be allowed to have a family, have a husband. You shouldn't be a hunter."

"Shh, Dean, it's okay. I'm okay. I mean, sure, I'm sad, but these things happen for a reason. I just wasn't ready for a baby yet and neither was Kellan. I'm meant to be here, with you two losers," joked Alex.

Sam rolled his eyes as Alex struggled to laugh, coughing every time she tried. She eventually got the hang of it though and smiled gently at her brothers. Dean sighed and stood up from his chair, standing at the bottom of Alex's bed. Alex looked over at him.

"You're so strong," said Sam, looking at Alex admiringly.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"I have to be strong to be around you two. I promise you, though, I'm gonna be fine. These things happen every single day and when it's meant to be, it will happen."

Sam smiled at his twin sister and leaned over, kissing her cheek gently. Dean smiled at her too, grateful that she was alive. Alex chuckled and Sam looked at her funny.

"Alex, why are you laughing right now?" asked Sam.

Alex smiled over at him and Dean.

"I know I'm going to have to call Kellan eventually. But do you remember when my first serious boyfriend dumped me?" she asked.

Sam chuckled and Dean smiled.

"Ah, good old Scotty James. Yeah, he dumped you after you wouldn't have sex with him, right?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded.

"You two were on a hunt with Dad and I was home alone. Dean, I called you at three in the morning, crying because Scotty had just dumped me. And you woke Sammy up and told me you two would be there soon. Which didn't make any sense because you were all the way in Georgia and I was in Lawrence," said Alex, smiling at her older brothers.

Sam laughed.

"And you stopped crying and were so serious when you said to me, 'You're in a different state, Dean,'" said Dean.

Alex laughed, a large smile on her face as she looked at her brothers.

"And then you told me, 'It's called a plane ticket. Now, where does this asshole live?' I still can't believe you beat him up," said Alex, laughing.

Sam shook his head, laughing along with his siblings.

"Yeah, that little asshole deserved it! No one treats my baby sister like that," said Dean.

Sam nodded in agreement with Dean.

"Dean and I took care of him, little sis. We'll always take care of you," vowed Sam.

Alex nodded and she motioned for Sam to come closer. Sam obliged and Alex kissed his cheek. Sam sat back down in his chair and squeezed his twin sister's hand reassuringly. Alex sighed deeply.

"Now, I guess I should break the news to Kellan, huh?" asked Alex.

Sam and Dean exchanged a quick glance while Alex looked at them curiously, her head cocked to the side.

"Guys, what did you do?" asked Alex.

"Well, we might have already called Kellan," answered Sam.

"Let me guess. He's already on his way here, isn't he?"

Dean nodded.

"In fact, he should be here in…"

Dean trailed off as Kellan burst into the room, his chest rising and falling as he stood in the doorway. Kellan looked over at Alex sadly and Alex smiled faintly back at him.

"Hi, honey," whispered Alex.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry," said Kellan, striding over to Alex's bedside and grabbing her hand.

Kellan kissed Alex gently on the lips before he plopped down into the chair beside Alex's bedside that Dean had previously been sitting in. He put his head down next to her hand and Alex stroked the back of his head lovingly, whispering to him. Sam looked over at Dean, nodding his head towards the door and Dean nodded back.

"Okay, little sis, that's our cue. Sammy and I will be back to get you from this God forsaken place later this afternoon," said Dean.

Alex nodded and waved over at them.

"Sammy, get yourself cleaned up. I don't like seeing my blood all over you," said Alex.

Sam looked down at his blood covered clothes and nodded.

"I'm on it, baby sister."

Sam and Dean left the room as Kellan and Alex began talking.

A few hours later, Alex stood by her hospital bed, ready to leave. Sam and Dean were loading her things into the Impala as Kellan walked with Alex down the hallways of the hospital.

"Did the doctor say why you had a miscarriage?" asked Kellan, looking down at Alex.

Alex nodded sadly.

"He said my uterus is abnormally shaped. I guess the embryo can't implant or doesn't get the nourishment it needs to survive once it's actually implanted. It's also fairly common, apparently," answered Alex.

Kellan nodded and tightened his hold on Alex's waist.

"Well, I'm really sorry, baby. Are you sure you're okay?"

Alex looked at Kellan and then down to her flat stomach. She looked out in front of her and saw her brothers walking towards her. She looked back up at Kellan again as they stopped walking, waiting for Sam and Dean to reach the two of them.

"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be," said Alex.

Kellan smiled and pulled Alex in closer, breathing in her scent and placing a kiss on the top of her head. Sam and Dean had reached the two of them then and they smiled at the young couple, Dean's smile very forced as Sam nudged his elbow to get him to smile at all. Kellan finally let Alex go and kissed her lips until Dean cleared his throat. Kellan chuckled as he pulled away from Alex. Alex gave him one last peck on the lips before waving good bye and walking out of the hospital with her brothers on either side of her, Kellan waving goodbye until they had climbed into the Impala and disappeared onto the interstate.

Two nights later, Dean, Sam, and Alex were at a bar, Dean downing three shots of tequila in one minute. Alex and Sam looked at him.

"It just doesn't make any sense, Dean. I mean, why would Uriel tell me you remembered Hell if you didn't?" asked Sam.

Alex sighed as Sam went on about the visit Uriel had given him a few weeks ago, claiming that Dean remembered his time in Hell even though Dean had told his siblings that he remembered nothing from his time in Hell. Alex rolled her eyes and grabbed Dean's fourth and final shot. She tossed it back, Dean glaring at her and Sam not even noticing.

"Maybe because he's a dick, that might have something to do with it," answered Dean.

Alex chuckled and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Okay, maybe, but he's still an angel," argued Sam.

"Yeah, an angel who was willing to get rid of an entire town. Look, Sam, honestly, I have no idea why Uriel told you what he told you, alright?"

Sam nodded, looking at Dean.

"Right. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't remember a single thing from your time down under," said Sam, staring at Dean's face.

Alex looked over at Dean as well, biting her lip nervously. Dean rolled his eyes, but stared at Sam's face, smirking.

"I don't remember a thing from my time down under. I don't remember, Sam!"

"Look, Dean, Alex and I just wanna help."

"Whoa, don't drag me into this mess. If Dean says he doesn't remember his time in Hell, then I certainly believe him," said Alex, smiling over at her oldest brother.

Dean winked at her and gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to Sam.

"Look, Dean, I just want to help you."

"You know everything I do, okay? That's all there is," whispered Dean.

Sam sighed.

"Alright, so where do we go from here?" asked Alex, smiling at her brothers.

"Um, I'm not sure," said Sam, reaching down and searching through his backpack as he spoke.

"Looks like it's been pretty quiet lately, no signs of demon activity, no omens I can see."

Sam opened his laptop as Dean took a drink from his beer.

"Well, there's some good news for once," said Dean.

"Yeah, just your typical smattering of UFO sightings and one possible vengeful spirit. Here, check this out," said Sam, handing his computer over to Dean.

Dean grabbed the computer and looked at the article Sam had brought up as Alex walked around the table to sit next to Dean, looking at the article as well.

"Um, up in Concrete, Washington, eyewitness reports of a ghost that's been haunting the showers of a women's health facility," explained Sam.

Dean choked on the beer he was drinking and Alex and Sam chuckled. Dean wiped his face off with his palm as he set his beer glass back down.

"The victim claims the ghost threw her down a flight of stairs," said Sam, watching as Dean shut the laptop.

"I can see you're very interested," said Alex, rolling her eyes and walking back around the table to her first seat next to Sam.

Dean nodded, pulling out his wallet and throwing a wad of bills on top of the check on the top of the checkered tablecloth.

"Women. Showers. We've gotta save these people," said Dean.

Sam and Alex rolled their eyes, but followed Dean out the front doors of the bar, heading for Concrete, Washington.

Dean drove the car through the little tiny town of Concrete, Washington, looking for the Chinese restaurant. He spotted it on the right side of the street, so he pulled over, letting Sam and Alex out. They waved him off and Dean pulled away from the curb, heading for the motel in town. Sam opened the door for Alex and followed her inside the Chinese restaurant, the bell over the door chiming as they walked inside. They spotted the woman they were there to see sitting at a table next to the giant wishing well in the middle of the restaurant. She smiled sweetly at them and waved them over. Sam and Alex sat down at the table and the woman sat down across from them.

"I mean, I'm not surprised the spirit world tried to get in touch with me. I'm something of a… natural sensitive," said the woman.

Alex picked up her water glass, rolling her eyes as Sam nodded his head, playing along with the woman.

"I can sense that about you, Candice. The whole… sensitive thing."

Candice smiled flirtatiously at Sam and Alex gagged behind her water glass. Candice shot her a glare and Alex smirked. Sam nudged Alex's leg under the table and Alex shot Sam a look.

"So, what did you say you were calling your book again?" asked Candice, looking back at Sam and smiling flirtatiously at him once again.

"Oh. Well, um, the working title is… _Supernatural._ Yeah, I've been crossing the country, gathering all kinds of stories like yours, but anyway, you were telling me about your encounter," said Sam.

Candice nodded, shooting Alex one last glare before looking at Sam and telling her story.

"Yes. Well, once I saw the apparition, that's when I started to run," said Candice.

Sam and Alex tuned her out as they heard a noise from somewhere beside them. They glanced over and saw a very nerdy looking, middle-aged man sitting at a table a few rows away from them. He was holding hands with a supermodel gorgeous woman and they leaned forward, making out across the table. Alex's eyebrows rose and so did Sam's. Candice glanced over at the couple too, glaring at them. Sam and Alex exchanged a curious glance before Sam cleared his throat, looking back at Candice once again.

"And you said the, uh, ghost chased you?" asked Sam, getting back on track.

"Not just that! It knew my name. It kept yelling, 'Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Armstrong!' And that's when I hit the stairs and fell," said Candice, looking down at the floor and leaning back in her chair.

"So you fell. The ghost didn't push you," smirked Alex.

"Oh, I don't… I don't know. I mean, I think it did. Maybe."

"Did you feel like it meant to hurt you, like it was violent?" asked Sam.

Candice scoffed.

"It was a ghost! I'm lucky to even be alive right now. Anyway, I was at the bottom of the stairs and… that's when it got weird," whispered Candice.

Sam and Alex raised their eyebrows and Candice chuckled, looking around the restaurant as she leaned in closer to them.

"It helped me up."

"Um, say again?" asked Sam.

Candice nodded, her eyebrows raised as well.

"Yeah, it helped me up. And it kept saying over and over, 'Please, don't tell my mom.'"

Sam and Alex exchanged another curious glance before they both looked over at Candice again.

"Yeah, that's weird," said Sam and Alex, at the same exact time.

Sam and Alex walked up to Dean, who was sitting on the steps outside of the women's health facility, which was currently closed, and flipping through the local newspaper. Dean looked up at them as they approached.

"Well, did you pick up anything?" asked Sam.

Dean folded the newspaper in half and held it in his hands.

"No EMF in the shower or anywhere else. This house is clean," said Dean, standing up and stepping off of the steps.

"Yeah, I'm not surprised. I kind of got the feeling back there that _crazy_ pushed Mrs. Armstrong down the stairs," said Sam.

Alex nodded in agreement and Dean chuckled.

"I gotta tell you, I'm pretty disappointed," whined Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and Sam smirked. They reached the bridge where a hoard of adolescent boys ran past the three of them, one little boy being chased by the other six little boys.

"Run, Forrest, run!" yelled Dean, sticking the folded up newspaper in his jacket as they all watched the little boys.

"Sorry, Dean, but I don't think anything's going on around here," said Sam.

Dean looked down the bridge and saw an older man talking to a police officer in the middle of the bridge. He stopped Sam from walking forward and pointed out the two men farther down the bridge.

"Something's going on," said Dean.

The three siblings walked towards the two men, listening to the conversation as they got closer. Once they were only a few feet away, they began pulling out their fake federal badges.

"It was Bigfoot, Hal!" yelled the older man, throwing his arms around in his tirade to the police officer.

"Excuse us," said Sam.

The man turned around and backed up until he was standing next to the police officer. He looked at all of their badges.

"FBI," said Sam.

"What?" asked the police officer, looking very confused as the three siblings began putting their badges back into their pockets.

"Yes, sir, we're here about the, um… that," said Sam, nodding towards the older man.

"About Bigfoot?" asked the officer, the disbelief in his voice coloring his tone.

"Right. Sir, could you tell me, exactly, where this happened?" asked Sam, the three siblings turning their attention to the older man, who had his arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the three of them.

"Yes, I can," answered the man.

"What the hell's going on in this town? First there's a ghost that's not real and now a Bigfoot sighting?" asked Dean, walking through the woods with Sam and Alex.

"Everyone knows Bigfoot's a hoax," said Alex.

"Yeah, maybe someone's pumping LSD into the town's water supply," suggested Dean, ducking his head to avoid getting hit by a tree branch.

Sam and Alex chuckled, smirking as they stepped into a clearing. Their smirks quickly faded as they saw giant white footprints embedded into the soil of the forest. The three siblings each cocked their heads to the side in utter confusion as they stared down at the abnormally large footprints.

"Okay. Well, what do you suppose made that?" asked Alex.

"That… uh… is a big foot," said Sam.

Dean and Alex nodded and they followed the rather large footprints all the way through the small forest. At the edge of the forest, they looked across the way and saw an old metal bridge, rust covering half of the bridge. A building was next to the bridge, so the siblings walked over to the bridge, crossing it to get to the older building. They reached the building and saw a door ripped clean from its hinges and the same large footprints leading up the three small steps, through the door, and into the building.

"Okay," said Dean, looking at his siblings.

Both Alex and Sam shrugged their shoulders, so they walked up the same path as the footprints, stepping into the back of a small liquor store. They walked further into the abandoned store to see a mess in front of the cash register. Popcorn was spilled all over the floor with bottles of vodka and whiskey lying broken and trashed all over the floor as well. Dean, Sam, and Alex carefully stepped over them.

"So what, Bigfoot breaks into an old liquor store?" asked Dean.

Dean began looking at the bottles of liquor on the shelves behind the cash register as Sam and Alex drifted down the other, smaller aisles. Sam scoffed when he saw the miniscule magazine collection.

"Hey. Check this out," called out Sam.

Alex and Dean walked over to him, standing behind him as they inspected the magazines. Alex looked confused.

"I'm not really understanding what's missing," she asked.

"He took the whole porno rack?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Sam nodded and Alex rolled her eyes.

"Jesus. Boys," she mumbled under her breath.

Sam reached over and pulled out a large patch of what looked like brown fur from the magazine rack, holding it in his fingers.

"Eww," whispered Alex.

"I'll say it again. What the hell is going on in this town?" asked Dean.

Sam, Dean, and Alex sat outside of the liquor store. They said nothing, just sitting in silence and thinking of what this monster could possibly be.

"I got nothing," said Dean, finally breaking the long silence.

"I mean, it's gotta be a joke, right? Some big ass mother fucker in a gorilla suit?" asked Sam, looking at Dean and Alex.

"Or it's a Bigfoot," answered Alex, nodding her head.

Sam and Dean looked at her strangely and Alex just shrugged.

"What? I'm just throwing out ideas," said Alex, leaning back on the bench and crossing her arms across her chest in frustration.

As the three siblings sat on the bench outside of the liquor store, a little girl rode past them on her bike, a basket attached to the front of the little girl's bike. A huge gust of wind blew past at that exact moment and a magazine fell from the girl's basket. The siblings looked at the girl and then down at the magazine. The magazine had a naked Asian supermodel on the front of it and the magazine was titled, "Busty Asian Beauties." The three of them stood up, walking over to the magazine lying on the ground. Dean crouched down and picked it up, nodding appreciatively at the cover. Alex rolled her eyes and snatched it from his hands, rolling it up and sticking it under her armpit.

"She's a little too young for 'Busty Asian Beauties', don't you think?" asked Alex, looking towards place where the little girl had ridden past them on her bike.

The siblings walked down the path the little girl had ridden down. After only a few feet, they saw the little girl place a box full of porn magazines and alcohol bottles down on the front steps of the liquor store. A note on the top of the box read "Sorry". The little girl grabbed her bike and pedaled away from the store. Once she had reached the middle of the bridge on her bike, the siblings peeked their heads around the corner, making sure the coast was clear. They stepped out from the behind the back of the store and stared after the little girl curiously.

"Well, I guess we better find that little girl and talk to her," said Alex.

Sam and Dean nodded beside her.

Dean pulled the car up to a medium-sized, brown house in a suburb. The little girl's bike was sitting right out front of the house, leaning against the rock wall that surrounded the front yard of her house. Dean, Alex, and Sam climbed out of the Impala and walked up the stone path to the front door of the brown house. Dean rapped his knuckled on the front door three times. Since the door was paneled with glass, they watched as the little girl unlocked and opened the front door for the three of them.

"Hello?" she asked curiously.

Alex smiled down at the little girl, her hair done up in pigtails and her overalls covering her tiny frame.

"Hello! Um, could we… You know what, are your parents home?" asked Sam.

Dean smiled awkwardly at the little girl and Alex rolled her eyes.

"Nope," said the little girl, shaking her head.

"No, of course not," grumbled Dean.

Alex hit his shoulder and Dean looked at her. Alex smiled at the little girl and crouched down to be at her eye level.

"Have you seen a furry-" began Alex, but the little girl gasped as if she was scared or worried.

"Is he in trouble?" cried the little girl, her bottom lip beginning to tremble.

Sam and Dean exchanged curious glances behind Alex's head.

"No! No, no, no, not at all. We just wanted to make sure that he was alright," said Alex.

"Exactly," said Dean, smiling awkwardly at the small child.

"Oh, well, he's my teddy bear. I think he's sick," whispered the little girl.

The siblings were silent for a few moments as they processed this information.

"Wow. Um, amazing. 'Cause you know what, we are, um, teddy bear doctors," said Dean, holding out his health inspector badge.

Sam and Alex did the same, Alex standing back up from her crouched position. Sam made a weird, smiling face at the little girl as he held up his badge and Alex looked at him strangely.

"Really? Can you please take a look at him?" pleaded the small little girl, her girlish voice endearing to Alex.

Sam and Dean shrugged as they put away their badges. Alex chuckled as she too put away her health inspector badge.

"Sure. Of course," said Sam.

The little girl nodded and whirled around, heading into her house. The siblings followed her as she led them up the stairs. They rounded the corner at the top of the stairs and the little girl looked back at them while they walked down the hallway.

"He's in my bedroom. He's pretty grumpy," she said.

They reached the second door in the hallway and the little girl knocked on the door of her bedroom. The siblings stood behind her as she waited for an answer.

"Teddy? There's some nice doctors here to see you," she called out, knocking another time on the bedroom door.

After there wasn't a response, the little girl reached out, grabbed the metal doorknob, and turned it. The door slowly swung open and the Winchester siblings took in the weirdest site they had ever seen. A giant brown teddy bear was chugging a bottle of straight whiskey while sitting on the little girl's bed. The television was blaring and the teddy bear glared over at them.

"Close the freaking door!" he yelled.

The little girl sighed, but closed the door slowly and the teddy bear turned back to watching his television show. The little girl looked up at the three of them.

"See what I mean?" asked the little girl.

Sam, Dean, and Alex all looked at one another, all of their eyes wide.

"All I ever wanted was a teddy, which was big, real, and talked. But now he's sad all of the time. Not ouch sad, but ouch in the head sad, does weird stuff, and he smells like the bus," whined the little girl.

Dean nodded, trying to form words to say to this small child.

"Um, little girl-"

"Audrey!" snapped the little girl.

"Audrey. How exactly did your teddy bear become real?" asked Dean.

Audrey just shrugged as if the answer were the simplest thing in the entire world.

"I wished for it."

"You wished for it?" asked Sam.

"At the wishing well," explained Audrey.

Dean looked at Sam and Alex. Alex nodded and smiled down at the child.

"Audrey, give us a second, alright?" said Alex.

Audrey nodded and Alex, Sam, and Dean turned around to have a private conversation. They walked a few steps down the hall and away from Audrey.

"Are we… should we, um… are we gonna kill this teddy bear?" whispered Sam.

"How, Sam, how? We shoot it, burn it?" asked Dean.

"I don't know," said Sam, glancing back at Audrey quickly.

"Both?" suggested Alex, shrugging her shoulders.

"How do we even know that's gonna work, I mean I don't want some giant, flaming pissed off teddy bear on our hands," said Dean.

"Besides, I get the feeling that the bear isn't really our core problem here," whispered Sam.

Alex and Dean nodded. Sam turned back around to look at Audrey.

"Audrey. Where are your parents?" asked Sam.

"My mom wished they were in Bali, so… I think they're in Bali," answered Audrey.

Alex scoffed while Dean raised his eyebrows. Sam looked at the child, still looking confused.

"Okay, well, I'm… I'm really sorry to have to break this to you, but your bear is sick. Yeah, he's… he's got…," Sam trailed off as he tried to think up a fake disease.

Alex and Dean looked at Sam's face and Dean quickly swooped in for the save.

"He's got lollipop disease," answered Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep, lollipop disease," said Alex.

"It's not uncommon for a bear his size. But see, it's really contagious," explained Dean.

"Yeah, so is there someone, maybe a grown-up that you can stay with while we treat him?" asked Sam, sticking his hands in his jeans pockets.

"Mrs. Hurley lives just down the street," said Audrey.

"Perfect!" exclaimed Alex, clapping her hands together in excitement.

Dean and Sam just stared at her strangely and Alex shrugged.

"Great," said Dean, looking at Audrey once again.

"Yeah, good. Um, we'd like you to stay there for a few days, okay?" asked Sam, gently smiling at the little girl.

Audrey nodded.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Oh, and, um, Audrey? Where is this wishing well?" asked Alex.

Sam, Dean, and Alex walked into the Chinese restaurant once again. They headed for the wishing well located in the middle of the large room, a small boy brushing past them as they made their way inside. They didn't give the child a second glance as he moved past them.

"Think it works?" asked Dean, looking into the clear water of the wishing well.

"Better explanation for teddy back there?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded and dug through his pockets, looking for some loose change.

"Well, there's only one way to find out," said Dean.

"What are you gonna wish for?" asked Alex, nodding to the pennies resting in his open palm.

"Shh," said Dean, throwing a penny into the wishing well.

"I'm not supposed to tell," said Dean, sticking all of his change back into his pocket.

The door chimed behind them as a delivery man walked inside the Chinese restaurant.

"Did somebody order a foot-long Italian with extra jalapenos?" asked the delivery man, his eyes looking around the room as he held up the large sandwich.

"That'd be me," said Dean, staring at his siblings as he slowly raised his hand for the delivery man to see.

The delivery man nodded and began walking towards him while Sam and Alex just shook their heads slowly.

Dean took a large bite out of the second half of his foot-long sandwich as he sat in a booth across from Sam and Alex. Dean looked over his sandwich as he swallowed the bite that was currently in his mouth.

"I think it works, guys. I mean, I was pretty specific about what I wanted on this sandwich," said Dean.

Alex shook her head.

"The teddy bear, the sandwich…," Alex trailed off as Dean began searching through his jacket.

Dean pulled out the newspaper he had been reading earlier that morning. The front page showed a black and white picture of a local man who had won the $68 million lottery.

"I'm guessing this too," said Dean, holding up the picture.

"I'm guessing that," said Sam, nodding to the couple seated across from the three of them.

The couple was the same couple Sam and Alex had seen earlier, the nerd and the supermodel. Dean watched as the woman fed the man a piece of sushi straight from her chopsticks, giggling as she did so.

"Oh, that definitely goes on the list," said Dean.

Dean stuffed the newspaper back into his jacket.

"What are we supposed to do? Stop people's wishes from coming true? I mean, that sounds like kind of a douchey thing to do," said Dean, taking another bite from his sandwich.

Alex sighed.

"Yeah, maybe. But c'mon, Dean, when does something like this ever come without a price tag? And usually a deadly one," said Alex.

Dean looked down at his sandwich as he chewed.

"Hmm, I don't know. This is a damn good sandwich."

Sam and Alex stared at him, so Dean finally put down his sandwich.

"Alright, fine. We'll put a hold on this wishing well until we figure out what's wrong," said Dean.

Their waiter approached their table and the three siblings looked up at him as he approached.

"Um, I'm sorry, but we don't allow people to eat outside food in here," explained the waiter, pointing to Dean's sandwich.

"Well, I'm most certainly not going to eat the… inside food here," said Dean.

The Chinese man looked confused as Dean reached inside his jacket, looking for the right badge to pull out and show the man. Alex and Sam smiled at the man and began searching for the same badges as Dean. They all held up their health inspector badges and the Chinese man crouched down to read the fine print on Dean's badge.

"Health department. You, my friend, have a rat infestation," explained Dean, putting away his badge.

"We're gonna have to shut this place down under emergency hazard… code… 56, um, C!" said Dean, making the code up as he went along.

"Rats?!" yelled the man.

Dean nodded sadly.

A few hours later, Dean swiped the coins at the bottom of the wishing well into the bucket he was holding in his free hand.

"Well, there's nothing but a plaster Buddha here," said Dean, standing up from his crouched position.

"Yes, nothing! We keep a clean place here," said the Chinese man.

"Sir, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave during the preliminary investigation," said Sam, putting a hand on the man's shoulders.

The Chinese man looked at Sam and Sam smiled gently. The man glared at Dean one final time before walking out through the kitchen in the back. Sam shook his head at the fountain and Dean threw him a coin, watching as it flipped through the air until Sam caught it.

"Aww, c'mon, Sammy. Aren't you just a little bit tempted?" asked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Dean, leave him alone," she said.

Sam chuckled a little bit, smiling.

"No. Wouldn't be real, wouldn't trust it," said Sam, handing Dean back his coin.

Dean took back the coin, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head.

"I don't know, that bear seemed pretty real. Alex, you wanna give it a try?"

Alex shook her head and pointed to Sam.

"I'm with my twin on this one, Dean. Sorry."

Dean smiled, nodding.

"Now, c'mon. If you could wish yourself back to before it all started. Think about it. Sam, you'd be some big, yuppie lawyer with a nice car and a white picket fence," said Dean.

Sam laughed and Dean looked at Alex.

"And Alex, you'd have kids running around in your front yard. Hell, you'd probably have a house right next door to Sam's over here."

Alex laughed and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"Nah, that's not what I'd wish for," said Sam, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Seriously?" asked Dean, in complete disbelief.

Sam nodded and so did Alex.

"It's way too late to go back to our old lives, Dean. I'm not that guy anymore," said Sam.

Dean nodded in understanding.

"Alright, well what then? Hmm? What would Sammy wish for?" asked Dean.

Alex looked up at Sam as well, curious as to what his answer would be.

Sam paused for a few seconds before answering. He looked down into the empty fountain.

"Lilith's head on a plate. Bloody."

"Okay," said Dean, nodding as he too looked down into the empty wishing well.

Alex looked down at the coins as well, but cocked her head to the side when she saw a strange looking coin in the bottom. She crouched down and pushed some pennies out of the way to see the larger coin better.

"That's some kind of old coin," said Sam, crouching down next to his twin sister.

Dean crouched down as well.

"I don't recognize the markings," said Alex, looking at the coin.

"Yeah, me neither," replied Sam.

Dean reached in and began trying to pry the coin off of the bottom of the wishing well. The coin wouldn't budge and Dean's fingers began to hurt with the effort he was exerting.

"Damn it," said Dean, pulling at the coin.

"Lift with your legs," joked Sam.

Dean gave him a fleeting glance as he kept trying to remove the coin. He groaned as he let go, the coin still stuck to the bottom of the wishing well.

"What, is that little mother fucker welded on there? Jesus," groaned Dean.

Sam and Alex looked over at him curiously.

Sam and Dean walked back into the Chinese restaurant with a crowbar and a sledgehammer. The older Chinese man at the front of the restaurant watched them as they passed by, headed for the wishing well. Alex stood at the well, waiting for them. The Chinese man threw up his hands in frustration and followed Sam and Dean to the wishing well. Dean threw his duffel bag to the side of the well as he bent down, getting the crowbar near the coin. He began pushing on the crowbar, trying to get the coin unstuck, but nothing was happening.

"Hey, what are you doing? You're gonna break my fountain!" cried the Chinese man, standing directly behind them now.

"Sir, you should probably head back to the front now," said Alex, giving the man one of her thousand watt smiles and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

The man looked at Alex, a light blush covering his face as Alex smiled warmly at him. Sam rolled his eyes and the man quickly retreated back to the front of the restaurant, Alex turning back to face her brothers. Dean stood up and reached his hand out towards Sam, indicating that he would like to use the sledgehammer now.

"Hey, give me that. I've got an idea," said Dean.

Sam and Alex watched as Dean took the sledgehammer from Sam's hands. He placed his crowbar down at just an angle so that he could easily hit it with his sledgehammer. Once the crowbar was in place, Dean looked over at his siblings, smirking at them. Sam and Alex watched as Dean brought the sledgehammer down on the crowbar, hard. But instead of the coin coming off the bottom of the fountain, the top of the sledgehammer came flying off. It flew through the air and landed right at the Chinese man's feet. Dean looked at the splintered piece of wood he now held in his hands while Sam and Alex stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Damn!" yelled Dean.

"That coin's magical," said Sam, quickly glancing down at the coin.

"Yeah, I'll say," whispered Alex, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I think it's hoodoo that's protecting this well," said Dean, still holding the splintered piece of wood.

"I don't think we're gonna be able to destroy this," said Alex.

Dean nodded in agreement, throwing the piece of wood and the crowbar off to the side of the wishing well. He and Alex watched as Sam crouched down and held a small piece of notebook paper over the top of the large coin. He took out a pencil and traced the coin onto the piece of paper.

"Alright. Here," said Sam, standing up and holding the paper out to Alex, who took it.

"You gotta look into this," finished Sam.

"Where the hell are you going?" asked Dean.

"Well, something just occurred to me," said Sam.

He began walking out of the restaurant, Alex and Dean watching him leave. Alex looked at the piece of paper in her hands and sighed.

Sam walked into the woman's health facility, heading straight for the showers. He barged right in, noticing that a woman clad only in a towel was brushing her hair. Sam looked down and spotted the wet footprints on the tile floor. Sam reached out and grabbed the invisible teenage boy by the shoulder, whirling the kid around to face him. The kid became visible then, looking away from Sam's face, embarrassed since he was currently naked. He had flaming red hair and freckles dotted his cheeks and nose. The woman gasped as she spotted Sam and the teenager from the reflection in the mirror.

"What?" asked the teenager, looking to the side and avoiding Sam's gaze.

"Don't worry, ma'am. I'm with the health department," said Sam, holding up his fake health inspector badge once he let go of the kid's shoulder.

The woman grabbed her clothes and things and quickly ran out of the room, holding onto her towel as she did so. Sam watched her leave, putting his badge back into his jacket pocket. Once she was gone and Sam heard the doors swing close, he turned back to the teenager, clearing his throat as he adjusted his jacket lapels.

"So you can turn it on and off, huh?" asked Sam.

"How did you know that I was…?"

"You actually walked up to a wishing well, dropped a dime, and wished to be invisible so you could spy on women in the shower?" asked Sam.

The ginger haired teenager shook his head, laughing awkwardly and uncomfortably as he held his hands over his genitals.

"No, no. That's just crazy," said the kid.

Sam sighed and looked over the kid's shoulder and at the wall of mirrors and sinks.

"Put on some pants, kid. And stay visible."

The kid stared at Sam, so Sam raised his eyebrows and pointed towards the door. Sam shook his head as the kid left.

Dean and Alex were walking down the street when they saw three young boys running away from one other boy. The three boys running away were much bigger and taller than the boy they were running from. Alex tilted her head to the side in thought as she realized that she recognized the much smaller boy chasing after the other three boys. He was the kid they had seen a few days earlier, who was being chased across the bridge.

"You better run!" he yelled, watching as the three taller boys ran across the empty street.

The smaller boy stopped and stared directly at Dean and Alex.

"You two got a problem?" he asked.

Alex scoffed as Dean looked taken aback by the kid's attitude and question.

"What? No," said Dean, looking confused.

The kid took off running again, crossing the still empty street. Alex looked at Dean, her eyebrows raised.

"What the hell was that about?" she asked.

Dean just shrugged and they took a few more steps forward. Dean stopped as he felt a strange rumbling in his stomach. He put a hand on his stomach as it began making strange noises. Dean grimaced in pain.

"Dean?" asked Alex, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Dean looked disgusted as he held his stomach and Alex's eyes widened in confusion.

Sam unlocked the motel room door, sticking his key in his pocket as he stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. He looked over at the bed to see Alex sitting on one bed, grimacing in disgust. He grimaced as well when he heard the sounds of Dean vomiting coming from the bathroom.

"Dean?" he called out.

Sam and Alex heard Dean cough loudly before the water began running from the bathroom sink. Dean retched again and Alex sighed, lying back on the bed in frustration.

"You alright?" asked Sam.

Sam heard Dean retch a third time and then the water shut off.

"The wishes turn bad, Sammy," said Dean, his voice scratchy and weak.

"The wishes turn very bad," said Dean, beginning to throw up once again.

Sam chuckled sarcastically and Alex groaned, throwing a large pillow over her face.

"Sandwich, huh?" asked Sam.

Sam heard the toilet flush and Dean opened the bathroom door, wiping a white hand towel over his face and mouth especially. He nodded, breathing very heavily from his throwing up.

"The coin is Babylonian. It's cursed. Alex and I found some fragments of a legend," said Dean.

He stood in the bathroom doorway for a few more seconds before he made more gagging noises. He headed back into the bathroom and Alex sat up, shoving the pieces of paper and articles about the coin towards Sam. Sam walked over to the bed and sat down next to Alex. Alex laid down on her stomach and watched as Sam picked up some articles, quickly flipping through them.

"The serpent is Tiamet, which is the Babylonian god of chaos. I guess her priests were working some very serious black magic," explained Alex.

"And they made the coin?" asked Sam, looking at his twin sister.

Alex nodded.

"Yeah, to, um, sow the seeds of chaos. Whoever tosses the coin into a wishing well, makes a wish, it turns on the well. And then it starts granting wishes to all comers."

"But the wishes get twisted. You ask for a talking teddy, you get…"

"A bipolar nut job, yeah," said Alex.

"And Dean gets E. coli," said Sam.

Alex groaned.

"This thing has turned more than one town upside down over the past few centuries, Sammy. It's even wiped a few off of the map. I mean, one person gets their wish, it's trouble, but when everybody gets their wish…"

"It's chaos," finished Sam.

Alex nodded. She looked over as Dean opened the bathroom door once again. He walked over to the mini fridge in the corner of the room and opened it, pulling out a can of ginger ale. He downed half of it before sitting on the bed next to Sam.

"Mm-hmm," nodded Dean, drinking more of his ginger ale.

"Is there any way to stop it?" asked Sam.

"One way. We've gotta find the first bastard who wished on it. Whoever dropped the coin in, made the first wish? They're the only one who can pull it back out and reverse all of the wishes. So for now, we've got a couple of crazy dreams come true, but once the word gets out about the well, all hell breaks loose," said Alex.

Sam nodded.

A few hours later, Dean was asleep on his bed while Sam sat at the only desk in the room, looking for more information about the Babylonian coin on his computer. Alex smiled when she walked out of the bathroom and saw Sam working. She walked over to him and Sam pushed his chair out, patting his leg. Alex sat on his lap and looked at her twin. She frowned as she took in the dark circles under his eyes and she gently traced them with her finger.

"Sammy. Why aren't you sleeping well?"

Sam sighed.

"Because of Dean. Look at him right now."

Alex looked past Sam and glanced over at Dean. Dean was moaning in his sleep, his body turning from side to side as he slept restlessly. Alex sighed and looked back at Sam.

"See what I mean? You always seem to sleep through it."

"What do you think he's having nightmares about?" asked Alex, biting her lip nervously.

Sam shrugged.

"I have no clue. But I'll probably end up waking him up soon. He has been sleeping for a while," said Sam.

Alex nodded and smiled gently at Sam. She leaned forward and placed her forehead on Sam's forehead. Sam smirked as she did this, but obliged, touching their foreheads together.

"I love you, Sammy."

"I love you too, little sister."

Alex stood up from Sam's lap and Sam turned around in his chair, looking back at Dean.

"Dean! Wake up!" yelled Sam.

Dean shot straight up in his bed, looking over at his siblings.

"I'm up, I'm awake!"

"Sleep well?" asked Alex, biting her lip once again.

Dean rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands, yawning as he did so.

"Rested and ready," answered Dean.

Alex sighed as she sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Dean, c'mon, man. You think me and Alex can't see it?" asked Sam.

"See what?" asked Dean, grabbing a bottle of whiskey from under his bed.

"The nightmares, the drinking. We're with you 24/7, we know something's going on," said Sam.

Dean threw his bottle of whiskey onto his bed, sighing.

"Sam, please," said Dean.

Alex bit her lip harder, tasting the blood as it entered her mouth from her lip. She knew Sam and Dean were about to get into an argument and she hated when they fought.

"Dean, Uriel wasn't lying to me, was he? But you are," said Sam.

Dean didn't respond, but stood up, walking over to Sam and standing a few feet away from where Sam still sat at the desk, his laptop open.

"You remember Hell, don't you?" asked Sam.

Dean smirked.

"What do you want from me, huh? What?"

"Just the truth, Dean. I mean, I'm your brother. I just wish you'd talk to me or Alex or even Bobby."

"Be careful what you wish for," smirked Dean.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Cute," he said sarcastically, slightly turning back to face his computer.

"C'mon, can we stow the couples therapy, huh? We're on a job and I wanna work. What do you have for me?" asked Dean, grabbing the local newspaper from off of his bed.

Sam didn't answer Dean right away.

"Please?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed and Alex breathed a sigh of relief when her brothers didn't continue their argument into a full blown fight. She removed her lip from her teeth, sighing when she still tasted the blood in her mouth.

"We've got teddy, lottery guy, invisible pervert teenager. They all must have wished sometime in the last two weeks, but who wished first and how are we supposed to know who else wished for what when?" asked Sam, looking back at Dean and Alex.

"Well, it certainly helps when they announce it in the paper," said Dean.

Sam and Alex looked confused while Dean smirked. He brought the paper over to Sam and flipped it to the marriage and engagement announcements. He pointed to an engagement announcement from a month before. The picture was of the nerdy guy and the supermodel from the Chinese restaurant.

"Oh, yeah, the weird looking couple," said Alex, glancing at the paper over Sam's shoulder.

"Goes back a whole month," said Dean.

"'Wesley Mondale and Ms. Hope Lynn Casey have announced their surprise engagement'," read Sam, looking at the paper.

"Aww, true love," said Dean, very sarcastically.

Sam and Alex chuckled.

"Well, that's the best lead we've had so far," said Alex, looking between her brothers.

Sam, Dean, and Alex were led into Wesley Mondale's living room by his fiancée, Hope Lynn Casey. Wesley was sitting in his armchair in front of the TV in the living room. He looked up at the three of them as Hope led them into the room.

"Wes! You didn't tell me you had contacted the florist for the wedding already!" said Hope, placing her hands on her hips and smiling down at her future husband.

"Huh?" asked Wesley, looking very confused.

"You're the best!" cried Hope, grabbing Wesley's head and kissing the top of his head very lovingly.

"I'm gonna go get my folders," said Hope, heading for the stairs.

"Um… okay," said Wesley, smiling awkwardly at Hope.

"Wesley," said Dean, his grin fading once Hope had completely left the room.

Sam and Alex shook their heads at Wesley as they stood directly behind Dean.

"How's it going?" asked Dean.

Wesley stood up from his armchair.

"It's actually Wes…" He trailed off as the three siblings walked towards him.

Wesley sat back down in his armchair and stared up at the three siblings.

"Aren't you the three from the health department?" he asked them, beginning to look very confused behind his glasses.

"Yeah. And florists, on the side," said Sam, nodding his head.

"Plus FBI," chimed in Dean, grinning down at Wesley in his armchair.

"And on Thursdays, we're teddy bear doctors," finished Alex, sticking her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket.

"Huh?" asked Wesley.

"Look, it doesn't matter who the hell we are. What really matters is what we know," said Dean.

Alex nudged Sam, nodding her head to the coin collection resting on the wall of the living room. He smirked.

"So, coin collector, huh, Wes?" asked Sam, nodding his head to all of the coins located along the living room walls.

Wesley turned around slightly in his armchair to look at his own coin collection.

"Oh, yeah. My, um, grandfather gave them to me."

"Did you happen to lose one of those coins lately? And by lose, I mean drop into a wishing well at Lucky Chinns and make a wish on it," said Dean, his tone demeaning.

"Nope, I have no clue… I don't know what you're, um, talking about," said Wesley, shaking his head as he looked down at the floor, avoiding their gazes.

Dean smiled sarcastically at him as Hope re-entered the room, heaps of folders in her arms. Wesley stood up from his armchair finally, grabbing a few folders to help Hope.

"Okay. Now, I have a lot of ideas, but you know, we don't have all of the money in the world. Wes is in between jobs right now, but that means more time for me, right?" asked Hope, her smile absolutely beaming as she looked up at the three siblings.

Sam gave her a warm smile before he turned and glared over at Wesley. Wesley looked down at the floor once again as Hope began searching through the bright pink folder in her arms.

"You know, I'm thinking… a Japanesy kind of thing," she said, pulling out the magazine she had been looking for.

Dean's face brightened.

"Absolutely. Yes. I can totally see that, can't you two?" asked Dean, turning to face his siblings.

Alex nodded enthusiastically and Sam smiled warmly and brightly. Hope beamed back at them as she stuck the magazine back into her bright pink folders.

"So Hope. Please, you have to tell us how you two lovebirds met," said Alex.

"Oh, it was by far the best day of my life," said Hope.

"I'm sure," said Alex, smiling at the woman.

"I bet," said Dean, plastering on his fake smile.

"Yeah, it's really the funniest thing though. We both grew up here, but I never really knew who he was," laughed Hope, shaking her head in complete disbelief.

"Huh, that's so strange," said Alex.

"Not by name anyway. Oh, until one day last month," said Hope, looking at Wesley with love and adoration in her bright hazel eyes.

"Oh, it's like I just… I just saw him. For the first time, he was just glowing," said Hope, setting down her folders and reaching out to stroke Wesley's cheek.

"Oh, just glowing, just glowing," repeated Hope, staring at Wesley and stroking his face with her hand.

"Hey, baby, can you maybe get us some coffee?" asked Wesley.

"Yes," whispered Hope.

She grabbed both sides of Wesley's face and planted multiple kisses on his open lips. The siblings watched as she kissed him, moaning while she did so until Wesley gently pushed and pried her off of him. He pointed to the kitchen located behind the three siblings and Hope nodded, straightening her hair out with her fingers. She brushed past Dean into the kitchen. They all heard the water from the kitchen sink begin to run as Hope began preparing the coffee for them.

"Wes, we know. So please, just tell us the truth," said Sam, his smile quickly fading into a hard look as he stared at Wesley.

Wesley stared at them for a few seconds, finally sighing in resignation.

"My, um, my grandfather found the coin in North Africa. You know, World War II. And, um, he brought it back with him. He, um, he said it was a real wish granting coin, but that nobody should ever use it. Um, well, he was all I had and when… when he died, I thought, well, you know what? Why not give the damn coin a shot?"

"Yeah, well, now you're gonna wish it back," said Sam.

Wesley chuckled.

"Oh, ha ha, no, I'm not."

"Listen, Wesley, if you don't stop this, something very bad's gonna happen," pleaded Alex, her face soft and warm unlike her two brothers, who were just glaring at Wesley.

"Something really bad. Like us," said Sam.

He nodded imperceptibly to Dean, who removed his favorite gun from his jacket. The sunlight streaming in through the windows glinted off of Dean's favorite silver gun as he pulled it put to intimidate Wesley.

"We really wish you would come with us," said Dean.

Wesley stared at the gun, fear evident in his eyes.

Alex sighed as she sat as far away from Wesley in the backseat as she possibly could. Wesley sighed and sat up in his seat, leaning forward to talk to Sam and Dean in the front seats.

"I just don't get it. So my wish came true, why does that have to be a very bad thing?" asked Wesley.

"Because the wishes go south, Wes. Your town is slowly going insane," said Sam, losing his patience with Wesley's questions and whining.

"C'mon, you're gonna sit there and tell me your relationship with Hope was actually functional? That it's exactly what you freaking wished for?" asked Dean.

Wesley rolled his eyes.

"I wished that she would love me more than anything."

"Yeah! And, um, how is that going, does that seem healthy to you?" asked Alex, glaring at Wesley.

"Well, it's certainly a hell of a lot better than when she didn't even know I was alive."

"You're not supposed to get what you want, man. Definitely not like this. Nobody is. That's what the coin does, it takes your heart's desires and twists it back on you," said Dean.

"Yeah, you dumb ass. Haven't you ever heard the old expression, 'Be careful what you wish for?' Well in your case, it wasn't just an expression!" yelled Alex, rolling her eyes at Wesley's stupidity.

"'Be careful what you wish for.' You know who says that? Good looking people like you three. The ones who have it so easy because you happen to be handsome and beautiful," said Wesley.

"Easy?" asked the three siblings at the exact same time.

"Yeah. People always stare at you, they notice you," said Wesley.

"Believe us, we do not have it easy at all," said Alex.

"We're completely miserable. We never get what we want. In fact, we always have to fight tooth and nail to keep whatever it is we have," said Dean.

"But you know what, maybe that's the whole point, Wes," said Sam.

"Yeah. People are people because they're completely miserable bastards who never actually get what they really want in life," explained Dean.

Alex and Sam nodded.

"Right, yeah. When you get what you want, you get completely crazy," said Alex.

"Take a look at Michael Jackson. Hmm? Or Hasselhoff," said Dean, raising his eyebrows.

Alex and Sam nodded once again in agreement with Dean.

"You know what, Hope loves me now. Completely. And it's wonderful and awesome. Besides, look around you. Where's all this insanity you three were talking about?" asked Wesley.

Dean pulled up to a stop sign and saw the little boy who been bullied. He was single handedly lifting up an SUV with the other little boys trapped inside, screaming for help.

"Well, that should just about cover it," said Dean.

Alex, Wesley, and Sam all looked over, their eyes widening when they saw the small boy begin shaking the vehicle. Dean swung the car around the corner and threw it into park once he was on the curb. He opened his door and looked at Sam and Alex.

"I'll handle the kids, you two get Wesley to Lucky Chinns," said Dean.

Sam nodded and scooted over into the driver's seat. Alex climbed over the seats and into the passenger seat while Wesley spread himself out in the backseat.

Sam pulled the car up to Lucky Chinns and climbed out. Wesley climbed out last and looked towards the direction they had just come from.

"That kid turned over that car like it was nothing!" yelled Wesley, still in complete disbelief.

Sam and Alex just shook their heads.

"Yeah, well, you should've seen the teddy bear," said Sam.

"Now, c'mon, fun's over, it's time to pull the coin," said Alex, nodding to the restaurant in front of them.

Wesley looked down at the sidewalk.

"Wes," said Sam, his tone very demanding.

"Well why can't we all just get what we want, huh?" asked Wesley, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.

"Because that's life, Wes," said Sam.

Suddenly, a dark rain cloud appeared in the sky and a bolt of lightning came down from the cloud, striking Sam in the back. Sam fell to the ground while Alex screamed in terror, looking at Wesley.

"Wes! What the hell were you thinking?" yelled Alex, crouching down to look over Sam.

Wesley just smirked and headed inside the restaurant. Alex looked at Sam and then looked into the restaurant. She cursed under her breath and ran inside after Wesley. Both Wesley and Alex stopped when they saw Hope standing in front of the wishing well, her back turned towards them. Wesley slowly walked towards her while Alex stayed behind, biting her lip nervously as she watched the two of them interact.

"Hope?" asked Wesley.

Hope whirled around, her face sad and pained as she looked at Wesley.

"I had to do it, didn't I? He was gonna make you wish away our love," cried Hope.

"You wished a man dead?" asked Wesley, walking towards Hope and standing in front of her.

"Wesley, I love you more than anything," cried Hope, tears filling up in her eyes.

"Stop saying that, just stop!" yelled Wesley.

"But I do. More than anything. More than me, more than life. Oh, Wes. Please don't hate me," whispered Hope.

Wesley sighed and grabbed Hope's face gently, kissing her on the lips. He hugged her to him once their kiss was over and held the back of her head reverently.

"It will all be okay, I'll make it okay. It'll be okay," said Wesley, finishing his sentence in a whisper.

Hope nodded into his shoulder and Wesley let her go. Alex glared at the two of them as Wesley walked towards the wishing well beside the two of them. He sighed, but reached inside and grabbed the magical coin from the bottom of the well. He snatched it up easily and it came off without any problems. Alex quickly ran outside for Sam while Wesley looked over at Hope, who had a dazed look on her face.

Alex ran outside just as Sam sat up, gasping for air. Alex ran over to him and helped pull him up to his feet.

"I'm assuming Wesley pulled the coin from the wishing well," said Sam, looking down and wiping off his jeans.

Alex nodded and a few seconds later, Hope came waltzing out of the restaurant. She gave the two of them a passing glance, but then just kept walking on down the street. Sam and Alex turned back around to see Wesley step out from the restaurant. He looked very sad and disappointed as he stared at them, his hands in his pockets. He walked over to them and held out the Babylonian coin to Sam. Sam took it from Wesley and held it in between his fingers. He looked back up at Wesley sadly. Wesley nodded to both Alex and Sam and then headed off down the street, his head down and his hands in his pockets.

Dean and Alex smiled as they sat on a bench on the bridge, Audrey walking past them. She held her normal sized teddy bear in her arms and her parents were very tan as they walked behind her. Audrey smiled at the two of them and waved as she passed. Dean and Alex smiled warmly back. Sam approached them then and Dean and Alex stood up, Dean stuffing the folded up newspaper under his arm as he did so.

"Well, the coin's all melted down now. Shouldn't cause any more problems," said Sam, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Audrey's parents are back from Bali. Looks like all the wishes are finally gone. And now, so are we," said Dean, heading off the bridge with Sam and Alex following him.

After a couple of steps, Dean stopped, causing Alex and Sam to stop as well.

"Hold on a second," said Dean.

He turned around to face his siblings and he took in a deep breath.

"You were right."

"About what?" asked Alex, looking just as confused as Sam looked too.

"I shouldn't have lied to you. I do remember everything that happened to me in the pit. Every single thing," explained Dean.

Alex sighed and looked at Dean sadly while Sam nodded.

"So, tell us about it," said Sam.

"No," said Dean.

"What? Why not?" asked Sam.

"I won't lie to you anymore. But I'm definitely not going to talk about it."

"Dean, look. You can't just shoulder this thing alone, you've gotta let us help," said Alex.

"How? Do you two really think that a little heart to heart, sharing and caring is gonna change anything? Huh? That it will somehow heal me? I'm not just talking about a bad day here," said Dean.

"We know that," said Sam.

"The things that I saw? There aren't words. There is no forgetting. There's no making it better. Because it's always in my head, forever. And I'm sorry, but neither one of you would understand. And I can never make you understand. So I'm sorry," said Dean, ending in a whisper.

Dean stood still for a few seconds before he continued walking on down the bridge. Alex looked at Sam sadly, tears in her eyes. Sam grabbed her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

"It's all gonna be okay, Alex. I promise," whispered Sam.

Alex nodded sadly and they followed Dean down the bridge towards the Impala.

A few days later, Sam was playing pool at some seedy bar, drunk off his ass as he lost a lot of money.

"C'mon, man, just give me a chance to win it all back," pleaded Sam, looking at his tattooed opponent sadly.

The man shrugged.

"Fine. It's your cash to lose anyway," said Sam's opponent.

"Hey. My brother's a little too wasted to be making bets right now, don't you think?" asked Dean, approaching the pool table with Alex by his side.

The man shrugged as he looked at Dean.

"He insisted, man."

The man looked over at Alex, licking his lips as he looked her up and down a couple of times. Dean pushed Alex slightly behind him.

"Yeah, but you've already taken plenty of money from him, haven't you?" asked Dean, pointing over at Sam.

"C'mon, Dean, I'm fine," slurred Sam, grinning over at his siblings.

"No, you're not fine. You're drunk!" yelled Dean.

Sam just rolled his eyes as the man began setting all of the cue balls back into place in the middle of the pool table.

"Let's make it $500," wagered Sam, looking at his opponent.

"$500?" asked Dean, shocked at his brother's actions.

Sam held up the money as his opponent nodded.

"Sure," said the man.

Sam slammed the wad of bills down onto the side of the table and Dean and Alex sighed.

"Your break," called out the man, removing the triangle from the center of the table.

Dean and Alex took a seat at a table next to the pool table. Sam looked over at them, his eyebrows raised and Dean raised his eyebrows right back at Sam while Alex just winked over at her twin brother. Sam's opponent smirked cockily as Sam leaned forward, taking a long time to hit the balls. Once he hit the white cue ball, the rest of the balls went flying into separate pockets and the man's grin faded from his face. As Alex and Dean hid their smirks behind their glasses, Sam looked up and froze as he saw Ruby sitting at the corner of the bar, her head turned over her shoulder as she looked directly at Sam. Sam's eyes widened.

"Keep the money," said Sam, standing up straight as he headed for Ruby.

Dean and Alex looked over at Sam, shock and alarm on their faces as Sam walked around the pool table, throwing his stick in the middle of the table. Sam's opponent watched him leave. Dean threw up his hands in frustration.

"Keep the money? What-" began Dean, but trailed off as he watched Sam walk over to Ruby, who was still sitting at one end of the long bar.

Alex cursed under her breath as she followed Dean's gaze and finally saw Ruby as well. Dean headed over to Sam and Ruby before Alex could grab his arm and stop him. Just as Sam began to say hello to Ruby, Dean swooped in, his eyes accusing as he stared at Ruby.

"You know what, you've certainly got a hell of a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near me," accused Dean.

"I just have some info for you three and then I'm gone," assured Ruby.

"Well what is it?" asked Alex, crossing her arms across her chest as she stared at Ruby with severe dislike and hatred.

"I'm hearing a few whispers," answered Ruby, looking straight at Sam and not Alex, who had asked the question.

Dean's eyes widened sarcastically.

"Ooh, great demon whisperers. That's really reliable," said Dean.

"A girl named Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward yesterday. The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently some really heavy hitters are beginning to turn up," said Ruby, looking at Sam and completely ignoring Dean and Alex, who were now standing behind Sam.

"Why? Who is she?" asked Sam.

"I have no idea. But I'm thinking that she's important. Because the order is to capture her alive. I just figured that whatever the deal is, you might want to find this girl before the demons do," said Ruby.

Sam nodded and glanced over at his siblings. Alex had four shots of tequila lined up in front of her, ready to down them all when Sam spoke up. Alex groaned, but turned around, listening to him.

"Look, maybe we should check this out."

Dean plastered on a fake smile as he looked over at Ruby. He held a large mug of beer in his hands, which was half full.

"Actually, we're currently working a case. But thanks," said Dean, winking at Ruby.

"What case?" asked Ruby, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"Um, we've got lots of leads. Big leads."

"Sounds extremely dangerous."

"Yeah, well, it sure ain't chasing after some damn chick, who, for all we know, doesn't even exist, just because you say she's important," finished Dean.

"I'm just delivering the news, you can do whatever you want with it. As far as I'm concerned, I told you and now, I'm done," said Ruby, climbing off of her high barstool and grabbing her purse from around the back of her barstool.

"Wait, wait, this hospital she escaped from. Got a name?" asked Sam, grabbing Ruby's arm and asking her one last question.

Dean drove down an old and darkened road later that night. Alex was curled up into the backseat of the Impala, sleeping as usual. Sam had placed his jacket over her arms as a makeshift blanket and Dean looked back at his little sister through the rearview mirror every now and again just to check on her.

"Well, can I have a copy of the missing persons report?" asked Sam, on the phone.

The person on the other end of the phone call spoke for a few more minutes, answering Sam's question. Sam nodded into the phone as the conversation neared an end.

"Okay, great. Yeah, okay, thanks," finished Sam, ending the call after his last sentence.

Sam took in a deep breath.

"Well, Anna Milton's definitely real," said Sam.

"That still doesn't mean the case is real, Sammy," argued Dean.

Sam glanced over at him.

"And this hospital's a freaking three day drive," complained Dean.

"You've driven further for less, Dean," argued Sam.

Sam stared over at Dean, a sarcastic smirk on his face as he scoffed.

"If you've got something to say, just say it already, Dean."

"Oh, I'm already saying it, this sucks."

Sam looked away from Dean and out the front window, rain pelting the windows.

"You're not pissed we're going after the girl, Dean, you're just pissed that Ruby threw us the tip."

"Right. Because as far as you're concerned, that hell bitch is practically family. Something major must have happened while I was downstairs because I come back and you're fucking best friends with a demon? Where was Alex during all of this? Oh, that's right, you left her all alone!" yelled Dean.

"I told you, Dean, she helped me to go after Lilith. And Alex and I were always in contact."

"Well thanks for the thumbnail, real vivid. Would you maybe like to fill in a little bit of detail for me?"

Dean glared over at Sam and Sam scoffed, glaring right back at Dean as well.

"Sure, Dean. Let's just go ahead and trade some stories. You first, how was Hell? And don't spare any of the details," said Sam.

He grinned sarcastically when Dean looked over at him, saying nothing. When Dean didn't answer, Sam looked ahead once again, flashing back to six months earlier.

_Sam finished digging up the dirt with his bare hands, grunting as he did so. Once the hole was deep enough, he threw the box of items into the hole he had just finished digging with his bare hands, covering it back up as quickly as possible with the dirt he had just discarded off to the side of the hole. A bottle of straight whiskey was lying next to Sam, the bottle almost completely empty. Sam struggled to get up, but he pulled himself up off of the ground and into a standing position, grabbing the bottle and bringing it up to his chapped pink lips, downing the rest of it in one swallow. Sam looked around at the crossroads where he was standing, throwing out his arms and flinging his head back, yelling angrily. _

"_Come on! Where the hell are you?" _

_Sam threw the empty bottle of whiskey across the crossroads, barely hearing it land in a soft patch of grass a couple of feet away. He turned around and saw a man standing under the only streetlamp for miles, his hands in the pocket of his dress pants as he stared at Sam from under the glow of the streetlamp. He shrugged. _

"_Well, I was wondering if I should even come. I mean, you just shot one of my coworkers," yelled the man. _

_Sam began walking towards him, his steps a little wobbly since he was kind of drunk. The man just looked at him as Sam got closer and closer to him. _

"_Don't take this the wrong way, Sam, but you don't look so hot, buddy. I guess burying your brother just didn't agree with you. Where's that fine little sister of yours?" asked the man, his eyes flashing a bright red as he stood directly in front of Sam now._

_Sam smirked sarcastically and held his arms out to his sides. _

"_Well," he said. _

"_Let me see that special knife of yours first," demanded the demon. _

_Sam didn't hesitate as he pulled Ruby's knife from his pocket, the moonlight glinting from it as he held it up and showed it the demon. Sam slammed it down into the wood post which rested slightly in front of him. _

"_There are no Devil's Traps either. I'm not here to play any fucking games," demanded Sam, his upper lip curved into a sneer as he stared at the demon, who began walking closer towards him. _

"_So let me guess. You want to make a deal. And round and round the Winchesters go. Well I'm sorry, Sam, but that's just not gonna happen."_

_The demon looked Sam straight in the face and Sam looked away, still smirking. When Sam looked back at the demon, he had an evil glint in his eyes. He grabbed Ruby's knife as quickly as possible and slammed it down into the man's hand. Blood dripped from the man's hand as he looked down at where the knife was stabbed into the top of his right hand. _

"_I don't want ten years. I don't even want one year. I don't want any candy. I want to trade places with Dean," ground out Sam, his teeth gritted together as he spoke. _

_The demon man shook his head adamantly. _

"_No."_

"_Just take me! It's a fair trade!" yelled Sam, his eyes looking crazy. _

"_No!" yelled back the man, breathing heavily and smiling evilly at Sam._

"_Why not? Lilith wants me dead and now she can have me."_

"_Don't you understand, Sam? It's not about your freaking soul. Dean's in Hell, right where we want him. We've got everything just exactly the way that we want it. So if you wanna kill me, go right ahead! I've made peace with my Lord," seethed the demon. _

_Sam glared at the man, his face an emotionless mask. _

Sam returned to the present now, glancing over at Dean quickly. Dean was focused on the road ahead of him and didn't feel Sam's gaze upon him. Sam turned around slightly to look at Alex sleeping peacefully in the backseat. He felt a pang of regret for leaving her when Dean was gone, but it quickly faded away as he took in her sleeping form. He knew that she had already forgiven him and he just had to not let it get to him and forgive himself for leaving her all alone. Sam turned back around to the front once again, watching as the rain came down harder and began pelting the front windshield, Dean's windshield wipers working into overdrive as they brushed the rain away.

"Of course. I want to help however I can," said a woman.

Dean, Alex, and Sam had finally reached the hospital two days later and were currently speaking to Anna Milton's therapist/psychologist who had seen her when she was being locked up in the psychiatric ward.

"So the orderly has no recollection of Anna's escape?" asked Sam, staring at the woman who was currently standing in front of him.

"Apparently she knocked him unconscious. The blow caused some amnesia, he doesn't even remember coming into her room," answered the psychologist.

"That's one hell of a right hook to knock out some guy that's got at least eighty pounds on her," said Dean.

The woman nodded.

"Well, we think she may have planned this, waiting behind the door for when he came in to give her the medicine she needed for the night," answered the psychologist.

She smiled politely at them and began leaving the empty room, the siblings following close behind her.

"Right. Um, you mentioned Anna's illness was recent," stated Alex, facing the woman as they all now stood in the middle of the empty hallway.

The woman nodded, her brown corkscrew curls bobbing around on her head as she did so.

"About two months ago, she was happy, well-adjusted. Journalism major, lots of friends. A very bright future."

"So what happened, did she just flip or something?" asked Dean.

The woman sighed sadly.

"Well, that's the tragedy of schizophrenia. Within weeks, Anna was overtaken by delusions."

"What kind of delusions?" asked Sam, his head cocked to the side in extreme interest.

The woman paused before answering.

"She thought demons were everywhere."

The woman handed Sam a sketchbook that she was currently holding under her arm. Sam took it and glanced at the pictures that Anna had drawn.

"Huh," said Sam, flipping through the sketch book.

"Interesting," whispered Alex.

"It's not uncommon for our patients to believe that monsters are real," said the woman, watching as the three siblings looked at Anna's sketchbook.

"Now, that's just plain batty," joked Dean, his fake smile plastered onto his face.

Sam, Alex, and Dean looked surprised as Sam flipped to the next drawing and saw a picture depicting the Rising of the Witnesses. Sam gulped discreetly as he flipped to the next picture Anna had drawn, which depicted the rising of Samhain on Halloween. Alex pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth as she took in Anna's sketches with her brothers right beside her, taking them in as well.

"That's Revelations," remarked Dean, glancing at his siblings.

Sam and Alex nodded, still staring at Anna's sketchpad.

"Since when does the Book of Revelations have jack-o-lanterns?" asked the psychologist, nodding towards the picture.

Dean smirked.

"It's, um, a little known translation," he answered while Sam cleared his throat.

"Mm-hmm. Well, Anna's father was a church deacon and when she became ill, her paranoia took on religious overtones. She was convinced that the devil was about to rise up and end the world. So I really hope you find her. It's incredibly dangerous for her to be out there alone in this crazy world right now," said the psychologist, smiling gently over at the three siblings.

Sam, Alex, and Dean nodded at her as she turned around and walked off down the hall of Ward 42.

The three siblings walked up the front porch steps of the Milton family's little green house quickly, Sam reaching out and knocking on the door as soon as they were close enough to reach it. There wasn't an immediate response so Dean tried again after a couple of minutes, knocking a little bit harder and louder than Sam had knocked. Alex and Sam stood behind Dean and they glanced around the front yard. Alex took in the two silver cars parked in the driveway, indicating that the Miltons were home.

"Well, maybe they're not actually home," said Dean, attempting to peer in through the small pieces of glass in the front door.

"Both cars are in the driveway," answered Alex, sounding bored as she continued looking around them.

Dean sighed, but reached a hand out and pushed on the doorknob. The door opened easily, indicating that it was unlocked and had been the whole entire time they were standing there. Sam and Alex shrugged as Dean looked back at them for an answer or an explanation, which neither one of them had at the moment. Dean turned his attention back to the front door and slowly pushed it all the way open, listening to it creak as he pushed it open gently.

"Mr. and Mrs. Milton?" called out Dean, stepping over the wooden threshold and fully into the house as Sam and Alex followed behind him.

"We're here from the sheriff's department," yelled Sam, closing the front door shut behind him since he was the last one entering the house.

He shut the door behind him gently.

"Just wanted to ask you a couple of questions," said Sam.

He heard the door close as he looked off to his right, seeing a man lying on the floor of the living room. A woman was lying right beside the man on the floor and Sam groaned as he saw the pools of blood next to each body. Dean and Alex walked in behind Sam and looked at the dead couple, Mr. and Mrs. Milton. Sam crouched down next to the dead woman and saw a white substance lying beside her. He stuck his finger into the substance, sniffing it. The scent was so strong that Sam winced once he took a whiff of the white substance.

"Sulfur," he said, rubbing it off of his fingers.

Alex and Dean nodded sadly.

"The demons beat us here. Whatever the deal is with this Anna girl…" trailed off Sam.

"Yeah, they want her. And they're not screwing around either," said Dean.

Alex nodded as she walked over to the nearest end table in the living room, flipping through the stack of mail that was resting there.

"Where's Anna though?" asked Alex.

She set the mail back down and watched as Sam stood up from his crouch. He walked over to the dining room where some pictures were placed on the mantle of the fireplace. He picked a framed picture up, looking at it quizzically.

"Hey, you got those sketches from Anna's notebook?" asked Sam, looking over at Dean as he held the framed photo in his grasp.

Dean nodded and dug around in his jacket.

"Let me see 'em," said Sam, walking over to Dean.

Alex walked over to join her brothers in the area between the living room and the dining room. Dean handed over the sketches to Sam.

"Check this out," said Sam.

He flipped through the sketches until he found the one he was looking for. He pointed to it and set it down on the dining room table. He set the photo he was holding down next to the sketch.

"She was drawing the window of her church," remarked Dean.

"Yeah, over and over again," whispered Alex.

"If you were religious, scared, and had demons on your ass, where would you go to feel safe?" asked Sam.

Dean and Alex didn't answer, but Dean led the way out of the Milton house, heading for the church.

The three siblings headed into the church, on the lookout for Anna Milton. They quickly checked the first floor, but didn't find her so Sam led the way up the stairs to the second floor. They walked into a large room, almost like an attic. All kinds of junk was piled along the sides of the room as they searched for Anna, their guns raised the whole time.

"Dean. Alex," whispered Sam, discretely pointing towards the other side of the room.

A shadow was behind the stained glass door in the room and the three siblings slowly inched toward the door. They stuck their guns in the waistband of their jeans as they walked forward, not wanting to scare Anna off.

"Anna?" called out Sam.

"We're not gonna hurt you. We're here to help you," said Alex.

"My name is Sam. And these are my siblings, Dean and Alex."

"Sam?" asked Anna, still hidden behind the door as she spoke.

Dean, Alex, and Sam looked taken aback as she spoke again.

"Not Sam Winchester."

The siblings exchanged curious glances.

"Um, yeah," answered Sam.

They all listened and waited as Anna finally stepped out into the open. She had flaming red hair and was as skinny as Alex. She looked very pale and had a curious look on her face.

"And you're Dean and Alex. It's really you three. Oh my God," said Anna, stepping forward.

"The angels talk about you, Dean. I can't believe it, you're _the _Dean Winchester. You were in Hell, but Castiel pulled you out and some of the angels think that you can help save us," said Anna, finally reaching the three siblings.

She looked over at Sam next.

"And some of them don't like you at all."

Alex hid a chuckle as Sam's face fell with Anna's words. Anna looked at Alex curiously.

"They talk about you three all the time lately. I feel like I know you so well," said Anna, hesitantly.

"So you talk to angels?" asked Alex.

Anna shook her head quickly.

"Oh, no. No, no way. Um, they probably don't even know I exist. I just kind of… overhear them," explained Anna.

"You overhear them?" asked Sam, looking down at Anna.

"Um, yeah. They talk and sometimes, I just… hear them in my head," whispered Anna, looking down at the floor as she spoke.

"Like… right now?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows.

"Not right this second, no. But a lot. And I can't shut them out because there's just so many of them."

"So they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you're just tuning in to angel radio?" asked Dean, a small smile on his face.

A look of pure relief washed over Anna's features as she sighed.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Anna, when did the voice start exactly? Do you even remember?" asked Alex.

"I can tell you exactly. September 18th."

Alex and Sam looked over at Dean.

"The day I got out of Hell," said Dean.

"The first words I heard. Clear as a bell. 'Dean Winchester is saved,'" said Anna, nodding.

Sam nodded along with her.

"So what do you think?" asked Dean, glancing over at his siblings.

"This is above my pay grade, man," said Sam.

Alex nodded in agreement with Sam as she bit her lip nervously.

"Well, at least now we happen to know why the demons want you so bad," said Dean, looking over at Anna and forcing a very small smile onto his face.

Anna looked at him, a little confused.

"When they get a hold of you, they can hear what the other side's planning. You're 1-900-ANGEL," joked Dean.

Anna's smile broadened and the three siblings couldn't help but smile back at her gently.

"Hey, um, do you three know if my parents are okay? I didn't go home. I was afraid," explained Anna.

As the siblings' faces fell in sadness, a loud crash sounded from behind them. They all turned to look as Ruby entered the room, breathing heavily.

"You've got the girl? Good, let's go," she demanded.

Anna began flipping out, running backwards and away from Ruby.

"Her face!" yelled Anna.

"No, Anna, it's okay, it's okay. She's here to help," reassured Sam, holding a hand up towards Anna to calm her down.

"Yeah, let's not be so sure," muttered Alex, glaring over at Ruby.

Ruby just ignored her snide comment.

"We have to hurry."

"Why?" asked Dean, standing his ground against Ruby.

"Because a demon's coming, big-time. Look, we can fight later, Dean."

"Oh, that's pretty convenient, showing up right when we find the girl with some… big wig on your tail," argued Dean, rolling his eyes.

"Look, I didn't bring him here, you three did," fought back Ruby.

"What?" asked Alex.

"He followed you from the girl's house, we gotta go now," argued Ruby.

"Dean. Sam," whispered Alex.

Dean and Sam looked over at Alex and to where she was pointing. There was a statue of the Virgin Mother Mary placed in the corner of the large room they were currently standing in. The statue's eyes were closed, but blood was dripping from them. Ruby also looked at the bleeding statue.

"It's too late. He's here," whispered Ruby.

Sam nodded and took action. He grabbed Anna's left arm and led her into the opposite corner of the room.

"Come with me," he urged.

He led her to a closet located way in the back of the large room as Dean walked closer to the statue, watching the blood fall from its eyes. Alex stood behind him, biting her lip nervously and looking from Dean to the stairs every few seconds. Sam shut the closet door on Anna.

"Anna, stay in there and don't move," he ordered in a whisper.

"Okay," answered Anna, watching Sam close the door on her.

Sam rejoined his siblings and Ruby in the middle of the large attic room, pulling out a large silver flask of holy water. Ruby shook her head from behind him.

"No, Sam. You've gotta pull him right away."

"Whoa, hold on a second," argued Dean.

Ruby whirled around to face him, practically yelling at him.

"Look, now's not the time to bellyache about Sam going dark side. He does this thing, he exorcizes that demon or we all die."

Dean looked from Ruby to Sam. Sam tucked his silver flask of holy water back into his pocket, a pained look on his face. He glanced at Alex, who was standing beside Dean, but somewhat behind him as well. She gave him a small but encouraging smile and Sam nodded, turning back around and facing the stairs to wait for this demon. As they all waited, they heard the footsteps on the stairs as they creaked loudly. The door crashed open with pure force as the demon stepped inside the room, an evil smirk planted on his middle-aged face. He walked into the room and stood a few feet away from Sam. Sam took a deep breath and held up his palm, his forehead scrunching as he concentrated on exorcizing this demon. The demon's eyes turned a milky white and he held a hand up to his throat. After a few seconds, he let out a small cough and his eyes turned back to a normal color. Sam's eyes widened in shock as he lowered his palm.

"That tickles," said the demon.

He chuckled as he stalked towards Sam, wagging his finger.

"You don't have the juice to take me on, Sam."

The demon raised his hand and curled his fingers. Sam flew down the stairs, crying out as he flew down them. Dean pulled out Ruby's knife and ran towards the very powerful demon, but the demon grabbed his arm as Dean raised his arm to stab him. The demon smiled in Dean's face as Dean struggled to become free from the man's grasp.

"Hello again, Dean."

Dean's eyes widened as the demon head-butted him, knocking him against the wall. The demon began laying punches on Dean's face. Alex looked around the room and noticed that Ruby was nowhere in sight. She groaned and cursed under her breath as she ran for the closet.

"Shit. Anna!" yelled Alex.

"Don't you recognize me? I mean, we were so close. In Hell," said the demon, looking down at Dean's now bloody nose.

"Alistair," whispered Dean.

Alistair chuckled and went to punch Dean in the face again as Sam ran back into the room, Ruby's knife clutched in his fist as he ran towards Alistair. He nailed Alistair right in the left shoulder and Alistair grabbed the knife handle in his shoulder, smirking evilly.

"You're gonna have to try a little bit harder than that, son."

Alistair pushed Sam away from him and reached for the knife in his shoulder with both of his hands, trying to pull it from his shoulder. Sam ran over to Dean and looked him over. Alex came running back into the room and looked at them as they looked behind her. She whirled around and saw the large stained glass window behind her that Sam and Dean were eyeballing. The boys nodded and Alex waited behind as they jumped out of the window first. She followed quickly after them and they landed on the front lawn of the church, running away as fast as possible.

Sam winced as Alex pulled another shard of glass from his arm. She poked around in the gash and nodded.

"Alright, Sammy. You ready to be stitched up, baby?" asked Alex.

Sam nodded and Alex grabbed the needle from beside her leg. She climbed on top of Sam's lap so she could reach the gash on his arm better. Sam held onto her hips as she began sewing his wound shut. He winced and groaned with every stitch and Alex rolled her eyes.

"Sammy, calm down. I'm almost done, you big baby."

Sam nodded and Alex made the final stitch, tugging a little too hard on Sam's tender skin. He cried out and Alex rolled off of him to the side, finishing her work as she sat beside him now. Dean spit into the bathroom sink, blood coating the bottom of the sink. He swished some more water in his mouth, breathing heavily. He looked at Alex through the bathroom mirror.

"Are you almost done?" he called out.

Alex nodded as she placed a large patch of gauze on Sam's wound. She cleaned off the blood around Sam's arm with a damp washcloth.

"'Cause you know, I've got a dislocated shoulder over here," said Dean, walking into the bedroom area.

"Yeah, I'm well aware. I'll pop it back for you in a few seconds, Dean," said Alex.

Dean grabbed the bottle of whiskey from off of the kitchen table and gulped it down, Alex standing up as she was finally finished dressing Sam's wound. She scrunched up her nose at Sam's bloody shirt.

"You might wanna change shirts there, big guy," she directed.

Sam nodded and looked at Dean, holding out his hand for the bottle of whiskey.

"Give me that," demanded Sam.

Dean handed it over and Sam drank from it greedily.

"God, imagine if you two bozos had to stitch yourselves up. Without me, you'd be completely lost," said Alex.

She dug around in Sam's clothes and threw him a new shirt, which Sam caught with his free hand.

"So we lost the magic knife, huh?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, I lost it saving your ass," argued Sam.

Dean nodded and Alex walked back over to join them.

"Who in the hell was that damn demon anyway?" asked Alex, placing her hands on her hips as she looked between her two brothers.

Dean shook his head, pursing his lips.

"No one good. We've gotta find Anna," said Dean.

"Well, I tried to grab her back there, but Ruby got there first," said Alex.

"If Ruby's got her, I'm sure she's just fine," said Sam.

He winced as he stood up and he looked at Dean.

"Alright, c'mon. Let's pop your shoulder back into place, big brother," said Alex, looking at her oldest brother.

Sam stood behind Alex as Dean leaned forward, placing his right hand on the place where Sam had been sitting down only moments before. He prepared himself for the onslaught of pain that was coming his way as Alex grabbed his dislocated shoulder, Sam standing behind her, watching.

"Alright, on three," warned Alex.

She looked back at Sam, who nodded discretely.

"One," counted Alex.

"Fuck!" yelled Dean, feeling Alex pull his shoulder back into place after she counted to one and not three.

Dean grimaced and groaned as he walked away from the bed in immense pain. He walked back into the bathroom as Sam and Alex sat down on the bed Dean had just vacated. Sam grabbed the bottle of whiskey and began drinking some more of it as Alex rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"Are you sure about Ruby? I mean, I think it's just as likely that she used us to find radio girl and then brought that demon in to kill us," said Dean, turning around and looking at his siblings as he spoke.

"No, she wouldn't do that. She took Anna to keep her safe someplace," answered Sam.

Dean scoffed, holding an icepack up to his shoulder.

"Yeah, okay. So why hasn't she called to tell us where she is?"

"Because that freaking demon is probably still watching us right now. Waiting to follow us right back to Anna again, that's why he let us go in the first place."

Dean chuckled darkly.

"You call this letting us go?"

"Yeah, I do. Look, killing us would've been no problem to that thing. That's why for now, we just have to lay low and wait for Ruby to contact us," argued Sam.

"Yeah, and how's she gonna do that, huh?" asked Dean, looking at himself in the mirror.

Alex bit her lip as she listened to her brothers' conversation. She glanced down at the somewhat large gash that she had suffered from jumping through the window earlier. It was on her side, but neither Sam nor Dean had noticed because her jacket was covering it up. A piece of stained glass was stuck in her side and her wound had begun to bleed again due to the effort Alex had put into popping Dean's shoulder back into place, and it was now bleeding pretty profusely. Alex had planned to take care of it alone when she went to shower, but now Sam and Dean were arguing and she was feeling a little bit dizzy from the blood loss. Dean turned around once again, looking back at Sam. Neither one of them noticed Alex getting paler.

"Why do you trust her so much, Sammy?" asked Dean, looking at his little brother.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Dean, I already told you."

Dean threw the ice pack on the bathroom counter, walking towards Sam now.

"Sam, you've gotta do better than that. Look, I'm not trying to pick a fight here, I really just want to understand. But I need to know more, I mean, I deserve to know more," argued Dean.

Sam wouldn't look Dean in the eyes.

"Because. She saved my life," said Sam.

_Sam walked down the hall of the motel, trying to find the right room that belonged to him. He stumbled around a little, drunk as usual. He opened his motel room door and walked inside slowly, stopping once he was in the middle of the room. He felt strange, as if something was off. He turned to the left and was decked in the face by some man. The man hit him in the face and Sam fell backwards. The man grabbed Sam's arms and held him back as a blonde woman appeared from the shadows of the room. She kneed Sam repeatedly in the stomach as the man held Sam back. The woman patted Sam down and smirked once she found Ruby's knife in the back pocket of Sam's jeans. _

"_Thanks for keeping this warm for me, Sam," she said, pulling the knife from him and coming back around to stand in front of him once again. _

"_Ruby," whispered Sam. _

"_It's nice to be back. Where I was, even for Hell, it was nasty. I guess I really just pissed Lilith off, huh? So imagine my relief when she gave me one last chance. A ticket topside. And all I had to do was find you and kill you," explained Ruby. _

_Sam glanced down at the knife in her hands. _

"_Fine. Go ahead," said Sam, breaking free of the man's hold and stepping up close to Ruby, getting right in her face and staring her down. _

"_Do it," urged Sam. _

_He closed his eyes as Ruby raised the knife. But a few seconds later, Sam heard the cries of the man beside him. Sam's eyes popped open in shock as he watched the demon man fall to the floor, dead from Ruby's stabbing. Ruby looked at Sam, breathing heavily. _

"_Grab your keys, we gotta go. Now," said Ruby. _

_Sam's eyes widened. _

Alex grimaced in more pain as she held her palm over her wound, listening to Sam's story. She felt the blood trickle onto her palm, so she slowly stood up, trying to head for the bathroom. Dean and Sam looked over at her as she stood up. Their faces looked concerned as she struggled to walk to the bathroom.

"Alex, what's wrong?" asked Dean, standing up and walking over to her.

Alex tried to smile, but it came off as a grimace of pain as Dean looked down at her palm, which was covering up her wound.

"Fuck, Alex. Why didn't you say anything?" asked Dean.

Sam ran over to them and grimaced as he saw the wound.

"It wasn't this bad until after I overexerted myself helping you two idiots," whispered Alex.

Dean chuckled as he led Alex over to the bed. He gently pulled off her jacket and whistled as he saw the blood seeping through Alex's white shirt. Sam grabbed the needle and first aid kit to stitch it up. He knelt down beside Alex as she removed her shirt so Sam could fix her up. Dean looked around for the whiskey bottle and spotted it, but it was empty. He cursed and looked back over at Alex with apologetic eyes.

"Baby girl, we're out of whiskey. You're gonna have to handle this one on your own, alright?"

Alex nodded and gripped Dean's hand in hers tightly. Dean held onto her hand as Sam pulled the shard of glass from her wound. Alex grimaced, but didn't make a sound as Sam quickly threaded the needle, looking up at Alex.

"Okay, here we go, little sister," said Sam.

Alex nodded as Sam began sewing up her side.

"Holy fuck!" yelled Alex, closing her eyes and breathing deeply.

"I'm so sorry, Lex," whispered Dean, holding onto her hand tightly.

Dean glanced over at Sam.

"Hurry it up, Sammy," whispered Dean, through gritted teeth.

"I'm hurrying as fast as I can here, Dean," whispered back Sam, Alex's blood all over his hands.

After a few more minutes, Sam finally had the wound all stitched up. He put a large piece of gauze over it and Alex laid down on the bed, breathing heavily. Dean leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"You're such a trooper, little sister."

Alex smiled weakly and Sam re-entered the room from the bathroom, his hands clean of Alex's blood. He sat down next to her and smiled down at her.

"You got any other battle wounds we should know about?" teased Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes and punched his arm.

"No, I'm good. Continue on with your Ruby story, please, Sam," said Alex.

Sam chuckled, but launched back into his tale.

_Sam drove the Impala down a dark old highway, Ruby smirking at him from the passenger seat. _

"_You know what sounds good right about now? French fries," said Ruby. _

_Sam didn't even look at her as he kept his eyes focused on the road in front of him. _

"_I'm starving. I just escaped Hell, I deserve a treat."_

_Sam still said nothing. _

"_You know, a thank you would be nice."_

"_Who asked for your help?" rasped out Sam, not looking at Ruby as he spoke. _

"_You have no idea what the hell I've been through. When Lilith gets pissed off, she gets really creative. Do you want to hear about the corners of Hell I've seen, Sam?"_

"_No, I don't."_

"_And the things I had to do to convince her I was sorry? That I could be trusted?"_

"_Well, this will definitely get you a fat Christmas bonus," shot back Sam. _

"_Very funny. I'm a fugitive for you, Sam. I took all of this risk to get back to you, so yeah, I deserve a fucking thank you."_

"_Who asked you to save me?"_

"_I'm just trying to help." _

"_Can you help me save Dean?" asked Sam. _

_Ruby paused for a few seconds. _

"_No. Nothing I know of is powerful enough to do that."_

_Sam nodded and quickly jerked the wheel off to the left, pulling the car over on the side of the road. He looked at Ruby as he spoke. _

"_Then I have no use for you. Get out."_

"_Sam-"_

"_Whose body are you riding, Ruby?"_

"_What do you care, you've never asked me that before."_

"_Well, I'm asking now."_

_Ruby looked at him, pausing briefly before she answered. _

"_Some secretary."_

_Sam nodded. _

"_Let her go," he ordered. _

"_Sam-"_

"_Or I send you right back to Hell," threatened Sam, venom lacing his tone._

_The next day, Sam sat in the old abandoned house he was squatting in, holding his phone to his ear and cleaning one of his favorite guns. _

"_I know, Alex, I'll be careful. You know I'm always careful. Okay, I love you too. Goodbye, sis."_

_Sam hung up his cell phone and set it down beside him. As he reached to place a bullet in his gun, a knock sounded on his front door. Sam grabbed his loaded shotgun and headed for the front door. He gently pulled it open and saw Ruby standing there, in a brand new body. She held up a piece of paper to Sam. _

"_Proof that this body is 100% socially conscious. I recycle. Al Gore would be proud," said Ruby, handing Sam the certificate and then pushing past him into the house. _

_Sam shut the front door. _

"_You grabbed a coma patient?" he asked. _

"_You didn't want me to take a body with someone in it and I made sure that this spirit was gone. The apartment was empty. You happy now?" asked Ruby. _

"_Why are you here?" asked Sam, following Ruby into the kitchen area where he was all set up. _

_Ruby leaned her hip against the table and looked over at him. _

"_Look, I can't bring Dean back. But I can get you something else that you want."_

_Sam scoffed from his place in the entryway. He walked into the kitchen and set the shotgun down on the kitchen table across from Ruby. _

"_And, um, what's that?" smirked Sam, setting down the certificate Ruby had given him and picking up his bottle of whiskey. _

"_Lilith," answered Ruby. _

_Sam stared her down, his smirk long gone. _

"_So you want me to use my psychic whatever?"_

"_Look, I know that it spooks you-"_

"_Just skip the speech, alright? I'm ready."_

_Ruby stared at him strangely, not expecting Sam to agree that easily. _

"_Let's go," said Sam. _

"_Whoa, slow down there, cowboy."_

"_Look, just tell me what I have to do."_

_Ruby sat down in a vacant chair and grabbed an almost empty bottle of whiskey, bringing it to her lips and taking a small drink from it. _

"_Lilith is one scary bitch. When I was in the pit, there was all kinds of talk. She's cooking up something big, apocalyptic big."_

"_So let's kill her," sneered Sam. _

"_You wanna go in there and half-ass it like before? We have the time to get it right, so let's get it right this time, Sam."_

"_Okay. So what do you want from me?" asked Sam, chugging the last of his whiskey bottle. _

"_Well, a little patience would certainly be nice. And sobriety. Promise me that and I will teach you every single thing I know."_

Sam looked over at Dean on his bed.

"So. What'd she teach you?" asked Dean, holding a glass of whiskey in his hands as he looked at his little brother.

Sam took in a deep breath. He glanced beside him at Alex, who was sound asleep, her chest rising and falling as she slept soundly beside him.

"Well, the first thing she taught me was… that I'm a crappy student," answered Sam.

_Sam stared at the demon that was sitting in front of him, tied to a chair and looking up at him. Ruby nodded at Sam from behind the man. Sam held up his palm and focused, exorcizing the demon from this man's body. The black smoke began to emerge from the man's mouth, but it suddenly flew back in. Ruby's eyes widened from behind the man as Sam hung his head. The demon man smirked over at Sam. Sam began trying again, wiping the smirk from the man's face as Ruby walked around to stand in front of the demon, wielding her knife. Sam concentrated as hard as he could, sweat dotting his forehead and blood dripping from his nose, but it was all just too much. Sam grabbed his head as a massive headache overtook him. The demon began laughing hysterically. Ruby stalked forward slowly and stabbed the demon straight in his mouth, silencing him forever. _

"_Not funny," she whispered. _

_An hour or so later, Sam threw the shovel down onto the kitchen table as he grabbed a bottle of aspirin from his duffel bag. He poured three out into his palm and dry swallowed them. _

"_Just give it time, Sam. It will get better," encouraged Ruby, standing directly behind Sam. _

_Sam threw the aspirin bottle off to the side of the table, whirling around and laughing sarcastically at Ruby._

"_What? I need more practice?" laughed Sam, chugging the whiskey he had left in his bottle. _

"_I'm not talking about pulling demons, Sam. I know losing Dean is-"_

"_Hey. I don't want to talk about it," warned Sam, pointing at Ruby and giving her a threatening glare. _

"_You know what? Where do you get off slapping me with that greeting card, time heals crap, what the hell do you even know at all?" asked Sam, his tone full of hatred and venom. _

"_I used to be human, you know. And I still remember what it feels like to lose someone," said Ruby, stepping closer to Sam until she was standing directly in front of him. _

"_I'm sorry," said Ruby, placing a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder. _

_Sam just shrugged it off. _

"_Uh-huh. Don't," whispered Sam._

"_I can't," whispered Sam, his leg bouncing up and down. _

"_Oh, Sam, but you're not alone," cried Ruby. _

_She took the last few steps forward and smashed her lips onto his. Sam responded for a few seconds, but then he pushed her away, walking across the room. _

"_What are you doing?" he asked her, not turning around to look at her. _

"_Sam, it's okay!" yelled Ruby. _

_Sam pointed an accusatory finger at her. _

"_No, that is anything but okay!" _

_Sam wiped his lips off with the back of his hand and reached into his pocket, feeling the sudden urge to speak to his twin sister in the middle of the night. _

"_What's wrong?" asked Ruby. _

"_What's wrong? Where do I even start, huh?" _

_Sam threw his phone back into his pocket and decided to call Alex later. Ruby walked forward into the room where Sam was sitting on the old couch. _

"_Is it because of my body? Because I told you, it's all me inside of here," said Ruby. _

_She removed her leather jacket and got down on her knees in front of Sam. She rested her hands on his upper thighs and grabbed his hand, pushing it under her t-shirt. _

"_There's no one else under here. And it's nice inside this body, Sam."_

_Sam pulled his forehead away from hers and closed his eyes, taking in a few deep breaths._

"_Soft. And warm," whispered Ruby, pushing Sam's hand farther up her shirt. _

"_What are you doing, Ruby?" asked Sam._

"_Isn't it because you're really scared to go there with a demon? Because it's wrong and it's bad and we shouldn't," urged Ruby, licking Sam's earlobe. _

_Sam grit his teeth to fight his primal urges, but he was already gone. He removed his hand from Ruby's shirt and grabbed the sides of her head, pulling her to his lips. She climbed on his lap, moaning into his mouth as they kissed passionately. Sam pulled Ruby's shirt over her head quickly and Ruby made quick work of Sam's shirt as well. _

"Sam," said Dean.

Sam looked over at his brother, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah?" asked Sam.

"Way too much information," said Dean.

Sam shook his head.

"Hey, I told you I was coming clean."

"Well, yeah, but now I feel extremely dirty," said Dean, throwing back a shot of whiskey.

"Okay. Well, um, brain stabbing imagery aside, so far all you've told me about is a manipulative bitch who, uh, fucked you, played mind games with you, and did everything in the book to get you to go bad," said Dean.

"Yeah, well, there's more to the story, Dean," said Sam.

Dean nodded, leaning forward in his seat.

"Just… skip all of the nudity, alright? Please?" pleaded Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Um, pretty soon after… that, um, I put together some signs. Omens."

"Saying what?" asked Dean, throwing back another shot of straight whiskey.

"Lilith was in town."

Dean's eyebrows rose and Sam nodded.

"And I wanted to strike her first."

_Sam shrugged on his jacket as he walked towards Ruby. _

"_But you're not ready yet," argued Ruby, staring at Sam. _

"_It's now or never," argued Sam, raising his eyebrows at her and zipping up his jacket. _

"_No, we've gotta wait until you get it right. You haven't been too successful, you know."_

"_Alright then. I'll use this," said Sam, reaching for Ruby's knife that was resting on top of the table. _

_Ruby grabbed his wrist, stopping him from picking up the knife. _

"_Just stop. You can't just fly in there recklessly, Sam, we need you to take that bitch out."_

_Sam smirked. _

"_Oh, I'll take her out, alright"_

"_We get one shot. And you're it," said Ruby, releasing her grasp on Sam's wrist. _

"_You're the only one who can do it, Sam. So if she kills you first…" _

_Ruby let her sentence trail off as she just stared at Sam. Sam stared back at her. _

"_What?"_

"_You don't want to survive this."_

_Sam scoffed. _

"_Come on."_

"_It's just like a kamikaze attack, you want to die fighting Lilith."_

"_That's stupid," remarked Sam, walking around the table and heading down the hallway with Ruby hot on his trail. _

"_No, that's the truth. Because if you kill her and you survive this, then you have to go on without your brother."_

_Ruby threw herself in front of Sam's path, blocking the front door from him. _

"_This isn't what Dean would've wanted, this isn't what he died for."_

"_Get out of my way."_

"_No, Sam. This is suicide!" yelled Ruby._

_She stepped towards Sam quickly, but he grabbed her and pinned her to the wall, holding the knife against her throat. He stared at her as he opened the door and walked outside, leaving Ruby alone in the house. _

_Sam stopped in front of the house that Lilith was currently staying in. He saw her through the large window that looked into the house. His gaze became one of determination as he walked up to the front door, slowly pulling it open. He quietly shut the front door behind him as he held the knife in his left hand, opening a closet door beside him and making sure no one was hiding in there. When he saw that it was clear in the closet, Sam made his way into the living room. As he crept around the corner, he saw a little girl sitting at her dining room table. Sam crept up to the little girl, whose back was towards him. When he was only a few feet away, the little girl whirled around, facing him. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed. _

"_Please, I just wanna go home!" she cried to Sam. _

_Sam looked at her curiously when someone grabbed him from behind, knocking the knife from his hands. The knife fell to the floor and the man holding onto someone threw him against the wall. Another man stood beside the Sam, watching as the first man held Sam against the wall. Sam glanced down at the knife on the floor and then looked back at the man holding him to the wall. Suddenly, the knife was picked up and Ruby sliced the second man's throat quickly. The first man whirled around to look at her and Ruby looked back at Sam. _

"_Take the girl and run!" she demanded of Sam. _

_Sam nodded and as Ruby fought the man, Sam scooped the little girl up into his arms, heading for the kitchen. Once Sam had put the girl in a safe place, he ran back into the living room. Ruby was pinned to the wall by the man, who had a hold of her throat. Sam held up his palm and concentrated, trying to exorcize the demon from the man's body. Sam's nose began bleeding, but black smoke poured from the man's mouth. As the demon left his body, the man fell to the floor, the black smoke seeping through the floor and disappearing. _

"_Sam," whispered Ruby, looking over at him. _

"_I'm okay. Thanks," answered back Sam. _

_Ruby nodded. _

Alex patted Sam's knee as she sat next to him on the bed, listening to him finish his story.

"Ruby came back for me. Whatever you have to say, she saved me. More than that, she got through to me. What she said to me, it's what you would've said, Dean. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here right now," said Sam.

Dean looked down at the floor, so Sam looked over at Alex. Alex gave him a small smile, squeezing his knee. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. Sam smiled back at her and the three of them looked over at the door as a knock sounded on it.

"Housekeeping," said the woman at the door.

"Not now," hollered back Dean.

"Sir, I've got clean towels," said the woman.

Dean stood up, walking over to the door. He pulled it open and a larger black woman stood in front of him, holding three clean towels.

"Can't you just leave them at the door?" asked Dean.

The woman handed him the towels and pushed past him to enter the room. The door shut behind her as the siblings watched her in confusion as she closed all of the curtains and blinds over the windows. She unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to Sam.

"I'm at this address."

Sam looked at her, a smirk on his face.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked her.

"Go now. Go through the bathroom window, don't stop, don't take your car. Don't pass go. There are demons in the hallway and in the parking lot."

A look of comprehension passed over Sam's features.

"Ruby?" he asked the woman.

"Okay, yes, I'm possessing this maid for a hot minute. Sue me," said Ruby, throwing her hands on her hips as she stared down Sam.

"What about-"

"Coma girl? Slowly rotting on the floor back in the cabin with Anna, so I've gotta hurry back. I'll see you when you get there. Now go!" yelled Ruby, pointing towards the bathroom window.

Ruby walked swiftly from the room. Dean looked at Sam and Alex once the door shut. Alex just shrugged and winced as she stood up, feeling a slight sting from the cut in her side. She shrugged on her jacket and followed her brothers out of the room.

Ruby opened the door for the three of them as they stood in front of the cabin.

"Glad you could make it," she said, letting them inside.

"Yeah, thanks," said Sam, leading the way inside the cabin.

Anna was sitting on an old leather loveseat as the siblings stood in front of her.

"Anna, are you okay?" asked Sam.

Anna nodded.

"Yeah, I think so. Ruby's not like the other demons. She saved my life," said Anna, smiling warmly over at Ruby.

Sam nodded.

"Yeah, we hear she does that," remarked Alex, glancing over at Ruby.

Dean looked over at her too.

"I guess Alex and I, uh…"

Dean cleared his throat as Ruby crossed her arms over her chest, watching him.

"You know," said Dean.

"What?" asked Ruby.

"I guess we owe you… for Sam. And I just wanted… you know," finished Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Don't strain yourself, Dean," quipped Ruby.

Dean nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

"Okay then. Is the moment over?" asked Dean.

Ruby nodded and Dean looked back towards his siblings and Anna.

"Good because that was super awkward," said Dean.

Alex looked over at Ruby, a gentle smile on her face.

"Thank you, Ruby," said Alex.

Ruby nodded in understanding and Alex looked back between her brothers and Anna. Sam chuckled at Dean's lack of comfort with thanking Ruby for saving his life.

"Hey, Sam? Do you think it would be safe to make a quick call? Just to tell my parents I'm okay? They must be completely freaked out," remarked Anna.

Alex looked at Sam and Dean, who looked at her. She took her bottom lip between her teeth nervously. Anna's face fell as she took in their expressions and hesitation to look over at her.

"Um…" began Sam, trailing off.

"What?" asked Anna, whispering it.

Sam let out a long sigh and Dean looked down at the floor. Alex took the initiative and sat down next to Anna on the loveseat.

"Anna, um… Your parents…"

"What about them?" asked Anna, the tears beginning to fill her voice as she realized what was coming next.

"I'm really sorry, Anna," apologized Alex, looking at her sadly.

"No, they're not…"

"Anna, I'm so sorry," whispered Alex, looking at Anna sadly.

Anna burst into tears, burying her face in her lap as she cried and cried. She held her face in her hands as she sobbed, rocking her body back and forth.

"Why is this happening to me?" asked Anna.

"I don't know," answered Alex, placing a comforting hand on Anna's shoulder.

Suddenly, Anna sat back up, her tears turning into gasps. She looked to her right as if someone was there, but no one was over on that side of her. Alex's hand fell from Anna's shoulder in shock.

"They're coming," said Anna.

Alex looked over at her brothers just as the lights began flickering.

"Back room," said Dean, pointing to the adjacent room.

Ruby made sure the front door of the cabin was locked while the siblings led Anna to the back room of the cabin. Alex made sure Anna was situated and she headed back out into the main room of the cabin. Sam and Dean were already back in the room, unloading an arsenal of weapons from the duffel bag Dean had brought with him. He tossed Alex a loaded shotgun and she caught it effortlessly. Ruby began searching for the knife, but couldn't find it.

"Where's the knife?" she asked, looking up at them.

The siblings exchanged knowing glances.

"Um, about that," began Dean.

"You're kidding!" yelled Ruby, standing up straight from her crouch.

Dean shook his head.

"Hey, don't look at me," said Dean, nodding towards Sam.

Sam scoffed.

"Thanks a lot, bro."

Dean gave Sam a sarcastic smile and turned his attention back to the front door. Ruby shook her head.

"Great, that's just great. Impeccable timing, guys, just really," said Ruby.

She turned around when a loud sound began coming from the other door in the front room. Dean ran to stand between Alex and Sam as the sound became louder. The cabin began to creak and rattle as the floorboards began shaking. The door suddenly flung open and they all flinched back, hiding their faces. Once the whistling of the wind died down, they all looked back to the front door. The fluttering of wings sounded nearby and only a few seconds later, Castiel walked through the cabin's door. Uriel walked in right behind him and Ruby's eyes flashed to black.

"Please God, tell me you're here to help," cried Dean.

"We've been having fucking demon issues all day here," yelled Alex.

"Well, we can see that," stated Uriel, nodding to Ruby as her eyes turned back into a normal color.

"Care to explain why you have that stain in the room?" asked Uriel, looking at Ruby with sincere hatred and disdain.

Dean looked down at Ruby, not really sure how to answer Uriel's question.

"We're here for Anna," explained Castiel.

They looked at the angels with confusion etched on their faces.

"Here for her like… here for her?" asked Dean.

"Stop talking. Give her to us. Now," demanded Uriel.

"Are you going to help her?" asked Sam.

Castiel looked at all of them briefly before answering.

"No. She must die."


	37. Chapter 37

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think. _

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines._

Chapter 37

The siblings stared at Castiel and Uriel, shock evident on all of their faces.

"You want Anna? Why?" asked Sam.

Uriel scoffed.

"Get out of my way."

Uriel stepped forward slightly and Dean held up his palm to stop him moving forward any further.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay? Look, I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever, but that's no reason to kill her," said Dean.

"Don't worry. I'll kill her gentle," said Uriel, a smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

Alex glared at him, her eyes full of pure disgust as she stood kind of behind Sam.

"You all are some smart ass sons of bitches, you know that?" snarled back Dean.

Castiel looked down at the floor as he spoke the first part of his sentence.

"As a matter of fact, we are."

He looked up at the siblings, Ruby, and Uriel.

"And Anna," finished Castiel.

"Anna? Anna's an innocent girl," cried Alex, turning her glare onto Castiel now.

Castiel shook his head sadly.

"Oh, Anna is far from innocent."

The siblings exchanged curious glances.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Sam, turning back to face Castiel now.

"It means she's worse than this abomination you've been screwing," said Uriel, his eyes full of hate as he nodded towards Ruby, who was standing beside Dean.

Sam looked ashamed and Ruby glared at the angels.

"Now, give us the girl," finished Uriel, staring at the four of them.

Dean looked over at his siblings. Alex discreetly shook her head "no" while Sam cocked his head to the side, the muscle along his jaw line flexing as he bit his tongue gently while thinking. Dean turned back to face Uriel and Castiel, a determined and hateful glare all over his face.

"Sorry. Get yourself another one," said Dean.

"Who's going to stop us, hmm? You three?" asked Uriel, stepping forward towards the siblings.

"Or this demon whore?"

Uriel grabbed Ruby's arm and quickly threw her into the front window on the right side of the room. The glass in the windowpane shattered as her body roughly crashed into it from Uriel's throw. Ruby fell to the floor in a heap and Sam's jaw ticked angrily as he watched Uriel walk over to Ruby. Uriel grabbed her by the throat with one hand and held her against the wall while his other hand was dangling above her head. Castiel looked over at Sam and stalked towards him while Dean ran over to help Ruby. As he ran towards Uriel, a knife raised in his hand, Uriel whirled around quickly and grabbed Dean's fist, holding the knife away from his body. He used his other arm to slap Dean across the face, hard.

Castiel stalked towards Sam, Alex looking on helplessly as both angels ignored her for now. Sam held out his hands to Castiel in a pleading gesture.

"Cas, stop. Please," begged Sam, backing up into a corner wall of the room.

Castiel just walked onward towards Sam and held his middle finger up to Sam's forehead. Sam's eyes crossed and he fell to the floor.

"Sam!" cried out Alex rushing over to him quickly.

Alex glanced over to the other side of the room, where Uriel was pounding into Dean's face.

"I've been waiting for this," said Uriel, a sadistic smile all over his face as he punched Dean once again, Dean's face flinging back with every punch.

As Castiel reached the back door of the room that held Anna, a bright, white light overtook the room. Alex pulled Sam's head into her lap and covered both of their faces with her arms as the light flashed all over the room, white and blindingly bright. First Castiel disappeared abruptly and then Uriel let go of the lapels of Dean's leather jacket as he disappeared next. Dean took in large gasps of air as he sat on his hands and knees, catching his breath. Ruby slunk down the wall, sitting on the floor. Dean's lip was bleeding in two different places as he looked around the room for the two angels who were no longer there.

"What the…" whispered Dean, trailing off.

He stood up slowly and walked the few extra steps over to Ruby, holding out his arms to help her stand up.

"Come on," urged Dean, pulling Ruby back up onto her feet.

They walked over to Sam and Alex, who was looking down at Sam's head in her lap. Sam groaned in pain as he stretched out his arms and legs, moaning and groaning while he moved around, his eyes still clenched shut. Ruby knelt down beside Sam's other side.

"Anna?" asked Dean, as he pulled open the back door to Anna's hideout.

He saw that she was standing in front of the vanity, breathing very heavily as if she had just finished a tough and long workout. Her hands were placed palms down on the vanity's counter, blood smeared all around them and on them. She looked over at Dean as he entered the room.

"Anna!" yelled Dean, quickly running towards her then as he took in all of the blood underneath the palms of her hands.

He sat her down on the bed as he glanced at the mirror, which had all kinds of weird symbols and shapes drawn onto the glass.

"I'm fine. Are they gone?" urged Anna.

"Did you kill them?" asked Dean, pulling a patterned bandanna out of his pocket and wrapping it around Anna's bloodstained right arm.

"No. I just sent them away," said Anna, still breathing very heavily.

Sam, Alex, and Ruby stepped into the back room then and they took in the scene before them. Alex and Sam looked a little shell-shocked while Ruby just looked kind of indifferent.

"I just sent them far away," said Anna, looking over at the mirror.

Dean looked at the mirror as well while he began wrapping up Anna's other bloodied arm.

"Do you wanna tell me how?" asked Dean.

Anna shook her head.

"It just popped right into my head. I really don't know how I did it… I just did it."

Sam closed the door to Anna's room a few minutes later, shutting it tight before he looked over at his siblings.

"So, what do you think?" asked Dean.

"I think that Anna's getting more interesting by the damn second," said Sam.

Alex nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I agree. Now, what did they mean by saying she's not innocent, huh?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

"It just really seems like they want her bad. And not just cause of the angel radio thing. I mean, that blood spell? That's some serious shit, my dear brothers," said Alex, shrugging her shoulders as they looked over at her.

"Something's going on with her. Sammy, see what you can find out. And Alex, you go with him," said Dean.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And what are you gonna do?" asked Sam.

"Anna may have sent the angels to the outfield for now, but sooner or later, they're gonna be coming back here. And we've got to get ourselves safe, now," urged Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded and Dean turned around slightly, opening the door to Anna's room and stepping back inside.

Sam sighed as he led the way out of the wood cabin.

"You know, I actually really liked that movie when we first saw it. _Angels in the Outfield_," said Alex, following Sam from the cabin.

Sam chuckled and Alex smiled over at him as they walked on.

The next morning, Dean watched as Anna sat down in an armchair in Bobby's safe room. She looked over at him expectantly once she was situated and Dean banged on the wall beside him, the sound ringing out as he smacked the wall.

"Pure iron walls drenched in salt. Demons can't even touch the joint," encouraged Dean, stepping slightly into the room with Anna.

"Which I find very racist, by the way," called out Ruby, who was standing outside the door of the safe room, her arms crossed over her chest.

Dean turned to face her.

"Write to your congressman," he shot back.

Ruby rolled her eyes and tossed Dean a few items she was holding. Dean caught them effortlessly from inside the safe room.

"Hex bags?" asked Dean, looking from the little brown bags in his grasp and up to Ruby.

Ruby nodded.

"Extra crunchy too. These will hide us from angels, demons, all comers."

"Thanks, Ruby," said Dean, staring at her.

Ruby froze and met his gaze. Dean gave her a slight nod of appreciation before he walked farther into the safe room, handing one over to Anna.

"Don't lose this," said Dean, and Anna nodded.

Dean stuck the second hex bag into his packet and glanced around the walls of the room.

"So what's playing on angel radio, Anna? Anything useful?"

"It's quiet. Dead silence."

Dean nodded.

"Good. That's not troubling at all," said Dean, sarcasm lacing his tone.

"We're in trouble, huh? You guys are all scared?" asked Anna, looking over at Dean standing next to her.

Dean looked out at Ruby in the hallway before looking back over at Anna and shaking his head.

"No."

Dean smirked with confidence when Sam's voice called down from upstairs.

"Hey, Dean!" yelled Sam.

Ruby turned towards the sound of Sam's voice. Dean touched Anna's knee gently as he began walking out of the room.

"Stay here, okay?" he said.

Anna nodded obediently and Dean stepped out of the safe room. He stopped next to Ruby, who looked at him.

"Keep an eye on her," ordered Dean.

Ruby turned her attention back to Anna as Dean headed up the wooden stairs.

Dean walked into Bobby's kitchen where Alex sat on the counter eating an apple and Sam stood in the doorway.

"How's the car?" asked Dean, looking at his little brother.

"Oh, it's just fine. Where's Bobby?" asked Sam.

"Um, in the Dominican. He said if we break anything, we're buying it," answered Dean.

"Is he working a job?" asked Alex, jumping down from the counter and following her brothers into Bobby's study area.

She threw her unfinished apple out the open window in the kitchen.

"God, I hope so. But what did you two find on Anna?" asked Dean, looking between his younger siblings.

"Oh, um, not much," said Alex, watching as Sam held up the papers he was holding in his hands and began reading through them quickly.

"Um, her parents were Rich and Amy Milton, a church deacon and a housewife," answered Sam, spreading the few pages of information down onto Bobby's desk.

Alex jumped on the corner of the desk closest to Dean and sat there while her brothers looked over the information on Anna's family.

"Riveting," joked Dean.

Sam nodded sarcastically along with him.

"Yeah, we know. Um, but there is something here in their port. Turns out that this latest psych episode wasn't her first."

"No?" asked Dean.

"When she was two and a half, she'd get hysterical anytime her dad got close to her. She was convinced that he wasn't her real daddy," answered Sam, turning to look at Dean.

"Who was? The plumber? A little snake in the pipes?" asked Dean, glancing over at Sam and smirking.

Sam and Alex didn't laugh along with him.

"Dude, you're confusing reality with porn again," said Sam.

Dean's face sobered up and he cleared his throat while Alex giggled from her seat on the corner of Bobby's desk.

"Anyway, Anna never said, she just kept repeating that this real father of hers was mad," said Sam.

"Very mad, like wanted to kill her mad," finished Alex.

"Kind of heavy for a two year old," said Dean.

"Well, she saw a kid shrink, got better, and grew up normal," said Sam.

"Until now," sighed Dean, glancing down at the file on Anna once again.

"So what's she hiding?" asked Alex, looking down at the papers with Dean, her brow furrowed with confusion as well as his.

"Why don't you just ask me to my face?" asked Anna, her voice full of anger.

The siblings turned to face Anna, who was standing in the doorway of the study. Ruby stood beside her and Alex hopped off from her perch on the corner of Bobby's desk. Anna's arms were crossed over her chest.

"Nice job watching her," said Dean, looking over at Ruby.

Ruby rolled her eyes at him and threw her arms up in frustration.

"I'm watching her," argued Ruby.

"No, you're right, Anna," said Alex, looking at the red headed girl sadly and comfortingly.

"So is there anything at all that you want to tell us?" asked Sam.

"About what?" asked Anna.

"The angels said you were guilty of something. Why would they say that, Anna?" asked Sam.

"You tell me. Tell me why my life has been leveled. Why my parents are dead! I don't know, I swear. I would give anything to know," cried Anna, ending her spiel in a whisper.

Sam nodded.

"Okay. Then let's find out."

"How?" asked Anna, her bottom lip trembling.

A few hours later, Dean led the way down the set of creaky old wooden stairs, dust flying off from them with every step he took. As he was close to the bottom, he yelled.

"We're here!"

"Pamela," said Alex, walking towards Pamela and Dean.

Sunglasses covered Pamela's now blind eyes and Alex felt incredibly sorry for this poor woman, who had lost her sight when Dean, Bobby, Alex, and Sam had all tried to contact and find Castiel using her psychic abilities.

"Pamela, hey," said Sam, following right behind Alex to greet the woman.

"Sam, Alex," said Pamela, smiling beside Dean.

Alex touched Pamela's shoulders and Pamela touched Alex's face reverently. Alex laughed as Pamela touched Sam's cheek and then smacked his ass. Dean smirked and Sam looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"Of course I know it's you two, the twins. Just like I know that that's a demon and this poor girl is Anna," said Pamela, nodding towards the two other people in the room even though she couldn't see them at all.

Pamela stepped towards Anna, holding out her hands for Anna to take. Anna gently placed her palms into Pamela's open ones.

"Hey, Anna, how are you, I'm Pamela."

"Hi," said Anna, a small, gentle smile on her face.

"Dean told me all about what's been going on while we drove over here. I'm very excited to help."

"Oh, that's nice of you."

"Eh, well, not really. Any chance I can take over an angel, I'm taking it."

"Why?" asked Anna, honestly curious.

"They stole something from me," said Pamela, removing one of her hands from Anna's so that she could take off her sunglasses and show Anna her milky white eyes underneath them. Anna let out a small gasp of shock.

"Demony, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look super extra psychic, don't you think?" asked Pamela.

Anna hesitantly smiled once again and Pamela laughed right along with her, her loud chuckle breaking the awkward silence in the room. She put her sunglasses back on as her laugh faded.

"Now, how 'bout you tell me what your deal is," encouraged Pamela.

The Winchester siblings stood a few feet behind Pamela, watching her exchange with Anna and hoping for some long awaited answers about Anna's past. Pamela slung an arm over Anna's shoulders and led her back into the safe room in Bobby's basement. Pamela patted Anna's shoulder.

"Don't you worry," she encouraged, walking them into the safe room.

Ruby stood outside of the safe room, as close as she could stand without actually being inside the room. Sam sat on set of sturdy wooden boxes close to the door and by Ruby. His right foot was resting on the small ledge that they had to step over to enter the safe room while his other foot was safely on the floor in the safe room. Dean sat on the corner of the metal desk in the room, his left foot resting on the small stool in front of him. Alex sat beside him and between her brothers, leaning as far over as she was comfortable so that she could see Pamela and Anna. Her left forearm was resting on Dean's muscular, jean clad thigh as she watched Pamela and Anna.

"Nice and relaxed. Now, I'm going to count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count down, just go deeper and deeper, alright?" directed Pamela, who was sitting in front of Anna.

Anna was lying on the only small couch in the room, her eyes closed as she took steady and deep breaths, as directed by Pamela earlier. Pamela began her countdown.

"Five… four… three… two… one."

Pamela reached over and gently touched Anna's forehead.

"Deep sleep. Deep sleep," she repeated, sitting fully back down in her chair.

"Every muscle is calm and relaxed. Can you hear me?" asked Pamela.

"I can hear you," answered back Anna.

"Now, Anna, tell me. How can you hear the angels? How did you work that blood spell?" asked Pamela.

"I don't know. I just did," answered back Anna, her eyes still closed as she answered.

"Your father. What's his name?"

Alex and Dean looked at each other before looking back at Pamela.

"Rich Milton."

"Alright. But I want you to look further back. When you were very young. Just a couple of years old."

Sam looked back at Ruby, but she barely noticed him even looking back at her. She was too entranced on what answers Pamela was getting from Anna, so Sam turned his attention back to the two girls in the safe room.

"I don't want to."

"It will be okay. Anna, just one look, that's all we need," encouraged Pamela.

Anna's head began moving back and forth and her fingers twitched.

"No," she cried.

"What's your father's name? Your real dad," asked Pamela.

Anna began gasping for air and her head shook back and forth almost violently now. Alex gripped Dean's thigh in fear for Anna and Dean placed his hand on top of hers, squeezing it, but never taking his eyes away from Pamela and Anna.

"No," cried Anna.

"Why is he angry with you?" asked Pamela.

"No, no, no!" cried Anna, her body coming up from the couch as the lights flickered as well.

Anna's eyes were still closed as she cried out, her body shaking and flinching violently.

"Just calm down."

"No, he's gonna kill me!" yelled Anna.

"Anna, you're safe," encouraged Pamela.

"No!"

Anna shot straight up, her eyes still closed as she let out a bloodcurdling scream. The safe room door slammed shut and locked itself closed while the lights popped and electricity rained down upon all of them. Dean quickly pulled Alex into him, shielding her from the showers of electricity and Anna's loud screams.

"Anna, calm down. You're safe, Anna," said Pamela, still calm as Anna flopped back down onto the couch.

Dean let go of Alex once the showers stopped and walked over to Anna, gripping her elbow as she flung herself around violently on the couch.

"Dean, don't," warned Pamela, but it was already too late as Anna flung her arms out, catching Dean square in the face and knocking him onto the floor.

Sam and Alex ran over to him as Pamela stood up straight, crouching over Anna on the couch. Pamela held up her palm to Anna's face.

"Wake in one, two, three, four, and five."

Anna's eyes popped open as Pamela crouched over her, stroking her cheek and removing the wild hairs from Anna's face.

"Anna? Anna? Are you alright?" asked Pamela, removing her hand from Anna's face as Anna looked over and up at her.

Anna sat up slowly and Pamela sat back down in her chair beside the small couch. The siblings stood up, watching Anna warily.

"Thank you, Pamela. That helped a lot. I remember now," said Anna, in an eerily calm and emotionless voice.

"Remember what?" asked Sam, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

Anna looked over at Sam and his siblings.

"Who I am," she answered in the same creepy tone of voice.

The siblings exchanged curious and confused glances.

"I'll bite. Who are you?" asked Dean.

"I'm an angel," answered Anna.

Alex and Sam sat on each corner of the desk in Bobby's study upstairs, looking curiously over at Anna, who was now slowly walking towards Ruby, who stood in the large open archway between the study and the kitchen. Sam's sleeves were now rolled up to his elbows, the veins in his arms protruding. Pamela leaned against the desk between Alex and Sam. Dean was sitting on the arm of a dining room chair while one foot was firmly placed on the floor and the other was placed on the cushion of the chair he was sitting on. His hands were folded together in front of him on his lap. They all stared at Anna as she stepped towards Ruby slowly.

"Don't be afraid. I'm not like the others," said Anna, looking over at Ruby.

"I don't find that very reassuring," said Ruby, glaring at Anna.

"Neither do I," agreed Pamela, crossing her arms over her chest.

Anna looked at the two women, letting out a deep sigh and sticking her hands in the back pockets of her jeans as she walked over towards Dean.

"So. Castiel, Uriel. They're the ones who came for me?" she asked.

Dean nodded.

"You know them?" asked Sam.

Anna's eyes darted over to his face.

"We were kind of in the same foxhole."

Sam looked confused.

"So what, were they like your bosses or something?" asked Alex.

Anna looked over at her, a small smirk now present on her lips.

"Um, try the other way around."

"Well, look at you," quipped Dean.

"And now they want to kill you?" asked Pamela.

Anna just shrugged.

"Orders are orders. I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head," answered Anna, pacing in front of them with her arms crossed over her chest now.

"Why?" asked Alex.

Anna stopped her pacing and stared at Alex.

"I disobeyed. Which, for us, is about the worst thing you can ever do. So I fell."

"Meaning?" asked Dean.

"She fell to Earth. Became human," answered Pamela, tilting her head toward Dean to answer his question.

Sam shook his head.

"Wait a minute, I don't understand. So angels can just… become human?"

Anna began pacing once again.

"It kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt. I ripped out my grace."

"I'm sorry, come again?" asked Alex, her eyebrows pulled together in the middle of her forehead in confusion.

"My grace… it's energy. Hacked it out and fell. My mother, Amy, couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no clue how right she actually was."

"So you just forgot that you were God's little Power Ranger?" asked Dean.

"The older I got and the longer I was human, yes," answered Anna.

"I don't think you all appreciate how completely and royally fucked we are!" exclaimed Ruby, throwing her hands up in utter frustration.

Anna nodded.

"Ruby's right. Heaven wants me dead."

"And Hell just… wants her. Flesh and blood angel that you can question. Torture. That bleeds. Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later, Heaven or Hell, they're gonna find you," said Ruby.

"I know. And that's why, I'm gonna get it back," said Anna, pacing once again.

"What?" asked Sam.

"My grace."

"You can do that?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

"If I can find it," nodded Anna, looking down at the floor.

"So what, you just gonna take some divine bong hit and shazam, you're Roma Downey?" asked Dean.

Alex chuckled at his reference to the television show, _Touched by an Angel_. Anna stared at him, gritting her teeth.

"Something like that."

"Well, alright. I like this plan. So where's this grace of yours?"

"Lost track. I was falling about 10,000 miles per hour at the time."

"Wait. You mean… falling. Like, literally," stated Sam.

"Yes," said Anna.

"Like the way a human eye can see? Like a comet, maybe, or a meteor?" asked Alex.

"Why do you ask?" asked Anna.

Sam sat on the loveseat in Bobby's study a few hours later, books scattered all around him as Ruby sat beside him.

"Here. In March of '85, a meteorite vanished in the night sky over northwestern Ohio," said Sam, chancing a glance at Ruby.

"Now, it was sighted nine months before Anna was born and she was born in that part of Ohio," finished Sam, looking up at Ruby once again.

Ruby glanced at the computer screen before looking over at Sam.

"Pretty buff for a nerd," she stated.

"Look, I think it was Anna."

Sam reached behind him for a stack of papers.

"And here, same time, another meteor over Kentucky."

"And that's her grace."

Sam just shrugged at Ruby's statement.

"It might be."

"Alright, that just narrows it down to an entire state," said Ruby, standing up from her seat on the loveseat and rolling her eyes.

"Look, it's a start," said Sam.

Ruby shook her head.

"Sam… I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For bringing you this mess. If I had known, I would've kept my trap shut."

Sam sighed and threw the papers beside him on the loveseat, shrugging.

"Yeah, well. We'll muddle through."

"Not this time. You do not want to get between these two armies. If one side doesn't get us, the other one will."

"So what do you want us to do? Dump Anna and run?"

Ruby cocked an eyebrow up and Sam scoffed.

"Forget it. Look."

Sam stood up, grabbing his computer as he stood.

"I know the angels freak you out-"

"Forget the fucking angels, its Alistair I'm scared of."

Sam set his laptop down on the desk in Bobby's study and turned to face Ruby, a very confused look written all over his face.

"Alistair?"

"You met him in the church, practically the grand inquisitor downstairs. Picasso with a razor," answered Ruby.

Sam shut his laptop and faced her fully.

"And?"

"And. You should pull him out and throw him back in the pit. If you weren't so out of shape..."

"Ruby," whispered Sam.

"No, your abilities are getting flabby."

"Yeah? So, how do I tone up?" asked Sam, sitting on the corner of the desk.

"You know how. You know what you gotta do."

Ruby walked closer to Sam until she was only a couple of feet away from him. Sam looked away from her.

"No, I'm not doing that anymore."

"Sam-"

"I said no."

"Well, then you better pray that Anna gets her groove back. Or we're all dead."

Sam watched Ruby storm out of Bobby's study.

Anna was leaning against one of the many cars in Bobby's large backyard, looking up at the stars in the inky black night sky and seeing shapes there. She glanced behind her when she heard Dean pull up in the Impala, but then she returned to just staring at the night sky as Dean got out of the Impala, walking over to her.

"Pamela get home alright?" asked Anna.

Dean nodded as he approached her and stood right beside her.

"Yeah, she said she was sorry, it's just after last time, she, uh… well, it's just too rich for her."

"I don't blame her. You guys should do the same."

"Well, we're not that smart."

Dean looked at Anna before shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket and walking around to her other side.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Anna said nothing, but turned all of her attention to him.

"What do they want me for? Why did they save me?"

Anna shook her head.

"I'm sorry. The angels aren't talking about it. And it was… after I fell."

Dean nodded.

"That's another thing. Why would you fall, Anna? Why would you ever want to be one of us?"

"You don't mean that."

"I don't?" asked Dean.

"I don't know. There's loyalty, forgiveness. Love," said Anna, looking at Dean with a soft smile on her face.

"Pain," shot back Dean.

"Chocolate cake."

"Guilt."

"Sex," said Anna, crossing her arms over her chest and nodding.

Dean paused for a quick second and then nodded along with her.

"Yep, you got me there."

Anna smirked, but then her smirk faded and she looked sad once again.

"I mean it. Every emotion, Dean, even the bad ones. That's why I fell. That's why… why I'd give anything not to have to go back. Anything."

"Feelings are over-rated, if you ask me."

"That's being an angel."

"How is that possible? You guys are powerful, you're perfect. You don't doubt yourselves or God or anything."

"Perfect. Like a marble statue. Cold, no choice, only obedience. Dean, do you know how many angels have actually seen God? Seen His face?"

Dean shrugged.

"All of you?"

"Four angels. Four. And I'm not one of them."

"That's it? Well, then how do you even know that there is a God?"

"We have to take it on faith. Which, we're killed if we don't have."

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Huh."

"I was stationed on Earth 2,000 years. Just… watching. Silent, invisible. Out in the road, sick for home, waiting on orders from an unknowable Father I can't begin to understand, so don't tell me that…"

Anna trailed off as Dean began chuckling.

"What is so funny? What?"

Dean shook his head and slowly stopped laughing.

"Nothing, sorry. It's just… I can relate."

Anna and Dean stared at one another, not hearing the footsteps as Alex came up behind them.

"Hey," called out Alex, causing both Anna and Dean to turn around.

"Did Sammy find something?" asked Dean.

"I think so," said Alex, motioning for them to follow her inside.

Sam pointed to a spot on the map of the state of Kentucky, which was spread out on Bobby's kitchen table.

"Union, Kentucky. Found some accounts of a local miracle," explained Sam.

"Yeah?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, um, in '85, there was an empty field outside of town. Six months later, there was a full-grown oak. They say that it looks a century old, at least," explained Sam, looking at all of the faces surrounding him around the kitchen table.

"Anna. What do you think?" asked Dean, looking over at the girl.

"The grace. Where it hit. It could've done something like that. Easy," answered Anna, nodding enthusiastically.

"So grace ground zero, it's not destruction, it's…" began Dean.

"Pure creation," finished Anna.

Dean glanced in his rearview mirror to check on Anna and Ruby, who were sitting in the backseat of the Impala. Alex was sitting up front with Sam and Dean, squished in the middle between her two brothers. Dean chuckled as he saw how far apart Ruby and Anna were sitting and Alex and Sam stared at him.

"What?" asked Ruby.

Dean shook his head, glancing in the mirror one more time.

"Nothing, it's just… An angel and a demon riding in the backseat. It's like the set-up to a bad joke."

Alex and Sam chuckled as well.

"Or a Penthouse Forum letter," finished Dean, still chuckling.

Ruby rolled her eyes as she glared over at Anna, who was staring straight ahead.

"Dude. Reality. Porn," said Sam.

Dean smirked.

"You call this reality?"

Alex nodded in agreement.

The next morning, they all climbed out of the car, heading towards the huge live oak tree in the middle of the Kentucky field.

"That's beautiful," remarked Dean.

"It's where the grace touched down. I can feel it," said Anna.

Sam, Alex, and Dean exchanged glances.

"You ready to do this?" asked Dean, looking back over at Anna, who stood in front of all of them.

Anna hesitated before answering.

"Not really."

She walked forward, Ruby walking right behind her. The three siblings followed the two girls. They approached the large tree trunk and Anna stepped up to it.

"Um, Anna? What are we even looking for?" asked Alex.

Anna said nothing, but placed her palm on the trunk of the tree.

"Doesn't matter. It's not here. Not anymore. Someone took it," answered Anna.

She looked back at all of them, her hand still placed on the tree's trunk. Dean looked back at his siblings, who just shrugged with confusion etched onto their faces.

That night, Anna stared out the window of the abandoned barn they were staying in for the night. Dean and Ruby entered the large barn, glancing at Anna as they walked inside.

"Alright, we've still got the hex bags so I say we head back to the panic room," offered Dean.

"What, forever?" asked Ruby.

"I'm just thinking out loud!" yelled Dean.

"Oh, you call that thinking?"

"Hey, hey, stop it," said Sam, stepping in from the corner of the room.

Alex walked over with him and she shot a nasty look over at Ruby as she stood next to Dean.

"Anna's grace is gone, do you understand? She can't angel up, she can't protect us. We can't fight Heaven and Hell. One side, maybe, but not both and definitely not at once," argued Ruby.

"Um, guys?" called out Anna, panic lining her voice.

They all turned to stare at her.

"The angels are talking again."

"What are they saying?" asked Alex.

"It's weird. Like a recording. A loop. It says, 'Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight or…'" Anna trailed off.

"Or what?" whispered Dean.

"Or we hurl him back to damnation," finished Anna, staring straight at Dean as she finished speaking.

Dean's eyes widened and Sam held up his pointer finger, telling Dean to hold on for just one minute. He walked closer to Anna.

"Anna, do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?" asked Sam.

Dean and Alex looked at the back of Sam's head, their eyes wide and filled with questions and confusion.

"To what? To kill them?" asked Anna.

Sam cocked his head to the side, shrugging.

"Nothing we could get to. Not right now," answered Anna, shaking her head no.

Dean and Alex stepped forward.

"Okay, wait. I say we call Bobby, we get back from hedonism-"

"Dean, what's he gonna tell us we don't already know?" asked Sam, yelling at his brother.

"I don't know, but we've got to think of something!" yelled back Dean.

He and Sam stared each other down as Alex glanced between the two of them, biting her lip.

Dean stood over the trunk of his Impala about an hour later, a light guiding his reading on the trunk of his car. He looked behind him as Anna walked toward him and Dean stood up from his crouch over the Impala's trunk.

"Hey. You holding up alright?" asked Dean.

"I'm trying," answered Anna, giving him a soft, tentative smile.

"Yeah," smiled back Dean, turning back to his reading.

"I'm a little scared, I guess."

Dean kept reading, but his eyebrows rose in acknowledgement of her statement. Anna saw his movement and sighed, uncrossing her arms from across her chest.

"So, um, Dean?"

Dean stood up from his crouch once again, looking over at her.

"I just wanted to thank you," said Anna.

"For what?" asked Dean, looking thoroughly confused.

"Everything. You guys, you didn't have to help me."

"Hey, let's can the 'thanks for trying' speech, alright? I mean, participation trophies suck ass," smirked Dean.

"I don't know. Maybe I don't deserve to be saved," said Anna, shaking her head.

"Don't talk like that."

"I disobeyed. Lucifer disobeyed. It's our number one and I knew it. Maybe I've gotta pay."

"Yeah, well. We've all done things we've got to pay for."

Anna looked at him and stepped forward, leaning against the trunk of Dean's car.

"I've got to tell you something. You're not gonna like it."

"Okay, what?" asked Dean, looking around anxiously.

"About a week ago, I heard the angels talking. About you. What you did in Hell. Dean, I know."

Dean looked over Anna's head, but quickly looked back down at her when she brought a hand up to his face. She placed her hand gently on his cheek and looked into his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault. And you should forgive yourself."

"Anna, I don't… I don't wanna…"

Anna's hand fell from Dean's face as he looked down at the dirt on the ground.

"I don't wanna… We can't talk about that," whispered Dean, shaking his head and finally looking back up at her.

"I know. But when you can, you have people that want to help. You're not alone. That's all I'm trying to say."

She slowly stood up and Dean looked into her eyes as she planted her lips onto his. Dean closed his own eyes as she gently kissed him, pulling away after a few brief seconds. When Dean opened his eyes again, she was staring up at him.

"What was that for?" asked Dean.

Anna smiled up at him.

"For you. My last night on Earth. All that."

Dean blinked a few times and Anna stared at him.

"You're stealing my best line," remarked Dean, smirking down at her.

Anna smiled back up at him and Dean shrugged, kissing her once again. He made his way to the front of the Impala, opening the door and maneuvering Anna down into the backseat. He pulled his plain black t-shirt off with one hand, grabbing it by the collar as Anna unbuttoned her white, flowy blouse. Dean moved back up her body, kissing her deeply. He pulled away again after a few seconds, reaching for the top button on Anna's jeans. Their gazes locked as Dean removed her jeans and threw them off to the side. Once her jeans were off, Anna began removing her bra and underwear while Dean shed the rest of his clothes. As he lay back on top of her, he kissed her passionately, lining himself up at her entrance and pushing into her slowly. Anna moaned at the sensation of Dean filling her and she raked her fingernails down his back. The windows of the Impala began fogging up as they continuously made love.

Back in the barn, Ruby stared down at Sam and Alex, who were both fast asleep, their heads down on the books they had been reading. She saw their chests rising and falling with their steady breaths and she smirked to herself, walking out of the barn as the twins slept.

Once she was outside, Ruby set one of her hex bags on fire, throwing it on the ground as it began burning. The flames were bright orange and she surveyed the surrounding areas.

"Hello, Ruby," said a man's voice directly behind her.

Ruby quickly spun around and saw Alistair standing directly behind her.

"Alistair," she said coolly.

"I have to say, I'm surprised to find you out in the open like this."

"Yeah? Desperate times."

"That they are," nodded Alistair.

"You looking for this?"

He pulled Ruby's demon killing knife out from behind his back.

"Your gawky human friend gave it to me."

"Keep it. I just came to talk," said Ruby.

Alistair placed the knife behind his back once again.

"About what? About how a demon is protecting an angel? We really must revoke your membership."

"Look, I know I'm not employee of the month, but this? I never wanted to get in the middle of this."

Ruby shook her head.

"Why are you here, Ruby?"

"I can give you the angel."

"Will you? And in return?"

"I walk away. Me and the Winchester siblings, all three of them. This angel business, it's none of our business."

"Hmm. You know, I'd always heard that you were a devious cowardly little slut. You don't disappoint," said Alistair, walking in a circle around Ruby.

"So what do you say?" she asked him, following his movements.

"It's interesting. Prudent."

Alistair turned back around to face Ruby and smirked as two demons came from out of nowhere, grabbing her by the arms and holding her down. He pulled the knife back out from behind his back, staring at it.

"But, uh, let me make you a… counter-offer."

Alistair ran the knife across Ruby's cheek, a sick, sadistic smile on his evil face.

Dean opened the barn door and slowed as he saw Uriel standing in the middle of the room, staring him down.

"Look at that. It's so cute that monkeys wear clothes," said Uriel.

Dean glared at him, looking around the barn for his siblings and Ruby.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" asked Dean.

"It's the only way we could chat. Since you're hiding like cowards."

"I don't normally see you off leash. Where's your… boss?"

"Castiel? Oh, he's, uh… he's not here. You see, he has this weakness. He likes you. But time's up, boy. We want the girl."

"Wouldn't try that if I were you."

Uriel scoffed.

"You see, she's got her grace back. Full blown angel now."

Uriel looked down at his necklace, chuckling.

"That would be a neat trick. Considering… I have her grace right here."

Uriel held up a vial on a chain around his neck, the white substance inside glowing. Dean's eyes widened.

"We can't let Hell get their hooks into it."

"Well, then why don't you just give her back her angel juice?"

Uriel tucked his necklace back into his shirt.

"She committed a serious crime."

"What, thinking for herself?"

"This isn't your business. Listen, she's not even human. Not technically."

"Well, I guess I just like being a pain in the ass."

Uriel chuckled, moving forward towards Dean with a smirk on his lips.

"Nah, there's more. You cut yourself a slice of angel food cake. Didn't you? Huh?"

Dean said nothing.

"You did!"

Uriel laughed.

"What do you care?"

Uriel stepped away from him, his hands up in surrender.

"Well, it's your last chance. Give us the girl or-"

"Or what? What, you gonna toss me back in the hole? You're bluffing."

"Try me. There's a whole lot bigger things we have for you, Dean. You can be replaced."

Dean nodded, licked his lips, and looked down at the floor for a few brief seconds. Once he looked back up at Uriel, he held his arms out wide.

"What the hell. Do it."

Uriel stalked forward, Dean never looking at him. Uriel shook his head.

"You're just crazy enough to go, aren't you?"

"What can I say, I don't break easy."

"Oh, yes… you do. You just gotta know where to apply the right pressure," whispered Uriel.

The next morning, Anna stood by the large barn door, watching outside. She glanced behind her to see Dean drinking from a flask, Alex sitting beside Dean, and Sam was pacing the length of the floor.

"I don't know, guys. Where's Ruby?" asked Sam, the worry and panic setting in while he spoke and paced the length of the floor once again.

"Hey, she's your hell, buddy," snapped Dean, drinking from his flask again.

Alex rolled her eyes and smacked Dean's arm, giving him a stern look, warning him to stop. Sam turned and glared at Dean while Anna walked over to stand in front of him.

"It's a little bit too early for that, isn't it?" she asked, pointing to Dean's silver flash full of whiskey.

Dean shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips.

"It's 2 A.M. somewhere."

Alex smirked at her older brother's smart-ass response, but Anna looked even more worried about him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

Anna stared at him for a little while longer until the wind began howling outside. The huge double doors of the barn flew open, Castiel and Uriel walking inside of the barn. The doors slammed closed behind them and the siblings stood in the middle of the barn, Anna in the middle with Alex. Sam held a protective arm out in front of Anna's body. Castiel stared straight at her.

"Hello, Anna. It's good to see you," stated Castiel, his gaze never wavering from hers.

"How? How'd you find us?" asked Sam, his tone very demanding.

Castiel's eyes briefly flickered over to Dean's face and Sam and Alex looked over at him in shock. Dean looked down at the floor, guilt all over his face. Anna looked up at him sadly. Castiel looked down at the floor.

"Dean?" asked Alex softly.

Dean ignored her, looking at Anna instead.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

"Why?" demanded Sam, pulling Alex closer to him instead of Dean.

Dean continued staring at Anna, ignoring Sam's question. Anna looked away from her and looked forward to Castiel and Uriel.

"Because they gave him a choice. They either kill me or kill Alex and you," answered Anna, looking at Sam.

Alex gasped and reached for Sam's hand. He grabbed it and squeezed her fingers.

"I know how their minds work," said Anna, staring back at the two men in front of her with hatred.

Castiel looked at her finally, no emotions showing on his face. Anna turned to face Dean once again, rubbing a hand down his arm gently. She leaned forward and kissed his lips, Castiel watching their exchange. Their foreheads remained touching as Anna pulled away from their kiss.

"You did the best you could. And I forgive you," whispered Anna, pulling away from Dean completely.

Dean nodded sadly and he watched with his siblings as Anna stepped forward slightly.

"Okay. No more tricks. No more running. I'm ready," said Anna, looking at the two angels in front of her.

"I'm sorry," apologized Castiel, no sort of emotion evident in his tone of voice.

"No. You're not. Not really. You don't even know that feeling, being sorry," said Anna, shaking her head.

"Still, we have a history, Anna. It's just-"

"Orders are orders. I know. Just make it quick," urged Anna.

Dean shook his head, his eyes full of pain and guilt as he shut them. Sam looked worried while Alex scooted closer to his side, turning her head into his chest.

"Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head," said Alistair.

Everyone except for Uriel and Castiel whirled around to face Alistair, Anna letting out a small, frightened gasp as she whirled around. Dean's eyes widened as he saw Ruby being held up by two other demons, Alistair standing in front of them, pointing his finger at Castiel. Ruby had blood across her stomach and she was struggling to stay conscious, let alone upright and on her feet. Uriel walked forward towards all of the demons while the Winchester siblings ushered Anna out of the way of Uriel's path. The two demons threw Ruby to the side and onto the dirt floor.

"How dare you come in this room, you bastard," said Uriel, his tone absolutely menacing.

"Name calling. That hurt my feelings, you sanctimonious, fanatical prick," shot back Alistair.

"Turn around and walk away. Now," said Castiel.

Alistair looked over Uriel's shoulder at him, nodding an acknowledgement.

"Sure. Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper," said Alistair, throwing in a wink.

"You know who we are and what we'll do," said Castiel, stepping forward to join Uriel.

"Now, I won't say it again. Leave. Now. Or be laid to waste," threatened Castiel.

"I think I'll take my chances," shot back Alistair.

The tension in the room rose to a boiling point until finally, Uriel grabbed the demon closest to him, shoving him into the nearest wood pole. The second demon came up behind Uriel and Uriel whirled around, punching him directly in the nose. The demon rolled away to the other side of the barn while Castiel punched Alistair in the face in quick succession. After he got in a good three punches, Castiel held one hand on Alistair's forehead and the other was placed on his shoulder. The siblings looked on curiously.

"Sorry, kiddo. Why don't you go run to Daddy?" asked Alistair.

Castiel's eyes widened as Alistair broke his hold on him, punching him in the face next and then knocking him onto his back a few feet away. He ran over and grabbed Castiel by his navy blue tie, holding him closer to his face. Uriel held his hand to the forehead of one demon and the demon screamed in pain as he was pulled from the body he was currently residing in. Castiel looked up at Alistair's face above him, his eyes widening in fear. Alistair began chanting in Latin, tightening his hold around Castiel's neck. But before he could finish his Latin chant, Dean hit him in the face with a shovel. Alistair stumbled back, letting go of Castiel. He snickered.

"Dean, Dean, Dean. I am so disappointed in you. You had such promise!" yelled Alistair.

Dean shrunk back, Alex and Sam looking at him curiously. Alistair threw up his hand, palm up and facing them and they all grabbed their throats, falling to their knees in pain as they tried to gasp for air. Uriel exorcised the final demon, holding his hand up to the man's forehead. As the man's eyes closed, Anna ran over to Uriel, grabbed her grace from around his necklace, and threw it on the floor, smashing it open before Uriel even had time to protest her actions. White light filled the room and a bright white cloud of smoke entered Anna's mouth. She fell to the ground on her knees once all of her grace was returned, gasping for air.

"Shut your eyes! Shut your eyes!" yelled Anna, as she began standing up once again.

Everyone covered their eyes using their forearms except for Castiel, Alistair, and Uriel. Anna's screaming echoed around the room, but no one knew what was happening around them. Another burst of bright white light filled the room and then Anna's screams disappeared, Alistair grabbing her and leaving with her. They all stood up slowly once it was over and Dean reached down on the floor, picking up Ruby's knife from the middle of the room. He looked at Castiel and Uriel.

"So what are you guys waiting for? Go get Anna. Unless, of course, you're scared," said Dean.

"This isn't over!" yelled Uriel, rushing towards Dean, but Castiel pulled him back.

Dean nodded.

"It sure looks like it's over to me, Chuckles."

Uriel glared at him for one moment longer until the flapping of wings filled the room and Castiel and Uriel disappeared abruptly. Dean sighed in relief, Sam scratched the back of his neck, Alex hugged Dean, and Ruby waddled over to them, still pale and weak from her blood loss.

"Are you okay?" asked Sam, watching her struggle towards them.

"Not so much," answered Ruby.

"What took you so long to get here?" asked Dean.

Ruby managed to roll her eyes through her pain.

"I'm sorry I'm so late with the demon delivery. I mean, I was only being tortured."

Dean nodded slowly, looking at the wound on her stomach, blood still seeping through her shirt, which was drenched in lots of blood. Sam and Alex looked at the wound too, frowning.

"Well, I've gotta hand it to you, Sammy. Bringing 'em all together, all at once. Angels and demons? That's a damn good plan," remarked Dean, smirking to himself.

Alex nodded in agreement, a small smile on her face as well and Sam nodded his thanks.

"Yeah, well, when you got Godzilla and Mathra on your ass, it's best to just get of their way and let them fight," said Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Right. Now you're just bragging."

"So I guess she's some big-time angel now, huh?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded along with Alex while Sam glanced at Ruby.

"Well, she must be happy," finished Sam.

"Wherever she is," said Alex.

Dean looked up from the floor, catching Ruby's glare.

"I doubt it," said Dean.

A few hours later, Dean had the Impala parked on the side of the road. He was leaning against the passenger side near the hood of the car while Alex and Sam sat on the hood of the car.

"I honestly can't believe we made it out of there alive," remarked Dean.

Alex nodded while Sam scoffed.

"Again," said Sam.

Dean smirked and the three of them clinked their beer bottles together in a sort of cheers toast before taking drinks from them. After a few moments of silence, Dean sighed.

"I know you guys heard him," said Dean.

"Who?" asked Alex, looking at her oldest brother.

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Alistair. What he said. About how I had promise."

"We heard him," said Sam.

"You curious at all?" asked Dean.

"Dean, we're damn curious. But, if you're not talking about Hell…" began Sam.

"Then we're not pushing," finished Alex.

Dean nodded and took another drink from his cold beer. Sam and Alex did the same.

"It wasn't four months, you know."

Sam and Alex looked at their older brother curiously.

"What?" they asked at the same exact time.

"It was four months up here, but down there… I don't know, time's different. It was more like 40 years."

Sam shook his head while Alex whispered.

"Oh my God."

"They, uh… they sliced… carved… and tore me in ways that you… Until there was absolutely nothing left."

Sam and Alex looked disgusted, Alex on the brink of tears as she peeled back the label on her beer bottle.

"And then suddenly… I would be whole again. Like magic. Just so they could start in all over. And Alistair, at the end of every day, every single one, he would come over and he would make me an offer. To take me off the rack… if I put other souls on. If I started the torture. And every single day, I told him to stick it where the sun shines," smirked Dean.

Alex choked back a sob and Sam placed a comforting hand on her knee closest to him.

"For 30 years, I told him that. But then I couldn't do it anymore," cried Dean, his voice full of tears.

Alex began crying and Sam pulled her into his side as Dean let a few tears escape his eyes and slide down his cheeks.

"I couldn't. And I got off that rack. God help me, I got right off that… And I started ripping them apart. God, I lost count of how many souls… Th… The things that I did to them…" Dean trailed off, his tears flowing pretty freely now.

"Dean," whispered Sam.

Sam cleared his throat to get a hold of his emotions as Dean lost it.

"Dean, look, you held out for 30 years, that's more than anyone would have," encouraged Sam.

Dean shook his head as he looked down at the gravel road, crying. Alex stood up from her place on the car and walked over to stand in front of Dean. She forced him to look at her face and Dean buried his head into her shoulder. Alex soothed him, her own tears falling as Dean buried his choking sobs into her neck and shoulder, his back heaving with every sob that escaped from him. Sam looked on at his siblings sadly, hurting for Dean. After a few minutes, Dean stood up straight, wiping away his tears.

"How I feel… Inside me… I wish I couldn't feel anything, I truly do. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing."

Sam nodded from behind Dean. Alex stood by Dean's side and Dean put his arm around her, pulling her close.

A few nights later, Alex and Sam were both asleep, Alex in the back and Sam in the passenger seat. Dean was flipping through some sort of file, a flashlight in one hand as he read. An owl hooted loudly outside of the car, causing both Alex and Sam to awaken and look around. Alex groaned as she stretched out. Sam barely opened his eyes as he spoke to Dean.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" shot back Dean.

"Like you're looking for a job," said Sam.

Dean smirked.

"Yahtzee, little brother."

Sam and Alex both sighed as they sat up and took in the files in Dean's hands.

"We just finished a job like two hours ago," whined Alex, a huge yawn spreading across her face.

Dean raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

"Adrenaline's still pumping, I guess."

Sam sighed and rubbed a hand over his face.

"So what do you think?" asked Dean, handing the file over to Sam.

Alex read over Sam's shoulder.

"Cedar Rapids, Tulsa, or Chi town?" asked Dean.

"I am all for working, I really am, but you've got us chasing cases non-stop for like a month now," argued Sam.

"Yeah, we all need some sleep, Dean," agreed Alex.

"Eh, we can sleep when we're dead," said Dean, taking back the files and looking at each one of them again.

"You're exhausted, Dean," said Sam.

"I'm great!" yelled Dean.

"No, you're not. You're running on fumes and you can't run forever," argued Alex, crossing her arms over her chest.

Dean smirked, looking up from his reading.

"And what am I running from exactly?"

Sam and Alex exchanged a look before Sam finally spoke up for the both of them.

"From what you told us. Or are we pretending that never happened?"

Dean looked at both of his siblings for a beat longer, nodded his head, and turned back to the files scattered across his lap.

"Stratton, Nebraska. Farm town. A man gets hacked to death in a locked room inside a locked house, no signs of forced entry."

"Sounds like a ghost," said Alex, lying back down on her seat in the back of the Impala.

"Yes, it does," agreed Dean.

Sam sighed and leaned his head against the passenger side window in frustration.

About a day and a half later, Dean pulled the Impala up the long gravel driveway of the farmhouse that they suspected held a ghost. They saw the sign at the end of the driveway and noted that the house was for sale, but they didn't see the "SOLD" sign that had fallen into the grass in front of the larger sign. Dean parked the Impala directly in front of the house and Alex whistled as they all climbed out of the car.

"That's a pretty nice place," she remarked.

The house was painted white, a wrap-around porch the first thing anyone would notice. The house was obviously old, but was well kept. The second story of the house looked just as nice as the first, at least from the outside view. Sam and Dean led the way to the front of the house and up the twenty wood stairs that brought them to the front door. Dean pulled out his pocketknife and quickly picked the effortlessly, swinging the creaky wooden front door open within a matter of seconds. Sam and Alex stepped inside first while Dean shut the front door before following his siblings. All of the furniture was gone, so the house seemed extra spacious and open as they walked through it.

"Boy, three bedrooms, two baths, and one homicide. This place is gonna sell like hotcakes," remarked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and went off to explore more of the house, the floorboards creaking as she walked over them. The kitchen was painted a bright yellow color, the cabinets painted an off-white. The tile on the floor looked as if it was from the 1970s. Sam began opening some of the cabinets on one side while Dean took the other side of the room. Alex felt a chill run up her spine as she stood in the middle of the room, as if they were being watched. She shook off the strange feeling and watched as Dean found a weird shape in the wall. She walked closer to him.

"Hey, check this out," called out Dean.

Sam walked over as well, watching as Dean knocked on the part of the wall that looked almost like a small door.

"Huh," said Sam, running his hands over the door in the wall.

"It's probably a dumb-waiter," said Alex, looking at the wall.

Sam nodded in agreement with his twin sister.

"All these old places had them," he said.

Dean chuckled.

"Know it alls," he mumbled under his breath.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes. She punched Dean in the arm and he rubbed his arm where she had hit him, pouting. She smirked and flounced out of the room, Dean and Sam following her up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Alex headed towards the first door she saw. It was one of the guest bedrooms and Sam and Dean followed her inside the room. The EMF meter began buzzing and vibrating in Sam's jacket pocket.

"Well, no bloodstains, a fresh coat of paint. This is a bunch of bullshit," sighed Dean, walking over to look out the grimy window.

"Needle's all over the place on this thing," remarked Sam, staring down at the EMF meter that was now in his hands.

"Yeah, because you've got power lines," answered Dean, pointing out the window at them.

Sam threw up his hands and turned off the EMF.

"Great," muttered Alex, picking at her nails in the middle of the room, bored.

She discretely watched as Sam opened the closet door.

"Ugh," said Dean, looking at the closet's floor.

Alex walked over and made a disgusted face. On the floor of the closet was the head of a baby doll. The hair was all chopped off and its eyes were especially eerie looking as well.

"Well that's super disturbing," remarked Dean, staring down at the doll's head.

"Think it got left behind?" asked Alex.

"By who? Unless Bill Gibson likes to play with doll heads," said Dean.

Sam chuckled, but abruptly stopped as they heard the sound of cars coming up the long gravel driveway. Sam shut the closet door as he and his siblings looked out the bedroom window. A white SUV was coming down the drive, a large white moving truck directly behind the SUV.

"Uh-oh," whispered Sam, his eyes wide.

"I thought you said this place was still for sale," said Dean, watching the two cars inch closer and closer to the haunted house.

"Yeah, but apparently it's not," said Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes and headed for the bedroom door, her brothers following close behind. Alex clambered down the stairs, quickly throwing open the front door once she had reached it. She headed down the porch steps quickly, Sam and Dean directly behind her.

"Who are they?" asked a teenage girl, stepping out of the white SUV.

Alex cringed, but forced a bright smile on her pretty face, heading for the family of five.

"Hi. Can I help you?" asked the father of the family, standing in front of his teenage daughter.

"Hi. Are you the new owners?" asked Alex.

"Yeah. And you guys are?"

"This is my brother, Mr. Stanley. And this is our friend, Mr. Babaar," said Alex, watching as her brothers pulled out some sort of fake badges, flashing them in the man's face quickly.

"We're County Code Enforcers," said Dean, stuffing his badge back into his jacket pocket.

"We had the building inspected last week," said the father, looking back at his family and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is there a problem?" asked his wife from behind him.

Sam looked towards the house, trying to come up with a quick lie. Alex beat him to it, shaking her head gravely, her lips pursed.

"Asbestos in the walls. A gas leak, yeah, I'd say we've got a problem."

"Asbestos? Meaning what?" asked the man's wife.

"Meaning, that until this house is up to code, it's uninhabitable," answered Sam, his face looking grim, but firm as well.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're saying we can't stay here?" asked the man, pointing to his newly bought property.

"It's a health hazard. Trust me, you don't want to stay here," answered Dean, shaking his head firmly.

"Hold on," said the man's brother, standing with the rest of the family.

He stepped forward to stand beside his brother now.

"We just drove 400 miles," he argued.

"There's a motel just down the road. Until this gets cleaned up, I suggest you stay there," offered Dean.

There was a moment of silence until the father of the family spoke up once again.

"Alright and what if we don't want to stay there?"

"Well, you get a fine or you go to jail. So pick your poison," smirked Alex.

The man turned to look back at his family. He sighed, but turned back to the siblings, holding up one of his index fingers.

"One night. One night, and then I will take care of everything. ASAP, I promise," said the man.

Dean nodded his head.

"Yeah, you better do that."

The man's teenage daughter looked at him with disgust while the rest of his family trudged back to their cars.

"Another motel? Awesome, Dad. I hope this one had hooker sheets like the last one we chose."

Alex hid a chuckle and a smirk at the girl's obvious dislike of her current situation. They headed back for the house to figure out their game plan.

About an hour or so later, the three siblings were talking to the woman who had found the dead man's body, Mr. Gibson's maid. They talked to her through her screen door.

"What did the room look like after you found it, Mrs. Terry?" asked Sam.

"I already told the local boys. There was blood. Everywhere," she answered, her arms crossed over her chest.

"And Mr. Gibson, where was he?" asked Dean.

Her eyes flicked over to his through her screen door. She paused before answering, but her eyes never left Dean's.

"Everywhere."

"How long have you been cleaning Mr. Gibson's house?" asked Alex, holding back her disgust at the woman's previous response.

"Hmm, about five years."

"So you know him pretty well then?" asked Dean.

"Ah, not really well. He was really private, not the easiest man to get along with. Not that I can really blame him."

"What do you mean?" asked Sam.

"His wife dies in childbirth. Daughter hangs herself in the attic 20 years later, I'd be bitter too. I think I've got some pictures."

The woman walks away and the siblings exchange a series of uneasy glances at her revelations about Mr. Gibson's past life. She returns after a moment and they all look forward once again. She opens her screen door briefly, handing her pictures over into Dean's outstretched hand.

"Here."

"Thanks," says Dean, looking through the very few pictures she hands to him as she shuts the screen door once again.

"Can we please keep these?" asked Alex, looking over at the pictures briefly.

"Suit yourselves."

"Now, why'd the daughter kill herself?" asked Alex.

The woman shakes her head.

"Oh, I don't know. That was before my time."

"Did you ever notice anything odd in the house when you were cleaning it?" asked Dean, sticking the pictures she had given them into the pocket of his jacket.

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Like lights going on and off, things not being where you left them," answered Dean, looking at Mrs. Terry's face.

She pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Nope."

After a few seconds, a look of confusion spread across her face.

"Well, maybe there was one thing."

"And what's that?" asked Alex.

"Well, sometimes I thought I heard like a… rustling in the walls."

"Like rats?" asked Dean.

"Yeah."

"Well, there must have been some big sons of guns out there, huh?" joked Dean, a smirk playing on his lips.

Mrs. Terry just shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. I never saw any."

Dean looked taken aback.

"Do you happen to know where Mrs. Gibson and her daughter were buried?" asked Sam.

"Ah, they were both cremated," nodded Mrs. Terry.

"Alright so it probably wasn't the mom or the daughter," remarked Sam as they were walking towards the Impala and away from Mrs. Terry's trailer home.

"So whose ghost was it?" asked Alex, popping a piece of bubble gum into her mouth.

"I don't know, but I say we give that place a real thorough once over and see," answered Dean, opening his car door and climbing inside the Impala.

Later that night, Dean drove up the long gravel driveway to Mr. Gibson's old house. His headlights were off, but the lights in the house were burning brightly.

"Crap. So what now?" asked Dean, taking in the lights on in the house.

"We could tell them the truth," encouraged Sam.

Alex and Dean looked at him strangely.

"Really?" asked Alex.

Sam shook his head.

"No, not really."

Alex chuckled, but went back to watching the house closely with her brothers.

After about fifteen minutes, screams sounded from one of the many upstairs bedrooms.

"Fuck," muttered Alex.

They all three quickly climbed out of the car, rushing towards the large house in the distance. Dean banged on the door and when the man's brother from earlier in the day pulled it open, the three siblings rushed inside.

"We heard screams, what's going on?" asked Dean, looking around the room and taking them all in.

"Ah, you three! Did any of you touch my daughter?" yelled the father, pointing towards his teenage daughter, who had cuddled into her mother's side.

"What? No," answered Dean, looking thoroughly confused.

"Who are you three anyway?"

"Just relax, alright?" encouraged Sam.

He glanced at his siblings briefly and they both nodded. Sam licked his lips and took in a deep breath before speaking once again.

"You have a ghost living in your home."

"A ghost," said the father, rolling his eyes.

"See? I told you, Dad!" yelled the girl.

"It's the girl!" yelled the younger boy child.

"Calm down, the both of you. Just relax," said their father, pushing them behind him once again.

He whirled around and faced the three Winchester siblings.

"What game are you three playing at?" he asked them.

"Look, sir, your family is in danger and you need to leave this house right now," said Alex.

As soon as he sentence was finished, all of the lights in the house turned off, leaving all of them in complete and total darkness. The teenage girl screamed and whimpered.

"What the hell," asked the uncle of the family, standing behind the Winchester siblings.

"No one move!" yelled Dean.

They all stood, silent, and looked around, listening. They heard whimpers from an animal and they steadily grew louder.

"Buster!" yelled the boy, whose name was Danny.

The dad brushed past the three siblings and ran out the front door and onto the wrap-around porch.

"What the-" whispered Sam, watching the man walk past him and out the door.

"Buster!" yelled Brian, the father of the family.

His brother, Ted, joined him on the front porch as they looked for the lost dog.

"Buster!" yelled Brian again.

The two men ran off the porch, listening for Buster's whimpers of pain. Sam and Dean followed them outside as Alex stayed inside with the rest of the family members. As the four men rounded one corner of the house, they slowed down to a walk, taking in the horrible and gruesome scene in front of them now.

"What the hell?" whispered Ted, looking down towards his feet.

They inched closer towards the edge of the moving van in front of them. Written on the side in Buster's blood were the words, "Too Late." The kids ran outside with their mom and Alex hot on their heels. They ran around the porch until they spotted the rest of their family.

"Buster!" yelled Danny, the little boy.

His mother and his sister gasped as they took in the scene before them. Alex's stomach rolled with waves of nausea.

"Get back inside," said Brian, calmly.

"Go!" he yelled, his family not moving fast enough for him after a few seconds.

Their mother shielded them from the horrible scene and led them back inside of the house.

"We are not the bad guys here," said Dean, talking to Brian and Ted.

Brian's head whirled around to look at Sam and Dean a few feet behind him.

"You're in danger," continued Dean.

"But first things first. You've got to get your family the hell out of here," said Sam, breathing a little heavily from the adrenaline rush from the ghost scare.

Brian looked at his brother, Ted. He looked back at the words written on the side of the van and nodded slowly.

Brian ran back inside his newly bought home and retrieved the rest of his family members. Dean led them back down the front porch steps and onto the solid ground.

"Alright, head back to that motel I was telling you about earlier today, you'll be safe there," said Dean.

"What are you three going to do?" asked Brian.

Dean didn't answer, taking in his Impala.

"Oh, no. Oh, come on!" he yelled.

Alex winced when she saw Dean's slashed tires, knowing he would now be beyond livid with this ghost.

"Oh, come on!" yelled Dean, slamming his hands down on the hood of his precious Impala.

Brian checked his SUV and saw that his tires were also slashed. Sam ran to the back of the car and threw open the trunk of the car. He cursed under his breath.

"Dude, all of our guns are gone! So is the- Basically everything is gone!" yelled Sam, walking back around to the front of the car.

"The truck's no good either!" yelled Ted, running back towards all of them.

"All of our tires are slashed," said Brian, heading back towards his terrified family.

"What kind of ghost messes with a man's fucking wheels!" yelled Dean, looking at the house.

"What's going on? What's going on?" asked the teenage daughter, terrified out of her mind now.

She looked out in the farm fields and screamed.

"What's going on?" asked her mother, pulling her daughter in close.

"She's there, she's there, I just freaking saw her there in the woods!" yelled the girl.

Sam, Alex, and Dean shined their flashlights into the fields, but saw absolutely nothing or no one.

"What the hell's a freaking ghost doing outside of her house?" whispered Alex, her eyes wide as she looked for the girl.

"I guess we have to stay and find out now," whispered Sam.

Dean looked at the two of them and turned his flashlight off.

"Everybody, back inside," said Dean.

"Are you crazy, we need to get the hell out of here!" yelled Ted.

"With what? This ghost is hunting us!" yelled Dean.

He and Ted had a stare down before Dean yelled again.

"Everybody, back inside, now!" he yelled.

"Let's move here, people!" encouraged Alex, following the family up their front porch steps.

Sam poured a large circle of salt around the terrified family while Dean and Alex crouched down beside him, watching him.

"Whatever's out there can't get inside this circle. Now, as long as the salt line is unbroken, this is the safest place to be," said Dean.

He turned away to tend to the small fire they had gotten started in the fireplace.

"Safe from ghosts," stated Brian, sounding very skeptical and bitter.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," said Dean, looking back at him.

Brian nodded, his hands on his hips.

"Okay. I'm not going to listen to this craziness anymore. Come on. I've gotta get my family out of here, let's go," said Brian, grabbing his wife by the arm and pulling her up into a standing position.

Dean stood up from his crouching position and so did Alex.

"No one is going anywhere until we kill this damn thing!" yelled Dean.

Sam blocked Brian's path out of the circle of salt.

"Sir, please. This is what we do, just… trust us," pleaded Sam, looking at Brian sadly.

"You hunt ghosts?" asked Danny, looking at all three of them with shock and awe in his features.

Dean and Alex nodded.

"That's right, little man," said Dean.

"Like _Scooby Doo_?"

The three of them chuckled.

"Even better than them," said Alex, smiling.

Ted rolled his eyes and looked away from all three of them. Sam looked at the teenage girl.

"You saw her outside, right?" he asked her.

The girl nodded and Sam stepped a little bit closer to her.

"Okay. Did she look like either one of these girls?" asked Sam, holding out the pictures that Mrs. Terry had given them earlier.

The teenage girl looked over the photos carefully. After a few seconds, she pointed to the picture of Mr. Gibson's daughter.

"Her. She was paler and a lot dirtier, but that was her," she answered.

"That's the girl in the walls," chimed in Danny.

Sam looked at him, his eyebrows raised. Alex and Dean moved closer to all of them.

"So it's the daughter?" asked Sam, looking back at his siblings.

"That girl in the picture, she… she's dead?" asked the mother, looking over at Sam.

Sam hesitated before answering, taking a deep breath.

"She killed herself inside this house," he answered.

The woman looked pained as she looked behind her at her husband. She placed a hand on each of her children's shoulders while Sam pulled his siblings off to a corner of the large living room.

"So maybe we got her story wrong and Rebecca wasn't cremated," suggested Alex.

"Unless her spirit's attached to something inside this house," said Sam.

"She hung herself up in the attic, right?" asked Dean.

"You want to baby-sit and we'll check it out?" asked Alex, talking to Dean.

Dean nodded and Sam and Alex were about to step forward until Ted stopped them right in their tracks.

"Look, I don't care who hung themselves where, maybe something is going on here-"

"It's a spirit, man," said Dean, cutting Ted off mid-sentence.

"No, it's just some damn backwoods hillbilly bitch and I'm not about to sit around here, waiting for her to go all Deliverance on my ass," yelled Ted.

"Well, no one is leaving this house," argued Dean.

"Stop me," threatened Ted, walking straight past Dean.

Dean grabbed Ted by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back, Ted's sister-in-law gasping at the violence Dean used.

"Listen, man. I've got a gun. If you don't get your sorry ass back into that circle of salt, then you're going to have yourself a third hole," threatened Dean.

Ted escaped from Dean's hold, but walked back into the circle of salt, glaring the entire time he did so. Alex and Sam walked over to Dean.

"Dude, you definitely don't have a gun," whispered Sam.

"And? I'm not letting that dumbass bastard or anyone else die tonight, do you two hear me?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"You alright?" asked Alex, her tone almost motherly now as she looked over at her oldest brother.

Dean just shrugged, nodding his head towards the staircase beside him.

"You two, go. Now," he whispered.

Sam and Alex brushed past him and headed up the creaky wooden stairs to the attic, trying to solve this house's mystery.

After Sam and Alex had been gone for quite a while, a strange creaking noise began in the living room.

"What was that?" whispered the teenage daughter, her eyes full of unshed tears and fear.

They all shut up and listened as a door across the room slowly creaked open. Dean watched as a pale white arm appeared first from behind the door and then the whole body and face of the ghost girl appeared. The teenage daughter whimpered from somewhere behind Dean. The entire family stepped into the large circle of salt as the girl began slowly stepping out from the wall.

"Mom," whispered the teenage daughter, snuggling into her mom's comforting embrace.

"Alright, everyone, stay calm. She's a ghost, she can't come into this circle," said Dean, his voice calm and steady.

The girl was pale and dirty, her hair all ratty and knotted. Her clothes were torn beyond belief as she stepped closer to the circle of salt. She snarled at all of them, her lips curling up over her nasty yellow teeth as her dirty fists clenched at her sides. She pulled a knife from out of her sleeve and held it in her left hand as she slowly lifted one foot up and over, placing it inside the circle of salt. The entire family gasped and whimpered behind Dean as she placed her other foot into the circle as well so that she was standing in the circle of salt with all of them.

"I thought you said ghosts couldn't cross the circle of salt!" yelled the teenage daughter, looking over at Dean with panic and fear written all over her face.

"They can't, she's not a ghost," said Dean, very calmly.

"Shoot her then!" yelled Ted.

"Yeah, about that…" trailed off Dean, looking at the girl in front of him.

The girl let out an angry, high-pitched scream and lunged forward, trying to attack Dean with her knife.

"Everyone, move, move!" yelled Dean, dodging the blow.

The family moved from out of the circle of salt and ran for the front door. The girl lunged for Dean again, but he continuously dodged her blows. She kept screaming as she kept fighting Dean. Dean tripped and fell on his back while the girl looked down at him. He held up his arms to block her blow, but as she lunged forward to stab him with her knife, Sam and Alex appeared back downstairs.

"Hey!" yelled Alex.

The girl looked over at her and Alex shined her flashlight directly into the girl's eyes. The girl screamed once again and ran away from the light, her arms coming up to shield her eyes and cover her face from the bright white light from Alex's flashlight. She ran into a closet, whimpering and screaming. Sam ran over to the place where she had escaped and flung the doors open, shining his light inside the little closet. He looked back at his siblings, his eyes wide.

Alex, Sam, and Dean walked down the front porch steps, Brian running over to them.

"Hey, hey! Are you alright?" he asked Dean, looking him over quickly.

"Where is everyone else?" asked Dean, his voice gruff.

Brian grabbed him by the arm and began leading him towards everyone else.

"Hiding."

Dean pulled out of Brian's hold on his arm.

"Alright, well, go get them. Go, go get them!"

Dean patted Brian on the shoulder and he ran off towards the corner of his house to get the rest of his family. He watched Brian leave and then he turned back to his siblings.

"So it's not a ghost," he stated.

Sam and Alex shook their heads.

"No, it's just a girl?" asked Sam.

"It's not just any girl, it's psycho. I'm telling you, man, humans," said Dean, looking disgusted with his own species.

"So who is she then?" asked Alex.

"I don't know, maybe it's the daughter, Rebecca. Maybe she didn't actually hang herself a while ago," answered Dean.

"Dean, you know she would have to be like 50 years old by now, right?" asked Sam, looking concerned with Dean's logic.

Dean just shrugged in frustration, throwing his hands out to his sides.

"Man, I don't know. What'd you guys find in the attic?" he asked.

"Um, some old junk. We found Rebecca's diary and that's about it," answered Alex, chewing on her thumbnail as she thought about this mystery.

"I wish you would have found some more stuff, but listen, we've got to keep this family safe. I mean, it's just a human girl and so they can make a run for it, we've just gotta hold the crazy girl off," suggested Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded in agreement with his plan. The family rushed towards them then and the three Winchester siblings looked at all of them.

"We're alright," reassured the mother, holding her teenage daughter close.

"Danny, Ted, we've gotta leave, now!" yelled Brian, looking around for his brother and his son.

Ted came running around the corner of the house, a flashlight in one of his hands, but Danny wasn't with him.

"I'm good!" yelled Ted, running towards them.

"Danny!" yelled his mother, looking around Ted for her son.

"Come on!" she called, brushing past everyone else to call out for her son.

"Danny, buddy, we've gotta go!" yelled Brian, joining his wife in the yelling process now.

"I told you she was just some crazy bitch," said Ted, looking down at Dean.

"Yes, you did, jackass," scoffed Dean, glaring at him.

"Hey, um, head to town and we'll take it from here, alright?" asked Sam, looking at Brian now.

"Brian, where… where is my son?" asked Brian's wife, finally beginning to panic once she realized that Danny was nowhere to be found with them.

"Honey, you've got to take Kate and go now! I promise, we will find Danny, we will find him!" yelled Brian, grabbing his wife's shoulders.

She vehemently shook her head.

"No, not without Danny!"

"She's right, she's right. Until we find your son, the safest place for all of you right now is the shed," said Dean, pointing behind him to the metal garden shed in their front yard.

"I am not going in there either," said Kate, shaking her head.

"Yes, you are. It is the best defense," argued Dean, looking her straight in the face.

"The windows are all boarded up, it's only got one door. It's our best shot right now. Please, trust me," said Dean.

Brian nodded and looked at his wife.

"Susie, take Kate and go into that shed. Go. Go," urged Brian.

Susie threw her arm over Kate's shoulder and dragged her over to the shed.

"Alright, Alex and I will take the outside while you three take the house," said Sam, looking at the other three men.

They all nodded and he grabbed Alex's hand, heading for the side of the house.

"Let's go," urged Sam.

Dean, Ted, and Brian headed into the house, starting with the living room first. Dean yanked open the closet doors that the girl had escaped into earlier while Brian and Ted armed themselves with knives from the yet to be unpacked boxes. Dean began feeling along the walls for openings and Ted shined his light on him.

"What are you doing?" asked Brian, looking at Dean curiously.

Dean looked back at the both of them before turning back to his inspection of the walls.

"Well, she's human, so she had to come from somewhere inside this house," answered Dean.

He moved along the wall until he found a spot on the wall that he could press in. He looked back at the two other men, a subtle smirk on his face. He pried the wall open and both Brian and Ted flinched back from the disgusting smell.

"Do you smell that?" asked Ted, his eyes closed from the ridiculous stench.

"Every single day, I smell that," answered Dean.

He pried the wall open a little further until he could poke his head inside. He looked around and saw that it was big enough for him to fit inside the walls. He managed to crawl inside the walls, breathing through his mouth so he wouldn't have to focus on the disgusting smell. Dean stood up straight, wary of his surroundings as he walked forward through the walls of the old house. He spotted cobwebs were higher up above his head as he walked forward.

"Come on," said Dean, urging Ted and Brian to join him.

He moved forward slightly so that both men could fit inside the walls comfortably with him. Once they were all inside, Dean rounded a corner first. As he walked farther down this new hallway, he spotted a rather large hole in the floor ahead of him. He stepped over the hole, placing one leg on each side as he looked down into it. Ted and Brian looked on, wary of Dean's plan.

"Dude, you are so not going down there," said Ted.

Dean nodded.

"Well, do either one of you want to go down there instead?" asked Dean, looking back over at the boys who were with him.

Neither man responded, so Dean nodded again as he began stepping into the large hole in the floor.

"Please nobody grab my leg, please no one grab my leg," chanted Dean, barely managing to squeeze his large body down into the hole built for a small girl.

Dean had to crouch down once he reached this new place in the walls. It was now brick walls that surrounded him instead of wooden ones. Flies buzzed in his ear and all around him. He looked to his left and flinched back when he saw a dead rat hanging right beside his face. He quickly caught himself and got his breathing back down to normal. He made a disgusted face when he saw the remains of Buster down there with him.

"Dog. It's what's for dinner," whispered Dean, very sarcastically.

He looked around some more, ultimately searching for Danny.

"Danny?" whisper yelled Dean.

"Did you find anything?" asked Brian, looking down through the hole on one side while Ted looked down from the other side of the hole as well.

"Yeah, her kitchen," responded Dean, moving forward once again.

"Her what?" asked Brian, sounding concerned now.

Ted just looked disgusted with Dean's response back to them.

Dean stepped on some sort of bone as he walked forward, looking for Danny. It crunched underneath his boot as he walked and Dean just kicked it aside. Dean's flashlight shone on a finger painting of a little stick figure girl and a little stick figure boy holding hands. It looked like it had been drawn in blood and Dean cocked his head to the side as he stared at it briefly, a little bit confused now. As he looked at the stick figures drawn on the wall, he heard the girl's scream from upstairs. He quickly ran toward the hole he had come down in, but just as he reached it, Ted's head was shoved through the opening. Dean quickly hid against the wall, making sure the girl couldn't see or hear him. He closed his eyed as he heard the blood dripping from Ted's body and he hoped and prayed that Brian had gotten away from the crazy girl.

Alex and Sam stood guard in the shed, waiting for Dean, Ted, and Brian to return. As Alex let out another exasperated sigh, someone banged on the door.

"Sammy, Alex. It's us," called out Dean's gruff voice.

Sam and Alex moved the blockade from the door to let them in. Dean and Brian entered the little tiny shed, Brian grabbing his wife and daughter immediately and wrapping them into a very tight hug. Dean shut the shed door behind him.

"Well, did you get Danny?" asked Susie, looking at Dean and her husband expectantly.

Dean and Brian shook their heads.

"No," whispered Dean, leaning his head and body back against the shed's one and only door.

"No? Well, where's Ted?" asked Susie.

Dean and Brian looked down at the floor.

"He's outside," answered Dean, not looking over at Susie.

"Well, why doesn't he just come inside?" asked Susie, looking very confused now.

Dean looked at Alex and Sam, his face very grim. Alex and Sam nodded solemnly, their faces now also grim.

"Because we had to carry him out," answered Brian, looking at his wife very sadly.

"I'm sorry," apologized Dean, setting Ted's flashlight down on the wooden table they were using as the barricade for the door.

"What, what does that mean that you're sorry?" asked Susie.

"Are you saying that he's dead?" whispered Kate, looking very, very frightened.

Dean said nothing, but just continued looking at the ground.

"We were in the walls and she, um, attacked him, us. And neither one of us could get to him in time," answered Brian, looking sadly at Dean.

Dean nodded as Susie buried her face into her husband's chest, bawling her eyes out.

"Uncle Ted is dead?" asked Kate, looking over at Dean.

Dean nodded imperceptibly before re-opening the shed door and walking back outside. The door slammed closed behind him and Alex looked at Sam sadly. Sam watched as Susie continued crying into her husband's chest, Kate holding onto her mother from behind as she began crying as well for the loss of her uncle.

Alex listened as Brian consoled his wife as she cried about Ted and Danny.

"We're a good family, why is this happening to us?" cried Susie, tears rolling down her face as her husband held her.

"Susie, I promise, I will get Danny back. I know I can't change what happened to Andy, but I swear, I will bring Danny back to you safely," promised Brian.

Susie nodded into his chest and Brian kissed her temple while Sam and Alex exchanged curious glances with each other.

Brian stood out front of the house later on, just staring at the front porch.

"Was Andy your son?" asked Dean, coming up behind Brian with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

Brian looked over at him as Dean stood beside him now, staring up at the front porch of the nightmare house. Brian looked back up at the house before he spoke once again. Dean looked at Brian as he spoke, telling hid story of Andy.

"Oldest. He, um, he got himself killed in a car accident late last year," explained Brian.

"I'm sorry," apologized Dean, looking over at the house now too.

"It nearly tore Susie and I apart. It still could, I imagine. So that's why we moved way out here. Fresh air leads to a fresh start, right? Not even my line. That one's from our marriage counselor. As far as I know, she might actually be right through. After all, what could possibly go wrong in the freaking country, right?" yelled Brian, angry now.

Dean stared over at him.

"I'm getting your son back. If it's the last God forsaken thing I ever do," vowed Dean.

"Why do you care so damn much, anyway?" asked Brian.

As Dean looked at him, beginning to answer Brian's last question, Sam walked over to them.

"Dean," called out Sam.

Dean's gaze shifted over to him then and Sam held up Rebecca's old, red leather-bound diary.

"We've gotta talk," said Alex, stepping up beside Sam then.

Sam pushed the front door of the old house open, shining his flashlight into the living room to make sure the girl wasn't there. Alex and Dean followed behind him and they made their way into the middle of the empty living room. Sam held up the diary and Dean glanced at it.

"What the hell is that?" asked Dean.

Sam's eyebrows rose.

"Rebecca's diary. Alex and I just finished reading it," answered Sam.

Dean walked over to the closet door where an entrance into the walls was located. He quickly shut it and then looked back at his twin siblings.

"And?" he prompted them, his own eyebrows raised.

"That girl back there? I'm pretty sure she was Rebecca's daughter," answered Alex, standing in the middle of the circle of salt with Sam.

"Rebecca had a freaking kid?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"Dude, that's all she talks about in here. Being pregnant, being ashamed of being pregnant," said Sam, looking at the little red diary in his large hands.

"Oh geez, she's not _Juno_, get the hell over it," said Dean, rolling his eyes and stepping into the salt circle as well.

Sam and Alex chuckled.

"Wait, why kill herself after the baby?" asked Dean, confused now.

"Maybe because her father called her a dirty little whore and said he was going to lock the baby up where no one could ever see it," answered Alex, chewing on her bottom lip now.

"Why would he even say that?"

Sam looked down at the floor, uncomfortable. Dean looked at Alex for an answer. She coughed and scratched the back of her neck uncomfortably before answering.

"Um, probably because it was his kid," whispered Alex.

"Whoa, gross," said Dan, gagging.

Sam and Alex nodded in agreement.

"Yeah," said Sam .

"So the daddy was the baby daddy too," joked Dean, smiling.

Sam and Alex stared at him and Dean's smile fell. He coughed uncomfortably.

"The dude was a monster, Dean," said Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Wow. A story ripped straight from an Austrian headline. Humans, man," sighed Dean.

Alex nodded with agreement.

"So she's been locked up in this house her whole entire life?" asked Dean.

"Well, I mean, you saw her eyes. Has she ever even seen any light? I mean, she's barely even human, Dean," said Sam.

"Okay, so what then? She's been caged up like an animal and then she suddenly busts out and ganks her dear old father?" asked Dean.

"Slash granddad," chimed in Alex.

Dean gave her a sarcastic grin.

"Thanks for that little reminder."

Alex held up her hands in surrender and apology.

"Sorry."

"Well, I can't say I really blame her," said Dean.

"I'm sure her life was hell, Dean, but that she doesn't mean that she just gets a free pass for a damn murder spree," argued Sam.

"Like you even know what Hell's like," said Dean, his face suddenly serious.

Sam and Alex both slightly rolled their eyes at Dean's comment.

"I didn't mean it like that," said Sam.

"Nah, forget it," whispered Dean, looking away from the both of them.

There was a brief silence until Alex finally broke it a couple of seconds later.

"So where exactly do we find her?"

Dean looked away, sighing. After a few seconds, he looked back at his siblings.

"Well, a kid's gotta eat sometime, right?"

"What?" asked Alex, looking very confused.

"Well, he kept her hidden, locked up, right? But he would've had to feed her. Didn't he?" asked Dean, looking at his siblings as he grabbed the fireplace poker to use as a weapon.

"I-I guess," agreed Sam cautiously, still not really sure where Dean was headed with this conversation.

Dean nodded, looking off into the distance.

"And I think I know where."

He brushed past his siblings, heading for the walls of the house once again. Sam and Alex watched him walk past them, turning to watch him.

About thirty minutes later, Dean began breaking through the walls in the kitchen, right by where the dumbwaiter was located. Danny's dad, Brian, watched as Dean broke through the walls, Sam and Alex watching Dean. Sam looked back at Brian.

"He kept her hidden down here for years. Kept her fed so no one would ever know," explained Sam.

Rather suddenly, Dean broke down a large chunk of the wall and Brian flinched back away from them and the flying wall pieces. Sam stuck his head inside the wall first, shining his flashlight down the hole Dean had just created and looking down below.

"Danny! Danny!" yelled Sam.

Dean pulled Sam away from the wall and shrugged his jacket off of his shoulders.

"Get back, Sammy. I'm going after him."

Brian grabbed Dean's shoulder, pulling him around to look at him.

"Whoa, no. That's my son down there, my flesh and blood."

Dean grabbed Brian's shoulders.

"I know he is. But I promised you that I would bring him back. And I will. But you've just gotta let me."

Brian looked at Alex and Sam, who just shrugged. Dean gave them all one last glance before starting his climb into the old dumbwaiter shaft. He handed his flashlight off to Alex as he began climbing inside the shaft. He started climbing down very slowly and carefully. He saw scratch marks and handprints on the side of the walls and he shuddered with disgust. Sam turned back to look at Brian as Alex stuck her head in the walls to watch Dean climb down the shaft for a couple of minutes.

"Hey. You got some curtains?" asked Sam, glancing back at Brian.

Brian looked at him, very confused.

"We need some rope," answered Sam.

Brian nodded and took off into the living room, looking for his curtains. Sam stood behind Alex, looking over her shoulder to see Dean's progress. Dean reached the bottom of the shaft and glanced back up at his siblings. He waved slightly as he crawled into a smaller space, entering a hallway that led into a room. He began walking into the room, noticing a cross, a rosary, and a gun. Dean sighed and grabbed the gun, checking it for bullets.

"This bitch is a klepto," muttered Dean.

The gun had no bullets, so Dean threw it aside. He saw another gun only a few steps ahead of him, so he walked forward gently, grabbing it from off of the floor.

"Come on, come on," he whisper chanted, checking the gun for bullets.

He smirked when he saw that the gun was fully loaded. He held the gun in one hand with his flashlight in the other as he slowly crawled onward.

"Danny? Danny!"

Suddenly, Dean heard a strangled moan from a few feet away. He listened again, still hearing it. He saw a medium sized hole in a brick wall, so he shined his flashlight into the hole. Dean saw Danny there, wriggling around on the floor.

"Danny!"

Dean sized up the hole in the brick wall, muttering out a curse as he saw the size. He grabbed a knife from his back pocket and motioned for Danny to come closer. Danny wriggled forward and Dean cut Danny's ties for him. Danny removed his binds and crawled out from the hole.

"Your dad's upstairs, come on," whispered Dean, pulling Danny in front of him to crawl forward.

"Hurry, he's coming back!" yelled Danny.

Dean stopped abruptly, looking at Danny.

"He?" asked Dean.

"Her brother!" said Danny, as if Dean should've already known that fact.

Suddenly, a groan sounded out and Dean was tackled from the side, his flashlight falling from his hands. Danny looked on in terror and horror as the girl's twin brother attacked Dean. Danny moved farther away as the two of them struggled and he turned around when he felt something fall down behind him. He saw a rope of curtains tied together and he looked up, seeing Alex's face in the wall. Alex sighed in relief when she saw Danny's face.

"Danny!" she yelled.

The gun fell from Dean's hands as he struggled with the feral boy. The kid ran towards him once again, so Dean threw him against the wall once he was close enough.

Alex watched as Danny tied the rope of curtains around himself and then he looked up at her. He gave her a thumbs-up.

"Okay!" he yelled.

She turned around, nodding to Sam and Brian. They both began pulling Danny up the dumbwaiter shaft.

"Okay, come on, buddy. Don't look back, just keep looking forward," encouraged Danny's dad, smiling down at his young son as they pulled him forward.

After a few more strong pulls, Danny was through the wall and into his dad's arms. Brian held his son close and closed his eyes, sighing as he held his son in his arms. After a few more seconds, he set his son down, grabbed his face between his hands, and looked at him.

"Are you alright?" asked Brian.

Danny nodded through his tears, burying his head in his father's chest.

"Shh, it's alright, it's okay," encouraged Brian, stroking his son's hair.

Sam touched Brian's shoulders.

"Alright, get him out of here, you've gotta leave," said Sam.

Brian nodded and ushered Danny from the kitchen. Sam patted Brian on the shoulder as they left and then he and Alex both looked down the dumbwaiter shaft.

"Dean?" they both called down.

Dean was knocked onto his back as the feral child hit him harder than Dean has expected from him. As the child reached for another weapon, Dean grabbed his flashlight. When the teenager looked back towards him, Dean shined the flashlight in his eyes. The boy flinched backwards as if he had been burned from the light, giving Dean time to grab his gun. As the boy rushed forward, standing over Dean to stab him, Dean shot him three times in the chest and stomach. The kid let out one last strangled breath and then fell to the floor beside Dean, dead. Dean looked at the kid, sitting up as Sam and Alex climbed down the dumbwaiter shaft. Dean groaned as Alex and Sam looked at the dead teenager, shock evident on their faces as they took in the dead body.

About fifteen minutes later, Alex, Sam, and Dean walked out onto the front porch, looking at the family they had just saved. The teenage daughter was crying her eyes out while her mom sat in front of her, holding Danny in her lap and stroking his hair. They briefly took the three of them in and then shuffled down the stairs, heading for Brian instead. Brian was staring off at something in front of him, so the three Winchester siblings walked forward to see what he was staring at. They saw the feral girl in the bushes, dead. They stared down at her sadly.

The next morning, Sam was reloading the trunk with all of their weapons as Dean finished replacing all four of the tires that had been slashed. Sam slammed the trunk closed and threw a large duffel bag into the backseat. He looked over as Brian and his wife approached the car. Dean and Alex joined all of them in the front of the car.

"Thanks for the head start," said Dean.

Brian nodded.

"Well, it doesn't really surprise me that you three don't like the police," said Brian.

Sam and Alex smirked at his comment.

"Sort of a, uh, mutual appreciation thing," said Sam.

Brian nodded.

"Well, um, thank you," said Brian, holding out his hand for all of them to shake.

"Thank you," agreed Susie, also shaking their hands.

Dean nodded.

"Are you alright?" asked Alex, looking at the woman gently.

She took in a deep breath and then looked over at her husband before answering.

"No. We're the opposite of okay, but… we're together."

She laced her fingers with her husband's and Alex smiled at the couple.

"Thanks," repeated Susie, looking at the three siblings.

They all nodded.

A few hours later, Dean had parked the car under an abandoned overpass. Sam handed him his cheeseburger and Dean opened it, looked down at it, and then closed it again. Sam and Alex looked at him, concerned.

"You alright, big brother?" asked Alex, setting down her own food.

"You know, I felt for those sons of bitches back there. Lifelong torture turns you into something like that."

Alex and Sam both sighed, exchanging a glance.

"You were in Hell, Dean," said Alex.

"Look, maybe you did what you did there, but… but you're not them. They were barely even human," chimed in Sam, shaking his head at his brother.

"Maybe you're right. I wasn't like them. I was worse. They were animals, they were defending their own territory. Me? I did it for the sheer pleasure."

"What?" whispered Alex, scared to even ask what Dean meant by his last statement.

"I enjoyed it, Alex. They took me off that damn rack and I tortured souls and I liked it. All those years, all that pain. Finally getting to deal some out yourself. I didn't even care who the hell they put in front of me because all that pain I felt… it just slipped away. And no matter how many people I save, I can't ever change that. I can't fill this hole. Not ever."

Sam and Alex stared at their brother, saddened by his confession.

_Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter took so long to update! I've been crazy super busy with three summer jobs and I've been going through an awful lot of family stuff. But thanks for understanding and sticking with me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, so leave me some feedback, please!_


	38. Chapter 38

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think. _

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. Any italics in the story itself are flashbacks/memories. _

**Chapter 38**

The three Winchester siblings walked up to a small crowd of people who were listening intently to a street magician. A camera was filming the magician and Dean sighed as he took them in.

"Jesus, what a douchebag," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and Sam looked at him.

"That's Jeb Dexter," said Sam.

Dean shook his head.

"I don't even want to know how you know that."

Sam just shrugged while Alex smirked, giggling.

"Well, he's famous."

"Eh, kind of," said Alex, cocking her head to the side and watching the magician begin to perform his street trick.

"For what? Douchebaggery?" asked Dean.

The three of them stood and watched as the magician closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. He suddenly began to seize and his deck of cards went flying. A card appeared on the glass window, but it was suddenly inside the building they were all standing next to.

"Is this your card?" asked Jeb, looking at the woman standing closest to him.

The audience began to applaud, squeals of delight coming from some people. Dean shook his head at Jeb's antics and began walking away, Sam and Alex following directly behind him.

"I can't believe people actually fall for his shit," said Dean, rolling his eyes.

"Well, it's not all shit, Dean," said Alex.

Sam nodded in agreement with her.

"Okay, so what part of that was not a huge steaming pile of bullshit?" asked Dean.

"Okay, yes, that was crap, but that's not all magicians. That takes skill," said Sam.

"Oh, right, right. Yeah, I forgot," said Dean.

He turned to face Sam. Alex and Sam faced him.

"You used to be really into this stuff," said Dean, looking directly at Sam with a sarcastic smirk on his face.

Alex began laughing, pointing at Sam.

"Oh my God, that's right! Man, you had that magic wand and the deck of cards!"

"Guys, I was 13, alright? It was just a small little phase," argued Sam.

Alex patted Sam's shoulder gently.

"We know, Sammy. Now, alright, let's talk about this guy who drops dead of 10 stab wounds without a single tear in his shirt," said Alex.

"There. Now that's what I'm talking about," said Dean, pointing to his little sister and heading back off down the street.

A few hours later, they watched as the newly dead magician's assistant threw all of his magic tricks into his magic box. She turned to face them, not an ounce of a smile on her face. She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at them.

"So, did your boss ever happen to have any enemies that you know of?" asked Dean, just staring at the woman.

She smirked sarcastically as she pulled out a long, multicolored handkerchief.

"Vance had lots of enemies," she answered.

"How so?" asked Alex.

The girl sighed as he pulled out more of the handkerchief.

"He would steal from other magicians. All the time."

"And what would he steal?" asked Sam.

Dean watched the woman's progress on the handkerchief as she continued pulling it from the leather bag in front of her.

"Stage effects, close-up techniques. Really anything that he could get his hands on."

She finally reached the end of the multicolored handkerchief and threw it into the magic box behind her.

"Is that enough to get him killed?" asked Alex.

The girl sighed.

"These guys take these things pretty seriously."

The girl uncovered a white bunny rabbit as she pulled a black suit jacket off of the top of the rabbit. She scooped down and picked up the rabbit from off of the suit jacket.

"There you are," she cooed to the white bunny rabbit.

"Did you happen to find anything weird in all of Vance's stuff?" asked Dean.

He took in the white rabbit and cleared his throat.

"Well, weirder," he corrected himself.

The girl stuck the white rabbit into her leather bag as she spoke.

"As a matter of fact, I did."

Once the rabbit was safely into the leather bag, the girl sifted through Vance's suit jacket and cape. She pulled out a card and held it up to show the siblings. The card showed a picture of multiple swords sticking into a man's chest as he lied on the ground, facedown and dead. Sam reached out to take the card from the girl.

"So I'm guessing this doesn't belong to Vance," stated Sam.

She shook her head.

"Vance hated card tricks. He never wanted them around, ever. Let alone in his precious cape," she answered.

About an hour later, Dean sat down in a deserted bar area. He looked at the two older gentlemen sitting in front of him and he leaned closer to the one on his right, trying to speak to him.

"Are you Vernon Ascal?" asked Dean.

"Who's asking?" asked the man, not even looking back at Dean yet.

The other gentlemen looked back at Dean though, curiously. Dean dug out his very fake FBI badge.

"Federal Agent Orick. I'm looking into the death of Patrick Vance," explained Dean, putting his badge away after both older men had looked thoroughly at it.

Dean and the older men watched as Jeb Dexter mispronounced the name of his guest. When the guest corrected him, Jeb just blew him off, loudly and super rudely too. Vernon looked at his companion.

"What a douchebag," he remarked.

Dean smirked with agreement and nodded his head.

"I couldn't agree more."

Dean pulled out the card that Vance's assistant had given to them and he held it up to the two older men.

"Does this look familiar to any of you?" asked Dean.

The two men looked back at the card, Vernon just shrugging as he raised his eyebrows.

"Should it be?" asked Vernon.

"Well, I just heard that you used tarot cards throughout your act."

"Oh, my act?"

Vernon gently laughed.

"Oh, son, that was a very long time ago and I haven't touched the deck in years."

"Do you know someone that might, um, use them now, perhaps?"

"Well, there's a guy down on Bleeker Street," answered Vernon.

His companion's eyebrows rose.

"Oh, yes! He pedals that kind of specialty stuff."

Both men nodded towards Dean enthusiastically.

"Well, did he happen to have a problem with Vance?" asked Dean, looking between the two men.

"As a matter of fact, he crossed him. About a year ago. Probably cost him, oh, fifty thousand dollars in royalties," answered Vernon.

"Do you happen to know the exact address?"

"426 Bleeker."

"Ask for Chief."

Dean looked at both of the men.

"Chief?" he asked them.

Both men nodded, smiling at Dean. Dean stood up from his seat behind them.

"Thank you, gentlemen."

The men nodded and watched him leave.

Dean walked down a dark, abandoned alley until he came upon the address the two men had given him. He sighed, but banged on the door. A tough looking pretty boy looked down at Dean as he opened the door. Dean cursed internally.

"I'm, uh, looking for Chief?" asked Dean.

The man looked at Dean, but just shrugged and opened the door to let Dean inside the place. Dean followed the guy down a set of stairs. Once they reached the landing, the man turned to look at Dean.

"Stay here. And… don't touch anything, alright?"

Dean said nothing, but just watched the guy turn around and walk back up the stairs that he had just led them down. Dean stared at the room in front of him, which was dark and smelled like mildew. Suddenly, he heard a door open in front of him. A large, heavy-set man dressed in head to toe leather entered the room from a hidden door in front of Dean. Dean stared at the man, suddenly wary. The man held a large whip in his right hand and smacked it against his left palm once as he stared down at Dean. This man looked like he belonged in a BDSM club.

"Oh, you're really gonna get it tonight, big boy," urged the large man.

Dean looked down at the floor.

"There's been a very large misunderstanding. I, uh, I think I've been had," explained Dean.

"Oh, you ain't been had… till you've been had by the Chief."

The man suddenly pointed at Dean.

"Oh, and before we get started here. What was your safe word again?"

Dean gagged in his mouth, looking away from the man they called Chief.

As Sam typed away on his laptop computer, he heard a knock sound on his motel room door. He checked his watch and then stood up warily and slowly, heading for the door. He looked through the peephole once he reached the motel room door. He sighed when he saw who was standing on the other side. He checked that Alex was still dead asleep on her bed and then opened the door, revealing Ruby on the other side. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at Sam once he opened the door fully.

"What in the hell are you doing here, Ruby?" asked Sam, glaring down at her.

"Well, I should be asking you the same thing."

Ruby walked right past Sam and into the motel room. Sam rolled his eyes and shut the door once she was inside.

"I'm working a job," said Sam, glancing over at Alex once again.

Alex was dead to the world as she slept, groaning as she rolled over in her sleep.

"The whole world's about to be engulfed in hellfire and you're in Magic Town, USA?"

Ruby finally turned to face him and Sam chuckled sarcastically at her remarks. He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked her in the face.

"You got something against magic?"

"That would almost be funny if thirty-four seals hadn't been broken already. Thirty-four, Sam. That's over halfway. Sam, the angels are losing this war, and very badly too. Every single day is one day closer and if someone doesn't do something soon-"

"And that someone is me?" asked Sam, pointing to himself and walking towards Ruby now.

"Who the hell else would it be?" yelled Ruby, throwing out her arms in frustration.

"I don't even know where these seals are! I don't know squat! So why don't you tell me where you would like for me to start!" yelled Sam.

"Well, you can quit dicking around here, for one thing. Bigger fish, Sam. And if these seals are being broken, you might want to go after the one doing the breaking."

"Lilith?" asked Sam, his eyebrows raised up to his hairline.

"Cut the head off the snake. You're the only one who can stop her, Sam."

Ruby walked over to Sam and began circling him slowly.

"So step up and kill that little bitch."

"Oh, I am game, believe me. It's just not the psychic thing that I've got a problem with," yelled Sam, whirling around to face her.

"Yeah, I know what you've got a problem with, but tough! It's the only damn way!"

Sam stared at Ruby for a few long seconds.

"No."

Ruby leaned up against the wall.

"You know, this would all be so much easier if you would just admit to yourself that you actually like it."

Ruby stepped away from the wall and closer to Sam, so Sam looked away from her, his jaw clenching with frustration.

"That feeling that it gives you."

"You don't even know what you're talking about," said Sam, looking straight at Ruby now.

"Oh, I don't, huh?"

Ruby and Sam stared each other down for a few short minutes.

"Fine."

Ruby headed for the motel room door, walking away from Sam and Alex, who was still sleeping soundly. She whirled around at the last minute, staring at Sam.

"It's simple, really. Lucifer rises, the apocalypse starts. You think that you have demons on your hands now? People are gonna die, Sam, oceans of innocent people. So you just let me know when you're ready."

Ruby slammed the door closed behind her as she left the motel room. Sam sighed and sat down on the bed that Alex was asleep on. Alex peeked one eye open and stared at her twin brother's back, having heard Ruby leave and slamming the door.

"God, Ruby's such a little bitch," whispered Alex.

Sam laughed out loud, a full belly laugh, and collapsed on the bed beside Alex. She laughed along with him, smiling. Sam held out his fist and Alex pounded her much smaller fist with his larger one.

Later that night, Sam, Dean, and Alex were back at the club that Dean had been at earlier in the night. Sam and Alex stood off to one side as Dean walked up behind them.

"Find anything interesting?" asked Dean.

Sam jumped slightly and Dean and Alex stared at him strangely.

"What? Um, no. What about you?" asked Sam.

Dean shook his head.

"Nothing that I would like to talk about. Or think about ever again," answered Dean.

Alex looked at her older brother strangely, very confused. Dean just shook his head again and all three of them headed down to the very front row. Dean smirked at the older men he had met earlier that night as they looked at the three of them.

"The Chief, huh?" asked Dean, smirking sarcastically.

"What's wrong? The Chief not your type?"

Dean just chuckled.

"You know, I could have you both arrested for obstruction of justice."

"How? You're no Fed," said Vernon, looking at Dean strangely.

"We con people for a living, son. It takes a lot more than a fake badge to get anything past us," said the other, older man.

Dean just chuckled again, but this time, he was uncomfortable. He glanced at his siblings, who also smiled and chuckled uncomfortably. Sam readjusted his collar and tie.

"You got us. Yeah, we're actually…"

Dean trailed off and looked at his siblings for help.

"Aspiring magicians," answered Alex.

"Yeah, yeah. We, um, actually came to this convention because we thought that we could learn something," explained Sam sheepishly.

"Yeah! Get some ideas for our new show," said Alex.

"Ooh, well, what kind of show?" asked Vernon.

"It's, it's, um-" began Dean, but Sam finished his brother's thought process for him.

"It's a sibling act."

"Yes! Yes, you know, with, um, rings and doves and... more rings," finished Alex in a whisper, looking down at the floor.

The two men nodded as the announcer for the show began speaking.

"You wanna learn something? Well, stick around," said the other magician, looking at the siblings before heading for the stage to help his friend perform his act.

The three siblings plus Vernon watched him walk up onto the stage to help his friend out with his magic act. They all watched earnestly as a rope was tightened around the magician, Jay's, neck. A straight jacket was placed around his arms and chest and he stood on a wooden coffee table. Curtains were pulled around the man as a clock began ticking. Jay began struggling to free himself from the rope around his neck and the straight jacket covering his arms. Alex began biting her lip as the clock continued ticking and Jay still hadn't freed himself from his binds.

"I don't think he's gonna make it," whispered Dean, looking on in horror now as the clock seemed to tick by faster now.

The timer suddenly went off and everyone screamed in terror as Jay fell from the table, hanging himself. But when his friend/assistant opened the curtains, Jay was standing up nice and tall, smiling widely. Audience members stood up and clapped loudly. Dean applauded along with them and sucked in a sharp breath.

"Whoa, that was amazing! That was freaking amazing!" yelled Dean, looking over at Sam and Alex.

Sam and Alex had their mouths hanging open in shock, very confused.

"That was…" began Sam, whispering.

"Not humanly possible," whispered Alex, staring up at her twin brother.

The next morning, Sam was sitting on his bed beside Alex, looking at his laptop screen while Dean sat on his own bed, flipping through books.

"Looks like this guy Jay was a pretty big deal back in the '70's," explained Sam.

"Which, in magician land, means what exactly?" asked Dean, looking down at the books in his lap.

"Um, big enough to play Radio City Music Hall."

"What got him stuck in the where are they now magician file?" asked Alex, looking over Sam's shoulder at his computer screen.

Sam shook his head, just staring over at his computer screen.

"He got old," answered Sam.

Dean looked over at his siblings then.

"So, maybe incredible Jay is actually using real magic to stage a huge comeback," stated Dean, theorizing.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"It's very possible. With some kind of spell that works a death transference," answered Sam.

"So how does the tarot card mix into it?" asked Alex, rolling over onto her back and stretching out her legs as she looked over at Sam for an answer to her question.

Sam shook his head, frowning as he looked at his computer screen.

"I don't know."

Sam began typing again and Dean shook his head, standing up from his bed.

"Man, I hope I die before I get old. That thing seems brutal, don't it?"

Alex rolled her eyes at her older brother and Sam just scoffed, not even smiling. Dean grabbed the one tarot card they had and looked down at it.

"Do you think we will?" asked Sam, suddenly serious as he looked down at the floor.

Dean and Alex looked over at him, the tarot card still in his hands.

"What?" asked Dean.

"Die before we get old," said Sam.

Dean just shrugged while Alex chuckled.

"Haven't all three of us already died at least once?" asked Alex.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"You two know what I mean. I mean, do you think we'll still be hunting and chasing down demons when we're sixty?"

Dean shook his head.

"No, alright? I think all three of us will be dead by then. For good."

Sam looked away from his brother, shaking his head. Alex looked at him sadly.

"What, you want to turn out like Travis? Huh? Or Gordon maybe?" asked Dean.

Alex shook her head at her oldest brother.

"Dean, just stop," whispered Alex.

"Well, there's Bobby," said Sam, looking back over at Dean.

Dean raised his eyebrows and walked away from Sam, back towards his own bed.

"Oh, yeah. There's the poster child for growing old gracefully."

Sam sighed again and looked down at his computer's keyboard.

"Maybe we'll just be a little bit different, Dean, huh?"

"What kind of Kool-Aid are you drinking, man?"

Sam looked down at the floor and Alex sighed.

"Sammy, it ends bloody… or sad. That's just the life we're living."

Sam closed his computer screen and looked over at his siblings.

"What if we could win?" asked Sam.

"Win?" whispered Alex, looking over at her twin brother strangely and confused.

"If there was a way we could just… put an end to all of it."

"Is there something going on that you're not telling me, Sammy?" asked Dean.

Sam shook his head.

"No," whispered Sam.

"Sammy?" asked Alex, biting her bottom lip.

"No! Look, I'm just saying, I… I just wish there was a way we could… go after the source. That's all," explained Sam, standing up from the bed he and Alex shared and pacing in front of the two of them.

Sam crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You know. Cut the head off of the snake."

Dean nodded in understanding.

"Well, you know, the problem with the snake is that it has a thousand and one heads. Evil sons of bitches just keep piling out of the damn Volkswagen," explained Dean.

Sam looked down at the floor, his arms still crossed over his chest.

"Yeah, I know."

Sam scoffed.

"I guess you're right."

Dean took in a deep breath, resting his hands on his knees.

"Let's go see if we can find out where Jay is. You two handle that and I'll see what I can dig up on this tarot card," said Dean, holding up the card still resting in his hands.

Sam and Alex nodded together.

A couple of hours later, Alex and Sam walked into the Hilton hotel lobby. They stood back as a coroner's crew wheeled out a dead body in a body bag on a stretcher. Dean stood off to one side of the lobby, looking deep in thought as he stared off into nothing. Alex and Sam rushed over to him quickly.

"Hey," said Alex.

Dean looked over at them as they finally met up with him in the middle of the lobby of the hotel.

"Some maid found Jeb hanging from the ceiling fan. The police think that it was a suicide, but I beg to differ," said Dean.

He held up another tarot card, smiling.

"I pulled a little sleight of hand myself," grinned Dean.

Sam took the card from Dean's hand and looked over it, Alex watching him.

"This was on Dexter's body?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Yeah, so I'm thinking that if this spell is actually a death transference, then these cards were, like, black magic targets," explained Dean.

"Any connections between the victims?" asked Alex, looking at the new tarot card curiously as Sam still held it in his hand.

"Dexter was a total douchebag to Jay yesterday," answered Dean.

"Well, what about the first victim? Um, Vance?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded.

"I asked around and apparently Vance was heckling Jay at some bar the day he was murdered."

Sam and Alex scoffed, their shoulders shrugging up and down. The three siblings began walking away from all of the policemen in the lobby, putting together their theories.

"Okay, so Jay sneaks a card into Vance's pocket, does The Table of Death…" began Alex as they walked farther away from the policemen.

"And Vance takes ten swords to the chest," finished Dean.

"So then Jay slips a noose and Jeb doesn't. That's one hell of a trick right there," said Sam, stopping in place as he put the pieces together.

Dean and Alex nodded.

"Yep. So I think it's time we have a little chat with Jay, hmm?" suggested Dean.

Sam and Alex nodded in agreement, so they headed out of the hotel and began looking for Jay.

A couple hours later, Sam, Alex, and Dean poked their heads around the corner of a motel's hallway and watched as Jay unlocked his room door and stepped inside of his motel room. He slammed the door closed behind him and the siblings stepped out from around the corner once they all saw the door slam closed. They swiftly walked up to Jay's door, guns in each of their hands. Sam nodded at Dean and Dean forcefully kicked down Jay's closed motel room door violently. Jay looked at the three of them, surprised and shocked. They raised their guns and Jay held his hands up in surrender.

"Up against the wall, now!" yelled Dean, glaring at the sixty-year old man.

"Who are you three and what do you want?" demanded Jay, beginning to look terrified as he stared at all of their guns.

"Now!" yelled Dean again.

"We know what you've been up to," explained Sam, much calmer than Dean right now.

"You're using some really awful mojo to jump start your magic career again," explained Alex.

"What? I have no clue what you're even talking about," said Jay, looking even more thoroughly confused than he had before.

"Look, we all know you put a spell on those two tarot cards we found at both crime scenes," said Alex.

"Messing with some real dark magic," yelled Dean, getting more and more frustrated with the older man.

"Real magic? Come on, there's no such thing as real magic," laughed Jay nervously.

"Oh, is that so?" asked Dean.

"Yes, please, believe me. I've been around this stuff my whole entire life. It's all just… It's illusions and tricks, it's… It's all fake!" yelled Jay, backing up towards his open window.

"Jeb Dexter strung up, was that just an illusion?" asked Dean, his tone of voice very scary and threatening now.

"What, something happened to Jeb?" asked Jay, looking deeply saddened now as he lowered his hands to his sides slowly.

"He was found hanged in his room this morning by some hotel maid," explained Sam.

"Yeah, right after you slipped the noose last night," said Dean, glaring over at Jay.

Jay shook his head.

"I seriously have no clue what you three are even talking about. So please, just let me go," said Jay, pointing towards the motel room door behind the siblings.

"Something's not right," said Dean, speaking out of the side of his mouth so his siblings would know he was talking to them and not Jay.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Alex, also still staring at Jay.

A few minutes later, the siblings had Jay tied down to a chair in the middle of his motel room. They huddled together to figure out a new plan.

"Alright, so if it's not him, then who the hell is it?" asked Alex, whispering to her brothers.

"Well, even if Jay's not working the magic, he's still reaping the rewards, his shows are selling out," explained Dean.

Sam sighed and turned back around to glance briefly at Jay.

"Alright, so. So then whoever it is, they're obviously in Jay's corner," piped up Alex, staring at her brothers.

Sam whipped his head back around to look over at his twin sister.

"Alright, so we've got Vernon and Charlie on the list, anyone else you two can think of?" asked Dean.

"Um, well, we could always ask him," suggested Sam.

He looked at his siblings and both Alex and Dean nodded in agreement. The three of them whirled around to face Jay, but were shocked to find his chair now empty. Alex rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration while Sam sighed deeply.

"I guess we should've seen that one coming," suggested Dean.

Sam nodded and grabbed Dean's shoulder.

"Come on. He couldn't have gotten that far."

The three siblings headed out of the motel room quickly, never knowing that Jay was actually hiding in the closet, waiting for them to leave so that he could make his escape unknown.

As they ran into the front lobby of the motel, Alex felt an uneasy sensation prickle the back of her neck. Suddenly, a police car roared onto the curb and two police officers ran into the front lobby, their guns trained on the three siblings. Jay pounded down the stairs and the siblings held up their hands in surrender, sheepish expressions and smiles gracing their faces. Jay pointed an accusatory finger at the three siblings.

"That's them, those are the three morons who just broke into my room!" yelled Jay.

People in the front lobby gasped as they looked over at the three siblings.

Hours later, the three Winchester siblings walked into their hotel lobby. Jay was standing there, waiting patiently for them. Sam threw open the front doors and they all rushed over to Jay.

"Jay. Thanks for dropping the charges," said Sam.

"Would you mind telling us why you did it?" asked Alex, looking at the older man very sympathetically, sensing that something was very wrong with the old man.

"We have to talk," said Jay, looking between the three of them, his face grave and very solemn.

Jay took a drink from his whiskey, looking down at his glass as he spoke.

"I was just a kid when we first met. All I knew was how to cheat at cards, Charlie always got me out of more scrapes than I could count," explained Jay.

He took another drink from his glass before speaking once again.

"Hell, I would've probably been dead at the tender age of twenty if it hadn't been for him. He was more than my friend. He was my brother."

"We're sorry, Jay," said Alex, placing a comforting hand on top of Jay's on the tabletop.

"Look, I should've listened to you three guys when you told me that my magic show was killing people," said Jay.

"Well, you certainly weren't the one pulling the trigger now, were you?" asked Dean, just looking tired now.

"Yeah, but someone else was and I want to find out who did this to Charlie, so I'll do whatever you guys say, just, please, tell me what to do," begged Jay, looking down at his now empty glass once full of whiskey.

"Jay, whoever's doing this… they like you. They're … probably close to you, too," explained Alex.

Jay looked over at her, very confused, so she looked over at Sam or Dean for help. Sam sighed and continued.

"Did Charlie and Vernon get along?" asked Sam.

"No. No, it's not Vernon," whispered Jay, completely in denial now.

"He's really the only one that makes sense," explained Dean.

"Charlie and Vernon were your family, Jay."

"And now Charlie's gone."

"Yeah, but… I mean, they butted heads sometimes, but Vernon would and could never do something like this."

Dean licked his lips.

"See, the thing about real magic… is it's a whole lot like crack. People do some pretty surprising things once they get a taste of it," explained Dean.

Sam and Alex just stared at him while Jay shook his head slowly, still in denial.

"You three better be pretty damn sure about all of this. Vernon's all I've got left," whispered Jay.

He looked down at his now empty whiskey glass sadly.

Sam, Alex, and Dean watched as Vernon left his motel room, locking the door behind him. They stepped out from around the corner once Vernon was no longer in sight. Sam picked the lock on the room's door and he slowly pushed the door all the way open.

"Wow, it's like a… magic museum," remarked Sam, staring at all of Vernon's things in his motel room.

Alex and Dean looked around as well.

"Well, you must be in heaven then," remarked Dean.

Alex chuckled as Sam scowled, punching Dean's shoulder. Dean grabbed his arm in pain and flipped Sam off with his free hand.

"This guy sure doesn't travel light either," said Alex, beginning to look around the motel room.

"Well, he's been on the road his whole life, probably everything he owns is in this room," said Sam.

"Well, come on then. Let's get started," remarked Dean.

He stepped farther off into the motel room, Alex and Sam sighing, but following after him anyway.

After a half an hour, Dean sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It's just a bunch of old timey magic stuff."

"No herbs, no candles, and no tarot cards," said Sam, looking utterly frazzled and frustrated.

Alex flipped through some posters and whistled when she saw one in particular. Sam and Dean looked over at her curiously and she held it up, showing it to them.

"Well, I'll be damned," whispered Alex.

"Does this look like anyone we know?" asked Sam, looking towards Dean now.

Dean nodded.

"It's a younger Charlie," whispered Alex.

The three siblings rushed into the large auditorium, walking swiftly down the carpeted aisle.

"Not so fast!" yelled Dean, taking in the young Charlie.

The three siblings walked up the stairs onto the auditorium's stage, Dean motioning for Vernon and Jay to leave them alone with the young Charlie.

"Immortality. That's a neat trick," said Dean, his eyebrows raised at the young Charlie.

"It's no trick. It's real magic," answered back Charlie.

Suddenly, a noose came down from the ceiling, wrapping itself around Dean's neck and lifting him up from the ground. Dean began struggling with the noose rope around his neck, his feet dangling as Alex and Sam looked on in complete horror.

Sam shot at Charlie, but Charlie caught the bullet in his hands.

"Hey, the bullet catch. I've been working on that one for a while now," said Charlie.

He threw the bullet up in the air and then disappeared into thin air.

"Get him!" yelled Dean, still struggling with the noose around his neck.

Sam and Alex looked around the large auditorium and saw Charlie leaning against The Table of Death. He winked at the twin siblings and they stalked towards him, their guns trained on him.

"Let our brother go. Now!" yelled Alex.

"Just leave me and my friends alone," said Charlie, putting his hands up in surrender now.

"She said now!" yelled Sam, on the right side of Alex now.

Vernon and Charlie were looking on in terror and confusion at the scene in front of them now.

"Alright, I will give it up. The spells, the hexes, this is the last time, I promise."

Sam and Alex lowered their guns slowly. Sam rushed forward to elbow the younger Charlie straight in the nose, but Charlie quickly disappeared. He appeared straight behind Alex and Sam, shoving Sam onto The Table of Death. The locks clicked in place around Sam's ankles and wrists and the rope holding the spikes above him at bay began to deteriorate rather quickly.

"Sam!" yelled Alex, rushing towards him.

Charlie quickly grabbed her around the waist and began hauling her offstage. She kicked him and thrashed around in his arms. She came back with her head, nailing Charlie in the nose. Charlie let her go to grab his nose and she rushed over to Sam, trying to help release him.

"Damn it! You little bitch!" yelled Charlie, looking at the blood from his nose, which was now coating some of his fingers.

Alex yelped in terror as Charlie grabbed her by her long, blonde hair and threw her down the stairs at the front of the stage. Alex's head hit the corner of the last stair, creating a deep gash in her forehead and knocking her unconscious for now.

"Alex!" yelled Sam and Dean.

As Charlie smirked in triumph, Dean closed his eyes. He opened them a second later once he heard a strangled moan come from Charlie. A hand was clutched to his stomach, blood spurting from a fresh stab wound in his stomach. Jay held a small dagger into his own stomach, but pulled it out when Charlie looked up and over at him across the stage from him. Charlie fell to his knees and Vernon shook his head sadly. Jay removed a tarot card from one of his jacket's pockets. Charlie reached into his own pocket and found the matching tarot card in his jacket's pocket.

"Jay," whispered Charlie sadly, still on his knees in horrible pain.

"You'd pick these strangers over me?" asked Charlie, his voice only slightly stronger now.

Charlie's eyes fluttered closed and he fell to the stage floor, dead. Jay looked down at him sadly while Sam and Dean were released from their holds, Dean falling down onto the stage. Sam sat up on The Table of Death, holding his wrists. Dean breathed heavily, removing the rope noose from around his neck. Sam stepped away from The Table of Death just as the rope was cut fully and the spikes fell down. Sam and Dean's eyes both widened at how close Sam had come to actually dying just then.

"You alright?" asked Sam, looking down at Dean, who was hunched over now and trying to catch deep breaths.

Dean nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm alright," answered Dean.

Sam nodded and rushed down the stairs to tend to Alex, who was sitting up, awake, and was holding the heel of her hand to her still profusely bleeding forehead. Jay walked down the steps of the large stage slowly, glancing down at Alex and Sam.

"Thank you for saving our lives," whispered Alex, looking up at the older man.

Jay nodded sadly and left the auditorium, never looking behind him again as he left and walked out of their lives permanently.

That next night, Sam left his siblings as they sat in the local bar and walked to the alleyway out back behind the bar. A car was idling there and Sam opened the passenger side door. He peered down inside, looking directly at Ruby, who was in the driver's seat, smirking at him.

"Okay. I'm in," agreed Sam.

He quickly climbed into the car, sitting in the passenger seat and slamming the door closed behind him, but never looking over at Ruby once while he climbed inside her stolen vehicle.

"What changed your mind?" asked Ruby, looking over at him, a smirk gracing her beautiful, but demonic nonetheless, face.

"I don't want to be doing this when I'm an old man," answered Sam truthfully.

Ruby nodded and gunned the car off down the alleyway, Sam looking out the front windshield the entire trip.

Back inside the bar, Alex felt a strange feeling creep up her spine. It gave her the goosebumps and she looked around the bar for Sam.

"Dean, where's Sam?" she asked, tugging on Dean's arm gently.

"Um, he said he needed some fresh air. Was gonna take a walk," answered Dean, answering Alex without looking away from the blonde bartender he was currently flirting with.

Alex nodded, but something felt off to her. She flagged down another bartender behind the bar and ordered another Miller Lite, shrugging off the feeling that her twin brother wasn't being truthful to either Dean or herself. She glanced around the bar and a cute guy winked over at her. Alex thought of Kellan and how much she missed him. She decided to call him as soon as she got back to her motel room with her brothers, but she grabbed her new bottle of beer, slapped some money down on the bar's top, and headed over to the pool tables to hustle some pool from the poor suckers who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A few days later, Sam sat in front of a young teenage girl at the mental hospital. The girl was looking out the window, refusing to look at him.

"Look, I'm done talking about this, okay? I already told the cops and the doctors, no one believes me. They think I'm crazy," said the girl.

"Well, I happen to be a little bit more open-minded than most," said Sam.

He paused and let out a deep sigh.

"April, why did you tell the police you were possessed?" asked Sam.

April sighed.

"Look, it doesn't matter."

"Well, it matters to me."

April finally looked across the small table at Sam, removing her gaze from the window. She paused slightly, letting out a deep and pent-up sigh, full of frustration and exhaustion.

"When I… When I hurt Taylor, I was there in my head, but it was like I couldn't control my body. I could see what I was doing, but I couldn't actually stop myself. I just wanted to stop."

April looked over at Sam and shook her head, exhaling a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," apologized April.

Sam shook his head, his arms resting, folded, on top of the table.

"You don't need to apologize. April, some of the kids at school told the police that you and Taylor didn't really get along."

"Well, yeah, but I never wanted to kill her. Never. So, do you believe me?" asked April, looking over at Sam sadly and regretfully.

Sam paused for a brief second, looking straight over at April.

"Yeah, I do."

April nodded, releasing the breath she had been holding in.

"April, I do have a few more questions though. On the day that this happened, did you happen to smell anything?"

"Anything… Like what?" asked April, looking thoroughly confused now.

"Like rotten eggs or sulfur?" asked Sam.

April shook her head.

"Um, no, definitely not, no."

"Okay, well, did you… happen to notice any black smoke?" asked Sam.

April's forehead creased in confusion as she looked over the table at Sam.

"What are you, insane, crazy?"

Sam scoffed, hiding his discomfort at April's remark.

Ten minutes later, Sam opened the passenger side door, climbing inside the Impala where Dean and Alex were waiting patiently for him. Sam sighed as he climbed in and sat down in the passenger seat.

"So?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam.

"I think she's telling the truth. I mean, the way she talked about being there mentally, but not physically. Kind of sounds like a lot of demonic possession to me," answered Sam.

"What's kind of mean, exactly?" asked Alex, piping up from the backseat.

"Well, she didn't see any black smoke or smell some sulfur."

"Maybe it's not a demon. Kids can be vicious," said Dean, nodding his head.

"Well, I mean, we're already here, so we might as well check out the school, don't you think?" asked Sam.

Alex clapped her hands in delight and squealed while Dean looked at Sam like he was crazy.

"Right. The high school," smirked Dean.

"What?" asked Alex and Sam at the same time, taking in Dean's sarcastic grin.

"Truman High, home of the Bombers," answered Dean, looking between his siblings now to gauge their reactions from his piece of news.

"What's your point?" asked Alex, looking utterly annoyed with her oldest brother.

"Man, I don't know, we went there for, like, a month a million years ago. Why are you two so jazzed to go back?" asked Dean.

"We're not, we just think it's worth looking into," said Sam.

Dean nodded and Alex smiled from the backseat.

"Alright, okay, so what's our cover?" asked Dean.

"Ooh! Is it FBI, Homeland Security? Swedish exchange students?" asked Alex.

"Don't worry, guys. I've got an idea," said Sam.

He winked at Alex, who giggled. Dean just shrugged and started the car, pulling away from the curb.

_Dean, Sam, and Alex climbed out of the Impala as their father stopped in front of Truman High School. The year was 1997, Dean a senior and Alex and Sam freshmen._

"_Thanks, Dad," said Dean, giving his father a slight wave of his fingers as he met Sam and Alex on one side of the car._

_Their father pulled away, heading off down the street while Dean led the way up the front steps of the high school, Sam and Alex following behind him. Sam hitched his backpack up higher on his shoulders, Dean not even carrying one. Alex looked at the students passing her, smirking as a group of letter jacket wearing senior jocks gave her the onceover. Dean glared at them and they moved on quickly, tripping over each other to get out of Dean's ice-cold stare. Dean turned back to his siblings, smirking now. _

"_Got your lunches?" he asked them both. _

_Sam and Alex nodded. _

"_Books?" asked Dean. _

_They nodded again. _

"_Butterfly knives?" _

"_Yeah," answered Alex and Sam in unison. _

_Sam looked down at the ground sadly. Dean and Alex stopped, looking at him. _

"_Are you okay, Sammy?" whispered Alex. _

"_Yeah. Sure," answered Sam, looking away from her. _

_Dean stepped in front of Sam and raised his eyebrows. _

"_Sammy?"_

_Sam looked up at his older brother and sighed deeply. _

"_I mean, this is the third school we've been to this year and it's only November. I'm sick of always being the new kids," said Sam. _

"_Look, you'll be fine. If anyone gives you any trouble, you let me know. Same goes for you, Alex."_

_Alex nodded vigorously, but Sam just scoffed. _

"_Relax, Sammy. Dad says this job will only take him two weeks, tops. So as soon as he gets back, we're out of here."_

"_To another school," whispered Alex, biting her bottom lip between her teeth. _

"_Yeah, awesome," said Sam, being very sarcastic. _

_Sam brushed past his siblings and walked into the school. Alex looked at Dean, who smiled sadly down at her. He patted Alex and Sam on the back and sighed as he looked up at the school before walking inside the new high school. _

_The bell rang as Sam and Alex stood in front of their Honors English class. _

"_Ladies and gentlemen, we have two new students in our class today. Please say hello to Sam and Alex Winchester."_

"_Hi, Sam. Hi, Alex," chorused the entire class. _

"_Class, say hello to our new student, Dean Winchester," said the red-haired woman standing next to Dean as he stood in front of his 12__th__ Grade History class. _

_No one in the class said a single word, so the teacher looked up at Dean, a bright smile on her face. _

"_Dean. Is there anything you would like to share with the class?" she asked him. _

_Dean looked down at his teacher. _

"_Not really, sweetheart."_

_A couple of kids in the class chuckled at Dean's cockiness. The teacher's smile fell and she glared at Dean. _

"_Take your seat. Now," she ordered. _

"_Is there anything you two want to tell us about yourselves?" asked Sam and Alex's English teacher. _

_Alex shook her head along with Sam. _

"_Not really," whispered Sam, looking down at the floor. _

"_Okay. Well, um, grab some seats, you two," said the teacher. _

_He urged the two of them forward and then he headed back towards the front of the room. _

_Alex grabbed a seat by two pretty girls in the back row and the two girls immediately began whispering with her. Sam picked an empty seat in the middle row and slammed his backpack down on his desktop. His butterfly knife fell out of a side pocket and the kid sitting next to him saw the knife. The kid's eyes flew open behind his huge black wire-rimmed eyeglasses and Sam quickly grabbed the knife from where it fell in his seat. Sam plopped himself down and looked over at the kid, who was staring at him, wide-eyed. _

"_Whoa. Is that yours?" whispered the kid with glasses. _

_Sam slightly nodded, looking forward. The kid stared at him with awe shining in his eyes. _

"_Awesome."_

_The kid turned forward now too, but Sam glanced back at his sister. Alex was looking at him now and she winked slightly. Sam gave her a small smile and turned forward to listen to his teacher. _

"_Dean," scolded his History teacher. _

_Dean looked up at her from his seat. _

"_Dean. Where are your books?" she asked him sternly. _

_Dean just shrugged, smirking back up at her. _

"_I don't need 'em, sugar. Not gonna be here long enough anyway," he answered. _

_A few kids in his class scoffed at his cockiness. One particular blonde girl turned her head slightly to stare at him. He took notice and stared right back at her, smirking. _

"_Alright, gang."_

_Sam and Alex's English teacher looked up at all of his students, a bright smile on his face. _

"_Essay assignment."_

_A chorus of groans rang out throughout the classroom and their teacher just chuckled at their groans. _

"_Yeah, yeah, my heart breaks for you."_

_The teacher turned toward his chalkboard, grabbed a piece of white chalk, and began writing on the board. _

"_Hey," whispered the kid sitting next to Sam. _

_Sam glanced over at him once again, tuning out the sound of the teacher's voice as he spoke of their new essay assignment. _

"_I'm Barry," said the kid, his glasses slightly slipping down his nose as he spoke. _

_Sam looked him over. _

"_Sam."_

_Barry nodded and turned his attention back to their teacher. As he turned back to face the front, the boy behind Barry began flicking Barry's right ear repeatedly. Barry closed his eyes, his face scrunched up with pain and annoyance. Sam glanced over at Barry again, saw what the other boy was doing to him, and sighed. _

"_Leave him alone," said Sam. _

_The bully looked over at him, smirking and stopping his actions momentarily to respond to Sam. _

"_Shh. I'm heading for a record."_

_He began flicking Barry's ear again, Barry flinching each time the kid's fingers connected with his earlobe. _

"_I said, leave him alone," said Sam. _

_The kid stopped, scoffing as he looked over at Sam. Barry looked over at Sam too, shock and surprise clear all over his face. _

"_You want to take his place? Midget?"_

_Sam turned, facing the bully now. _

"_Yeah. Sure," answered Sam. _

_The bully looked utterly surprised that Sam had so readily agreed to his proposal. He leaned back in his seat, just staring at Sam as Sam glared at him, never even flinching. _

"_Alright, let's get started," said their teacher. _

Sam walked through the halls of one of his many old high schools, dressed up as the janitor. He pushed his cart full of cleaning supplies along in front of him, glancing at each door as he passed by. The bell rang loudly as he passed one classroom and he heard the chattering of many high school students as they were released from their classrooms all at once. Sam passed by his freshman Honors English classroom just as the door was opened. Sam's old teacher briefly glanced at him as he held the door open for his students leaving his classroom. Sam pushed his janitor's cart right along, heading for the gym.

Alex rolled her eyes at her oldest brother as Dean lined a group of kids up in the middle of the gym. He began giving some lame and very cheesy speech about the precious game of dodgeball. She sat on the bleachers in her yoga capris and a tight pink tank-top. She was posing as the new head cheerleading coach and she was hanging out in the gym where cheer practice would be held after school. Alex watched as Dean picked up a bright, shiny red dodgeball and nailed some skinny kid straight in the stomach. She chuckled as the kid clutched at his stomach.

"Sorry!" yelled Dean.

Alex glanced over at the gym doors as she heard one of them open. She rolled her eyes as Dean made some other kid take a lap. Sam walked into the gym and Alex stepped off of the bleachers, heading towards her twin brother. Dean noticed him as well and Sam nodded towards him, indicating Dean to join him and Alex by the doors. Dean nodded back at him, threw the bag of dodgeballs at his kids, and headed towards his siblings.

"Having fun?" asked Sam, taking in Dean's getup.

Dean had on short red shorts, a white polo shirt, a red sweatband around his head, and socks pulled up to his knees. Dean smirked, pulling out his whistle and showing it to Sam and Alex.

"The whistle makes me their god," said Dean.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Right. Nice shorts," said Sam.

"Find anything?" asked Dean, ignoring Sam's comment.

"Been over the entire school twice. No sulfur."

"No sulfur, no demon…" began Alex.

"No demon, no case," finished Dean.

"I don't know, maybe I was wrong," said Sam, sighing deeply.

"Well, it happens to all of us, so I say we can now get the hell out of here. But after lunch, it's Sloppy Joe day," said Dean.

Sam winced as one particular kid got hit really hard during the dodgeball game. A scream echoed out from the kids and the one who had been taking laps ran past the three of them, his hand covering his mouth and nose.

"Good hustle, Colby! Just walk it off!" yelled Dean, calling after him.

Dean gave a small smirk to his siblings and Alex and Sam gave him tentative smiles back.

Ten minutes later, Sam was walking down a hallway when he heard a few screams and cries of panic. He rushed down the hallway and saw a blonde teacher ushering a student from the room, his hand wrapped in a towel that was already covered in lots of blood. Sam's eyes widened at the mass exodus of students from that particular room, so he walked inside it as everyone else exited from the room. He watched as the lone kid left behind fainted, falling to the floor unconscious. He looked a little bit nerdy and blood splatters were all over his striped shirt and his pale face. As Sam walked closer, he saw that the kid's hands were also covered in blood. Sam knelt down next to the boy, who slowly opened his eyes. He began looking around the room, then looked up at Sam.

"What happened?" he whispered, looking to Sam for answers.

Sam had no answer for the boy. He looked the kid over and looked even more confused when he saw a dark purple/black liquid oozing from the boy's ears. He cocked his head to the side in confusion.

Sam walked down the hallway full of metal lockers, his EMF meter out and running. He shut it off as he heard the double doors creak open behind him. He turned and saw that it was just Dean and Alex walking towards him now.

"How's the violence assembly going?" asked Sam.

"Apparently, shoving a kid's arm into a food processer is not a healthy display of anger," answered Alex.

"So, the kid had ectoplasm leaking out his ear?" asked Dean, cutting quick to the chase.

Sam sighed heavily.

"Which only comes from a seriously pissed off spirit. It's got to be ghost possession," answered Sam.

"Yeah, but that's pretty rare, Sammy, even for us," said Alex, biting her bottom lip between her pearly white teeth.

"Yeah, but it still happens. I mean, if they get angry enough, they can take control of any person's body."

"Alright, so, we got a ghost in the building?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, but where? I mean, there's no EMF. Maybe we can find out who it is at least, check and see of somebody died bloody around here or something," said Alex.

Dean nodded and pulled something from the pockets of his jacket.

"I'm way ahead of you guys. I had to, uh, break into the principal's office to get this. Oh, and, uh, FYI, three of the cheerleaders are legal. Guess which ones," smirked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and smacked Dean's chest, hard. She grabbed the papers from his hands and unfolded them, looking at them with Sam reading them over his shoulder.

"So there was only one death on campus, it was a suicide back in 1998, some kid named Barry… Cook," read off Alex.

She looked over at Sam, her eyes widening as she recognized the name. Sam ripped the papers from her hands and skimmed them once again. Alex pulled her bottom lip back into her mouth, biting down on it as she watched Sam read.

"What is it?" asked Dean, looking between the two of them now.

"We knew him. Well, Sam knew him better than me. He was just the nerdy looking kid in our English class," whispered Alex.

"How'd he die?" asked Sam.

"Um, he slit his wrists in the first floor girls' bathroom," answered Dean.

Sam looked up at his siblings then.

"That' where-"

"Right where the chick got swirlied to death, exactly," finished Dean, cutting Sam off suddenly.

Sam looked back down at the papers in his hands.

"So, what, this ghost is possessing nerds?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded.

"And using them to go after bullies, yeah," answered Alex.

"Well, does that sound like Barry's MO?" asked Dean.

Sam looked off into the distance, thinking back on some old memories now.

"Barry had a really hard time," responded Sam.

_Sam slid to the ground on his knees very gracefully, retrieving a textbook of Barry's that had slid away from his grasp when an upperclassman jock had knocked it out of Barry's hands thirty seconds ago. Barry looked over at Sam gratefully. _

"_Thanks, Sam," said Barry. _

_Sam helped Barry gather up his belongings. _

"_Great school," said Sam, sarcasm lacing his tone now. _

"_Oh, I don't care. Three years and then I'm out of here. I'm going to Michigan State. They've got the best vet program in the country," said Barry. _

_Sam grabbed his large binder that was resting next to him and held it under his arm, looking at Barry. _

"_You like animals?"_

_Barry sighed. _

"_They're just a lot nicer than people."_

_Sam nodded in understanding. He saw Alex leaning up against a row of lockers, twirling a lock of hair around her finger as an older boy rested his hand above her head, smirking down at her. Alex giggled at something he said and then the boy leaned in closer to her, whispering something in her ear. Alex pushed on his chest gently to move him away, but the boy persisted. Alex giggled again and the boy continued whispering in her ear. Sam rolled his eyes and stood up, holding out a hand to help Barry stand up. _

_Dean's mouth molded with the girl that he was making out with in the janitor's closet. It was the same blonde girl from his first period History class. She pulled away after a few more minutes and Dean smirked down at her. _

"_So tonight I'm thinking you, me, a bucket of popcorn, extra butter?" asked Dean. _

_The blonde girl smiled, leaning forward to kiss him once again. _

"_Ooh, kinky," she whispered against his lips. _

"_And the midnight screening of _I Spit On Your Grave_ at the Cinedome," said Dean. _

_The girl pulled away from him, sighing. _

"_I can't. I have a pretty strict curfew. At eleven." _

"_So?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows and shaking his head at her. _

_The girl chuckled. _

"_So, if I break it, my folks will ground me for a whole month."_

"_Yeah, parents. Terrifying."_

"_Mmm-hmm. When's your curfew, hotshot?"_

"_I don't have one."_

"_So your parents just let you stay out all night, don't they?" she asked. _

"_My dad's out of town on a job. It's just me and my little brother and sister."_

"_For how long?"_

"_A couple of weeks."_

"_Seriously?" she asked him, her tone full of disbelief. _

_Dean nodded his head. _

"_Yes, we've got a pretty sweet setup at The Pines, actually."_

"_The motel?"_

"_Mmm-hmm. HBO, magic fingers, free ice. It's great."_

"_Yeah… I guess." _

_She shook her head at him. _

"_What, I do whatever I want, whenever I want, it's perfect," argued Dean. _

"_Yeah, but… don't you miss your dad?" _

_Dean stepped away from her. He pulled open the closet door and let her out. She grabbed his face and pulled him in for one last kiss before she completely left down the hall. As Dean was leaving the janitor's closet, he spotted Sam walking by him, heading for the other direction. _

"_Yo, Sammy," whispered Dean. _

_Dean smirked at him as he passed by. Sam acknowledged him with a brief head nod and Barry stared at Sam with wide, disbelieving eyes. _

"_That's your brother? The one with Amanda Heckerling?" asked Barry, smirking at Sam now. _

_Sam nodded apprehensively. _

"_He's so cool," breathed Barry. _

"_Yeah, he thinks so too," said Sam. _

_After a few more steps, Barry and Sam were forced to stop as the bully from their English class stepped in front of them. He looked down at Sam. _

"_Hey, tough guy. I've been looking all over for you. Still want to take Barry's place?" he asked Sam. _

"_Get out of here, Barry," said Sam, never looking away from the bully in front of them. _

_Barry walked back toward the direction he and Sam had just come from. _

"_I'll get a teacher," he whispered as he took off down the hall. _

_Sam held out his palm as the bully began stepping towards Barry as he left. The bully looked down at Sam then. _

"_Wanna go?" he yelled. _

"_I'm not gonna fight you, Dirk."_

"_Why not? You too chicken?" asked Dirk. _

_Sam stared Dirk down. Dirk shoved Sam's shoulder. _

"_Come on!" he yelled. _

"_No," said Sam. _

_Sam turned around, beginning to walk away from Dirk, but Dirk grabbed Sam's arm, pulled him back, and punched Sam straight in the face. Sam fell to the ground, his books flying everywhere as he fell. A crowd had formed around them and they all taunted Sam. _

"_Get up! Get up! Come on, get up already!" yelled Dirk, screaming at Sam's back. _

"_Get back! Get back!" yelled Sam's English teacher, quickly rushing forward from down the hallway, Barry directly behind him. _

_The teacher walked straight over to Dirk, pointing at him menacingly. Dirk glared at him and began walking away right as Sam finally stood up. The teacher glanced at Sam, raised his eyebrows, but then continued after Dirk's retreating form. Alex pushed through the crowd then, locking eyes with Sam. Sam nodded at her to tell her he was alright and Alex nodded right back. She grabbed the hand of the older boy beside her and walked off down the hallway with him. _

"_You suck, Winchester," taunted a person in the crowd around Sam. _

Sam looked down at the body of Barry as he poured salt on the bones. Dean poured on the gasoline next and then Alex lit one match, throwing it down into the six foot hole. They all stood and watched in silence as the grave went up in flames.

"So long, Barry Cook," said Dean, as he put the shovel back into the Impala's trunk.

Sam still said nothing and as they drove away, Alex began to worry. After ten minutes of driving and Sam just looking off out the window at the steady fall of rain, Alex sighed. She rested her head on the side of Sam's seat.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked gently.

After a few more minutes of silence, Sam finally spoke up.

"Barry was my friend. And we just burned his bones."

Dean looked over at the two of them.

"Well, at least he's at peace now, Sammy."

Sam just shrugged.

"I mean, if Dad had let us stay just a little while longer then maybe I could've helped the kid, you know?"

"You read the coroner's report, Sam. I mean, Barry was on every anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drug ever made for man. I mean, school was hell for that poor kid. His parents had split up. He just wanted out. I mean, it's tragic, but it's not your fault," said Dean, looking over at his brother once again.

"To tell you the truth, I'm glad we got out of that town, I hated that damn school," said Dean.

Sam and Alex glanced over at him.

"It wasn't all bad," whispered Sam.

Dean scoffed.

"How can you even say that after what happened to you?" asked Dean.

Sam remained silent, reliving another memory.

"_That kid's dead," threatened Dean. _

_Sam and Alex both sighed, Alex rolling her eyes yet again. _

"_Dean," said Sam. _

"_I'm gonna rip his lungs out!" yelled Dean. _

"_It's not even a big deal. Right, Sammy?" asked Alex. _

_Sam nodded and Alex smirked. _

"_Not a big deal, Sammy, look at yourself. If Dad was here…"_

"_But he's not."_

"_Well, I am. And as soon as I'm finished with that dick…" _

"_Just shut up, alright? I really don't need your help," said Sam. _

_Dean looked over at him. _

"_That's right, you don't, you could've torn him apart. So why didn't you?" asked Dean. _

"_Because he doesn't want to be the freak anymore, Dean," whispered Alex, answering for Sam. _

"_I just want to be normal," agreed Sam. _

"_So, taking a beating, that's normal?" asked Dean. _

_Sam and Alex looked away from him while Dean shook his head. _

"_Any word from Dad?" asked Alex, quickly changing the subject. _

_Dean took out his cell phone, checking it very quickly. _

"_He called this morning, said he's going to be another week, at least. We weren't even supposed to be here this long," said Dean, sticking his phone back in his jacket pocket. _

"_At least you have Amanda. She's pretty cool," chimed in Sam. _

_Dean raised his eyebrows. _

"_Dude, she wants me to meet her parents. I don't do parents," said Dean, his eyes now wide with a little bit of fear._

_Alex and Sam smirked just as the five minute warning bell rang. They all began heading for the school building together. _

_As the bell rang an hour later, signaling the end of class, Alex and Sam began heading for the door with the rest of the students. _

"_Mr. Winchester, can I please talk to you?" called out their teacher. _

_Alex bit her lip nervously as she filed past Sam, but Sam ignored her as he marched up to his teacher's desk. _

"_Um, I'll wait for you outside," said Barry, looking at Sam as he passed by him. _

_Sam slightly nodded and watched Barry leave before looking up at his teacher again. _

"_Look, if this is about the fight, I didn't start it," said Sam. _

"_Oh, no, it's not about the fight, Sam. You know this assignment was nonfiction, right?" _

_Sam sighed and looked down at the floor. _

"_Yes, Mr. Wyatt."_

"_So you and your family killed a werewolf last summer, huh?" smirked Mr. Wyatt. _

_Sam said nothing in reply. Mr. Wyatt continued smirking at him as he sat down in his chair behind his desk, making himself eye-level with Sam now. _

"_Why would you write something like this, Sam?"_

_Sam shrugged. _

"_Does it matter? I mean, as soon as my dad gets back, we're leaving, so… You can flunk me if you want to."_

"_I'm not flunking you, I'm giving you an A," said Mr. Wyatt, handing Sam his paper back._

_Sam smiled as he took his essay from Mr. Wyatt's hands, looking at the big and bright red A gleaming in the corner of his paper. _

"_Now, aside from the werewolf, is that really how you describe your family?" _

_Sam nodded tentatively. _

"_Yeah."_

"_Well, your older brother's quite a character then. And your father, he seems, um, driven. And of course, Alex is always getting her way, seeing as she's the only girl in the family and all. But anyway, it's good, Sam, it's really good. Have you ever thought about pursuing writing?" asked Mr. Wyatt. _

"_I can't. I have to go into the family business." _

"_Family business?" asked Mr. Wyatt, looking very confused now. _

"_Yeah, my dad's a... my dad's a mechanic. So, I have to be a mechanic too."_

"_Do you even want to go into the family business, Sam?"_

_Sam looked at Mr. Wyatt, dumbfounded. _

"_No one's ever asked me that before," whispered Sam. _

"_Well?"_

_Sam shook his head, looking at Mr. Wyatt. _

"_More than anything, no." _

_Mr. Wyatt nodded and stood up, walking over to stand in front of Sam. _

"_Look, I don't want to overstep my bounds here, but you shouldn't and you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Look, I mean, I know what it's like, okay? I come from a family of surgeons and that just wasn't me. So, I, you know, traded in the money and the prestige of being a doctor for all of the glamour you see here around you. But the point is, there may be three or four big choices that shape someone's whole life? And you need to be the one that makes them. Not anyone else, okay? You seem like a great kid, Sam. Just live the life you want to live." _

The next morning, Sam stared out of his passenger side window at the high school in front of him. The car was idling as Dean and Alex just looked at Sam.

"We came back here just so you could talk to one teacher?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed softly.

"He's a really good guy," answered Sam.

Dean shook his head.

"Well, whatever. Go have your Robin Williams, 'O Captain, my Captain' moment, just make it quick."

Dean reached for the radio dial just as Sam began getting out of the car.

Sam walked through the front doors of his old high school and exhaled a deep breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He began walking down an old hallway that seemed vaguely familiar, heading for Mr. Wyatt's old classroom. He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit he'd had for as long as he could remember. As he reached out for the door handle, a voice sounded out from behind him.

"Excuse me, sir. Could you tell me where to find room 305?"

Sam turned and saw a little tiny Asian girl standing behind him. She held a small stack of books in her hand and she had bright purple braces on her teeth. He smiled brightly at her.

"Sure. Um, head down this hallway, take your first right, and it's the… third door on your left," answered Sam, concentrating hard to remember where the room actually was.

The girl faced him once again and smiled brightly at him.

"Thanks, Sam."

Sam's face fell and he looked at her with confusion. She suddenly dropped her books and stabbed Sam near his collarbone with a sharpened pencil.

"You got tall, Winchester," she said, her voice very deep and manly now.

She kicked Sam in the groin and Sam crouched forward in immense pain. She slapped him in the face with such force that Sam flew backwards. As she stalked towards him, ectoplasm leaking from her mouth and over her lips, Sam opened a small shaker of salt he had stashed in his pocket. Once she was only feet away from him, Sam shot up, grabbed her by the arms, and shoved his palm over her mouth, pushing the salt inside her mouth. She struggled against him for a few seconds until a black shadowlike form burst from her body and escaped down a side hallway. Sam held the unconscious girl to his chest, breathing heavily.

Dean had parked the car underneath a bridge a couple of miles away from the high school. Sam was sitting on a large boulder, holding his chest where the possessed Asian girl had stabbed him earlier. Alex sat beside him, her lip in between her teeth as she looked at Sam with worry. Dean slammed the Impala's trunk closed and held out a large bottle of Southern Comfort. Sam looked at the bottle and then up at Dean.

"Trust me, this will help," said Dean.

Sam sighed, but took the bottle of whiskey from him. Alex held back a laugh as Sam put the bottle in between his legs, helping to ease the pain from when the ghost had kicked him in the groin.

"That ghost is dead. I'm gonna rip its lungs out!" yelled Dean.

Sam looked up at him. Dean sighed.

"Well, you know what I mean."

"It knew my name. My real name," whispered Sam.

"But we burned Barry's bones. What the hell?" asked Alex, looking confused and worried.

"Well, maybe it wasn't Barry, maybe we missed something. We just gotta go back," said Dean, grabbing the file folder and flipping through it.

After a few seconds, he looked up.

"No way," he said out loud.

Sam and Alex looked over at him.

"What is it? Did we miss something?" asked Alex.

She stood up and walked over to read over Dean's shoulder.

"How did we not see this before?" asked Alex.

Dean just shrugged and handed the files over to Sam to look at as well.

"What?" asked Sam.

"Check it out. Look, Martha Dumptruck, Revenge of the Nerds, and Hello Kitty, they all rode the same bus," answered Dean.

"Okay, so maybe the bus is haunted?" asked Alex.

"Well, that would explain why there's no EMF at the school, but not the attacks. I mean, ghosts are tied to the places that they haunt, they can't just bail," said Dean, leaning against his car.

Alex scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Unless this one can," she argued, joking around.

Sam stared at her, looking like a light had just gone off in his head.

"Guys, there's all kinds of lore about ghosts possessing people and then riding them for miles. Then whenever they leave the body, they're bungeed back to their usual haunt, but until then, the ghost can go wherever they want," explained Sam.

"So this spook just grabs some random kid on the bus and walks right into Truman?" asked Dean.

"It's completely possible," said Sam.

"Ghosts getting creative, well, that's just super fantastic," said Dean, sarcasm lacing his tone as he opened up the cooler next to his feet and pulled out a beer.

A few hours later, Sam held the EMF meter at the front of the bus while Dean and Alex searched through the back of the bus.

"Well, this bus definitely ain't clean," said Sam.

Alex and Dean both sighed.

"Here, ghosty, ghosty, ghosty," said Dean, banging his sawed-off shotgun on the roof of the bus.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," said Alex.

"Man, I don't get it. I mean, no one ever died on this bus and it's not like there's a body hidden in here," said Sam, walking towards his siblings now while the EMF meter continued to make noises in his hand as he walked further into the bus.

"Yeah, but a flap of skin, a hair. Hell, I mean, a hangnail, but something's got to be tying this ghost to this place," said Alex.

"We've just gotta find it," said Dean, looking around him for anything to help them out.

"Yeah," said Sam.

Dean nodded and walked back up towards the front of the bus. He sat down in the driver's seat, laying his shotgun across his lap. He looked through the glove compartment. He tossed aside a paperback novel and underneath it was a piece of paper. The paper was a license for the driver to drive the school bus. Dean looked curiously at the name printed there.

"Got a new driving permit here. Issued exactly two weeks ago," called out Dean.

Sam and Alex walked up to join him in the front of the bus, Sam switching off the EMF meter as they walked forward. They crouched down in front of Dean.

"That was right before the first attack," said Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Yep. Name of the bus driver is Dirk McGregor Senior. 39 North Central Avenue," read off Dean, looking at the permit in his hands.

"McGregor?" asked Sam.

"Yeah. Why?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam.

"I knew his son," answered Sam.

"Dude, did you just know everyone at this damn school? Jesus," remarked Alex.

Sam sighed, his mind returning back to his freshmen year at Truman High School.

_The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Sam filed outside into the cool fall air, Alex in step beside him. As they turned the corner to meet Dean, they saw a very small line of people standing around, watching as Dirk shoved Barry to the cold, cement ground. _

"_You've gotta watch where you're going," said Dirk. _

_Sam sighed and walked straight up to Dirk, standing only a few feet in front of him now. Alex followed right behind him, helping Barry stand up straight. _

"_Just leave him alone already, Dirk," said Sam. _

"_You never learn, do you? Midget?" taunted Dirk, smirking. _

_Barry looked at Alex, fear in his eyes for Sam. Alex shook her head, knowing Sam would take care of himself easily. Sam looked over at Barry. _

"_Get to the bus, Barry." _

_Barry nodded as Dirk shook his head, watching Barry walk away to his bus behind Dirk. A larger crowd had formed around Sam and Dirk now. Alex watched Barry step onto his school bus and then she stood behind Sam, her arms crossed over her chest. Sam glared at Dirk and then he nodded to Alex. Alex began following behind him, shoving Dirk with her shoulder as she passed by him. Dirk began fuming and he shoved Alex to the ground, hard. Sam whirled around as he heard gasps from the crowd around him. He saw Alex fall onto her knees and she looked up at Sam. _

"_Sammy, just do it already," she whispered. _

_Sam nodded down at her before turning his attention back to face Dirk. Alex stood up as well, brushing herself off. _

"_What's a matter? You two scared? Don't worry. I'll go easy on you this time, Sam. So come one, Losechester. Let's see what you've got," taunted Dirk. _

"_Come on, freak! Freak!" _

_Alex watched as the fire blazed in Sam's eyes then. She stood back as her twin brother shoved Dirk in the chest, pushing him backwards a few steps. Dirk looked a little surprised, but he recovered, throwing a right hook at Sam's face. Sam ducked and punched Dirk directly in the stomach. Dirk hunched over in pain, but quickly stood back up, throwing a left hook at Sam next. Sam ducked once again and punched Dirk in the kidneys this time. Once he was crouched over again, Sam kneed him in the stomach, punched him in the face three more times, and then kicked out with his right leg, hitting Dirk in the back of his left knee. Dirk went sprawling to the cold, hard ground, looking up at Sam. Sam looked down at him and hit him with an uppercut directly under his chin. Dirk fell on his back to the ground and the crowd gasped as he fell. Sam stood over him. _

"_You're not tough. You're just a jerk. Dirk the jerk," said Sam. _

"_Hey, Dirk the jerk, yeah, that's pretty good," said one random kid in the crowd. _

_Other kids in the large crowd began agreeing with Sam and they laughed, taunting Dirk with his new nickname as he lay on the ground. Dirk got up quickly and strode off, Sam and Alex watching him leave. _

"So. You were friends with Dirk?" asked Dirk's father.

Sam, Alex, and Dean were visiting Dirk's father, trying to find out how to get rid of Dirk's vengeful spirit once and for all.

"Uh, yes, sir. In high school," answered Sam.

"Well, I don't recall Dirk having very many friends at Truman. Please, take a seat," offered Mr. McGregor, motioning to his couch.

The three siblings sat down graciously, Mr. McGregor sitting across from them in his upholstered armchair.

"When did, uh, when did Dirk pass?" asked Dean.

"He was only eighteen."

"What happened to him?" asked Alex.

"Well, there was, uh, first drinking and then drugs and then way too many drugs. He just slipped through my fingers."

Mr. McGregor let out a deep sigh before continuing on.

"It was my fault, really. I should've seen it coming, you know. Dirk, he, uh, he had his troubles."

"What kind of troubles?" asked Dean.

"School was never easy for Dirk. We didn't have much money and… Well, you know kids, they can be pretty cruel sometimes. They picked on him a lot."

"I'm sorry, did you just say they picked on him?" asked Alex, looking utterly confused now along with Sam.

Dirk's father nodded.

"They called him poor and dirty and stupid. They even had a nickname for him. Dirk the jerk."

Sam's eyebrows rose and his eyes widened. He cleared his throat briefly, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"After what happened to his mother, he-"

"His mother?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, Jane, my wife. She died when Dirk was thirteen. Cancer. I was working three jobs so it fell to Dirk to take care of her. And he was a great kid. He always made sure that Jane got her medicine, he helped her, cleaned up after her. You know you, you watch someone die slow, waste away to nothing… It does things to a person. Horrible things."

"I didn't know about his mother," said Sam, feeling absolutely horrible for the things he had done and said to Dirk.

Mr. McGregor shook his head.

"He wouldn't ever talk about her. Not even to me, his own father. There was just a lot of anger in that boy."

"I'm sorry," said Alex, looking deeply saddened by this man's pain.

Mr. McGregor nodded at her.

"Well, we would really love to pay our respects, Mr. McGregor. Um, you mind telling us where Dirk is buried?" asked Dean.

"Oh, he wasn't. I had him cremated."

Dean's face visibly fell at this statement.

"All of him?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex looked at him, completely shocked at his question.

"Well, I kept a lock of his hair."

"Oh. That's… That's nice," remarked Dean, a small smile back on his face again.

"Where might you be keeping that?" continued Dean.

Mr. McGregor looked at Dean like he was crazy.

"On my bus, in my Bible," answered Mr. McGregor.

Dean, Sam, and Alex nodded.

Later that night, Sam, Alex, and Dean waited a few feet in the woods as Mr. McGregor's school bus drove by. The bus drove over the traps Dean and Sam had set up, causing all of the tires to pop. The bus veered over to the left side of the road, right by where the three siblings were waiting. They watched as the doors of the bus opened, the possessed bus driver stepping outside onto the black, deserted road. He looked around, saw nothing, and began walking towards the back of the school bus. Sam suddenly stepped out from the woods, standing behind him now.

"Dirk!" yelled out Sam.

The bus driver stopped directly in his tracks and turned to face Sam now. Sam loaded his sawed-off shotgun and aimed it at the man's chest.

"Winchester. What are you gonna do, shoot me?" ground out Dirk.

"I don't need to," answered Sam.

Suddenly, Dean and Alex ran out from behind the bus. Dean held a large amount of rope in his hands and he threw it around the bus driver, trapping him.

"That rope is soaked in salt water, Dirk, you're not going anywhere," yelled out Sam.

Dean and Alex walked over to join Sam now. Dean walked onto the bus, demanding everyone in the bus to stay calm. He began searching for the lock of Dirk's hair.

"Hey, aren't you the P.E. teacher?" asked the basketball coach, looking curiously at Dean's face.

Dean looked at him as a couple of the students looked up, agreeing with their coach now as they took in Dean's face.

"Not really. I'm kind of like _21 Jump Street. _Your bus driver here sells pot. Yeah, I know, it's pretty crazy," said Dean.

He went back to searching for Dirk's lock of hair. He found the Bible quickly, grabbed it, and dumped it out, but no lock of hair came spilling out from it. Dean cursed, sighing under his breath.

"It's not here!" he yelled out to Sam and Alex.

Sam and Alex turned their gazes onto the possessed bus driver standing in front of them. Dean hurried out of the bus to join them.

"Where is it?" asked Alex.

The man smirked, shaking his head mockingly at them.

"Nowhere you'll ever find it," he answered.

Sam rushed forward, grabbing the man by the collar of his shirt and throwing him up against the side of the yellow school bus.

"Where the hell is it?!" yelled Sam, almost spitting in the man's face as he yelled at him.

"Oh, Sam Winchester. Still a bully, I see. You, you jocks and you pretty girls. You popular kids. You always thought you were better than everyone else. To you I was just Dirk the jerk, right? Well now, you evil sons of bitches are gonna get what's coming to you, oh, that's for sure," threatened Dirk.

"I'm not evil, Dirk. I'm not," said Sam, stepping away from him.

"And neither were you. Trust me, I've seen real evil, Dirk. We were all scared and miserable. And we took it out on each other. Us and everyone else. That's just high school, Dirk. But you suffer through that and then it gets better. I'm just really sorry that you didn't get a chance to see that. You or Barry," said Sam.

"Nothing is gonna get better for me. Not ever," said Dirk.

He closed his eyes, flexed his arms, and broke the rope that surrounded him. He lunged for Sam, who shot him twice in the chest. The man fell down to the ground by the side of the bus. Gasps echoed throughout the bus and the boys clambered over one another to see what was happening outside. As the three siblings stared at the man in front of them and walked slowly over to him, a kid from inside the bus scrambled outside, tackling Sam to the ground before they even knew what was happening. The kid began punching Sam in the face as he sat on Sam's chest. Dean grabbed the shotgun and shot the kid's back twice, but he never faltered.

"Alex! Find the hair!" yelled Sam, trying to ward off the kid's punches to his face.

Dean scrambled inside of the bus to look for the hair, Alex following right beside him.

"Hey, isn't that the new cheerleading coach?" asked one kid, looking up at Alex in the front of the bus now.

"Yeah, dude, she's a total babe," said another kid.

Another boy whistled at her, but Alex just ignored them all, intent on finding this lock of hair they needed.

"Where in the hell could it be?" asked Dean, choking it out through gritted teeth.

Alex suddenly stopped, smacking herself in the forehead at their sheer stupidity.

"Fuck!" she yelled, running outside.

She rushed over to the bus driver's form, beginning to search through his pockets. When she found nothing in there, she grabbed the man's shoes, yanking them from his feet quickly. As she pulled off the man's second shoe, Dirk's lock of hair fell from inside of it. She pulled out her lighter, held the lock of hair up to it, and quickly set it on fire. They all watched as the hair went up in flames and Dirk's ghost flew from the kid's body, erupting in a cloud of black smoke, fire, and ash. The kid fell off of Sam and over to the side of him, unconscious.

"_Hey, way to go, Sam." _

"_Good job, Sam!" _

_Alex nudged Sam with her shoulder as they walked down the hall together, another person congratulating Sam on beating up Dirk yesterday. _

"_Looks like someone's a pretty big hero," said Alex. _

_She winked at Sam and Sam smiled at her as she whirled around to walk back down the hallway. _

"_Yeah, nice job, Winchester," congratulated another student. _

"_Sam! Great job with Dirk the jerk!" called out another kid. _

_Alex saw Dean walking down the hallway and she sighed. She knew that Amanda had just broken up with him after finding him making out with a different girl in the janitor's closet. She speed-walked over to him and he briefly glanced at her. He sighed, but they walked together in silence down the hallway. _

"_Sam, you're the man!" yelled another student. _

"_Hey, great job, Sam." _

_Sam smiled at his admirers as he walked down the hall._

_Dean's cell phone rang then and he pressed talk immediately as he held it up to his ear. _

"_Dad?" he asked. _

_John Winchester spoke on the other end of the call and Dean sighed with extreme relief. _

"_Finally," whispered Dean. _

_He grabbed Alex and they headed outside for the front steps, picking up Sam along the way outside. _

_Sam and Alex sat on the front steps of the school as Dean paced in front of them, sighing deeply every couple of minutes. _

"_Man, I can't wait to get out of here, this place sucks," complained Dean. _

_Sam and Alex said nothing. Suddenly, a horn honked from somewhere down the street. The familiar sounds of the Impala's rumbling engine appeared and Dean sighed in relief as he saw the car and his father behind the wheel. John Winchester pulled up to the curb and idled the car as he waited for all of his kids to climb inside. Dean began walking over before their dad even threw the car into park. He looked back at his siblings. Alex was walking over, but Sam was still sitting on the front steps of the school. _

"_Come on, Sam," said Dean. _

_Sam stood up and followed his siblings to the car. As he got to the front bumper, he stopped and looked over to the classroom where his English class would have been meeting. Barry was looking down at them sadly from the second story window. He was leaning his head against the window pane and he waved morosely at Sam. Sam gave him a brief smile and waved back at him before walking around to the passenger side and climbing into his dad's precious car. Barry watched them drive off until he couldn't see any of them anymore. _

Sam approached Mr. Wyatt's classroom slowly, not even sure if his old teacher would remember him. He saw Mr. Wyatt sitting at his desk, grading some paper. Sam heard the sounds of students in other classrooms, but Mr. Wyatt didn't have a class this period. Sam took a deep breath as he reached for the door handle. The door creaked as he pulled it open and Sam flinched. He exhaled a short breath as he walked inside the classroom.

"Um, Mr. Wyatt?" he asked.

Mr. Wyatt looked over at Sam, removing his reading glasses from his face as he stared at him.

"Yes?" he asked him.

Sam smiled gently as he walked over to stand in front of Mr. Wyatt's wooden desk.

"You probably don't even remember me, um, but my name's Sam Winchester and, uh, I just wanted to thank you," answered Sam.

"For…?"

"I was a student here and, um, you gave me some very helpful advice once."

Mr. Wyatt's face brightened then and a slow smile spread across his face.

"Winchester. Right, right. Yeah, you, uh… You wrote that horror story," said Mr. Wyatt.

He stood up from his chair and stuck out his hand for Sam to shake. Sam took his hand, shaking it for a few brief seconds.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did. Yeah, it's kind of all been one big long horror story actually," said Sam.

"Oh, well, what do you mean?" asked Mr. Wyatt, putting his hands on his hips now.

Sam shook his head.

"Oh, nothing, sorry."

Mr. Wyatt nodded.

"So what was this advice? I might need to plagiarize myself down the line."

"You told me that I didn't have to go into the family business. You said that I should make my own choices."

"Huh. So you managed to do your own thing then, huh?"

Sam took in a deep breath, sighing as he let it out before answering his former English teacher.

"Yeah, for a while there, yeah. I, um, I think I went to college because of you. But, you know, people grow up."

"Yeah," nodded Mr. Wyatt.

"Responsibilities. But still, um, you took an interest in me when no one else seemed to want to. That matters, so thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you," said Sam.

"Well, you know, the only thing that really matters is, uh, that you're happy. So, are you happy, Sam?" asked Mr. Wyatt.

Sam looked at his former teacher, not really sure how to answer that particular question. Sam finally sighed and stared at his former teacher.

"I don't know if I can answer that question," he finally whispered.


	39. Chapter 39

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think. _

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines._

**Chapter 39**

Dean awoke to the sound of a semi-truck blaring on his horn as he passed the motel they were staying in. The local interstate was right beside the motel, causing the siblings to hear all kinds of traffic. Dean looked over to Sam and Alex's bed and saw Alex still sound asleep, but Sam wasn't there. He lifted his head up slightly to see where Sam was. He looked towards the slightly open bathroom door and saw Sam on the phone. He was fully dressed and he was pacing in the bathroom.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Alright, you keep looking too, okay? We'll talk soon," said Sam into his phone.

Dean quickly laid his head back down and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep as Sam re-entered the room. Sam looked at his sleeping siblings. He sighed as he sat down on the corner of his bed. He nudged Alex, who groaned as she rolled over. He lightly smacked Dean's side and Dean sat up, acting disoriented as if he had just woken up.

"Hey. Up and at 'em, kiddos," said Sam.

Alex groaned again and pulled Sam's pillow over her head.

"Shh, Sammy, I'm trying to still sleep here," she said.

Sam sighed, rolled his eyes, and pulled the covers completely off of her form. Alex sat up, glared at him, and shot him the finger as she stood up, heading for the bathroom to brush her teeth. She left the door open so she could still hear her brothers.

"You're up bright and early. What are you doing?" asked Dean, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, nothing. I was just going to the bathroom," lied Sam.

Dean looked over at him.

"Yeah?"

Sam chuckled.

"Yeah. Want me to draw you a picture?"

"Nah, I'll pass."

"Think I found us a job though. Bedford, Iowa. Guy beat his wife's brains out with a meat tenderizer," said Sam, tossing the newspaper article over to Dean.

Dean grabbed it and began skimming over the story.

"Yummy," said Dean.

Alex walked back into the room, sitting next to Sam on the corner of their bed.

"And get this. Third local inside two months to gank his wife. No priors on any of 'em, all happily married," said Sam.

Alex raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, sure sounds like it," she said.

She stood up and stripped off her t-shirt, which was actually one of Dean's shirts. She had a sports bra on and she turned around, looking for her duffel bag. Her belly button jewelry sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the room as she bent over, looking for a shirt to wear.

"Alright, well, I guess we better have a look," said Dean, tossing the newspaper aside.

He looked over at Alex and saw the jewelry dangling from her belly button right before she slipped on a white tank-top. He pointed to her belly button.

"Alexandra Marie, what the hell is that?" asked Dean.

Sam snickered as Alex rolled her eyes.

"Dean, seriously. I've had my belly button pierced since I was fucking sixteen. Good Lord, you're just now noticing it?" asked Alex.

Dean sighed.

"It's slutty! And provocative!"

Alex flipped him the bird as she walked into the bathroom.

"Fuck you!"

Sam shook his head, laughing at his siblings. Alex slammed the bathroom door closed and Dean groaned as he fell back onto his bed.

"Look, why does the PD keep sending you guys? I already said I don't want a lawyer," said the criminal across the table from Dean, Alex, and Sam.

"They're lining up the firing squad," answered Dean.

The man looked into Dean's eyes.

"I'm pleading guilty."

"Alright, look. You don't want us to represent you, that's fine. Hell, it's probably not a bad idea between you and me," said Dean.

Sam glared over at Dean, clearing his throat loudly while Alex kicked Dean under the table.

"We just want to understand what happened. That's all," finished Dean.

The man looked down at the table in front of him. Sam cleared his throat once again.

"Mr. Benson? Please," said Sam.

The man took a deep breath before he began telling his story.

"What happened was I killed my wife. And you want to know why? Because she made plans without asking me first."

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Crazy son of a bitch," muttered Alex under her breath.

"Then what happened? How did you feel? Disoriented, out of control?" asked Sam, very calmly.

"Like something possessed you to do it?" asked Alex.

"I knew exactly what I was doing, I was crystal clear."

"Then why'd you do it?" asked Alex, looking at the man across from her like he was insane.

"I don't know. I loved her. We were h-happy."

Mr. Benson began choking up, his eyes filling up with tears. Dean looked over at Sam and Alex, Sam nodding to him. Dean grabbed the medium size briefcase he had brought in with him and opened it. He pulled out one single piece of paper and a pen before closing it again. He slid it over to Mr. Benson, using the pen to point at something at the bottom of the page.

"Nine G's. That's a pretty hefty bill you've got here, sir."

"Where did you get that?" asked Mr. Benson, seeming very angry now as he looked over at Dean.

Dean shook his head.

"That doesn't matter because we have it. You see, certain charges, ones you don't want the missus to know, they show up under shady names like EMC Entertainment," explained Alex, raising her eyebrows as she nodded to the bill in front of Dean.

"Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, we're talking about a nudie bar, for instance," said Dean, staring Mr. Benson down now.

"We just want to know the truth, Mr. Benson," said Sam, shooting Dean and Alex warning glares.

Mr. Benson looked down at the table again. He took in a deep breath.

"Her name was Jasmine."

"And she was a stripper?" asked Sam.

Dean smirked.

"Dude, her name was Jasmine," whispered Alex, rolling her eyes at Sam's naivety.

"I didn't mean for it to happen, I don't like to go to strip bars, but my buddy was having a bachelor party. And… there she was."

"Jasmine," clarified Sam.

Mr. Benson nodded before continuing on.

"She came right up to me and… I-I don't know, she was just… perfect. Everything that I always wanted."

"Well, if you pay enough, anybody will be anything," said Dean.

"It wasn't even about the money. It wasn't even about the sex, it was… I don't know. I don't know what it was, it's hard to explain."

"And… your wife found out?" asked Sam, looking confused.

"No, she never even had a clue."

"So then why'd you kill her?" asked Alex, leaning forward now.

"For Jasmine. She said we would be together forever if-if only Vicki was…"

Dean looked down at the floor.

"Muerte," he filled in for Mr. Benson.

"Afterwards, me and Jasmine were supposed to meet, but she never showed up. I don't know where she lives, I don't know her last name. I mean, I don't even know her real first name," cried Mr. Benson.

He looked down at the table again, shaking his head and sighing.

"I'm an idiot," he whispered to himself.

"And you didn't think to tell this to the police?" asked Sam.

"What for? The stripper didn't do it, I did it. And I know what I deserve. If the judge doesn't give me the death sentence, I'll just do it by myself."

Sam pulled open the door to Dr. Cara Roberts' office and saw her gulp down a handful of pills. She looked over at him as he pulled her office door open and his eyebrows rose as he took in the bottle of pills on her desk.

"Rough night?" he asked her.

She put her hands to her temples, cringing.

"Ah, correction. Fun night. Rough morning though. Can I help you?" she asked, looking over at him.

"Uh, yes, um…"

Sam stepped farther into her office and reached inside his jacket for his fake badge. He found it and flashed it in front of her face.

"I'm Special Agent Stiles of the FBI. You're Dr. Cara Roberts?" he asked, putting his badge back into his jacket pocket.

"As far as I know."

"Do you happen to do some work with the sheriff's department?"

She scoffed.

"Yes, when I'm not slogging it through the ER."

Sam looked confused and she shrugged, smiling.

"It's a small town, we multitask very well here," she answered.

Sam nodded.

"Well, I have some questions about a case for you. Um, several cases actually. Would you mind if I sit down?"

She pointed to the comfy looking chair straight across from her desk. Sam nodded and took a seat.

"Great, thanks. Um, Adam Benson, Jim Wylie, and Steve Snyder?"

"Oh, yeah, the men who killed their wives?"

"You handled the work ops, right?" asked Sam.

Cara nodded.

"Mmm-hmm. Autopsies for the wives and tox screens for the perps. Two for one special."

"Did you find anything?"

Cara shook her head, setting down the paperwork she had been rifling through.

"Not really. I mean, COD for the women was pretty clear. There was nothing unusual in their system."

"What about the husbands?" asked Sam.

Cara smiled.

"Can I see your badge again?" she asked politely.

Sam took his badge out of his pocket and held it up for her to see. She stared at it for a few seconds, looked up at him, and then looked at the badge once again. She smacked her lips together.

"There was one thing. Um, an anomaly in the blood work and I remember thinking how strange it was that it showed up in all three of the men."

Cara grabbed the files from her filing cabinet behind her and set them down on her desk in front of her.

"That what showed up?" asked Sam.

"Oxytocin. And all of their levels were crazy high," answered Cara.

She handed one of the men's files over to Sam, who looked over it thoroughly.

"Um, oxytocin?"

"Mmm-hm. It's a, uh, hormone that's produced during childbirth, lactation, and sex," said Cara, smiling over at Sam as she handed him the other two folders.

"Okay…"

"People call it the love hormone. Um, you know how it feels when you first fall in love, the whole weak in the knees, tattoo you on my chest thing? That's oxytocin."

Sam smiled up at Cara and she smiled right back at him.

"Of course, it eventually fades and then you're stuck with every relationship ever. That and the, um, painful regimen of tattoo removal," joked Cara.

Sam smirked and she smirked as well. Suddenly, Dean and Alex walked into the room then. Sam stopped smirking and looked over at his siblings.

"What'd we miss?" asked Alex, plopping down in the seat next to Sam.

"Um, these are my partners, Agent Murdock and Agent Stilinksi," said Sam, introducing Alex and Dean to Cara.

Cara gave them both nods of acknowledgment. Dean smirked at Cara and held out his hand for her to shake.

"Oh, agent sounds so formal, you can call me Dean."

Alex rolled her eyes, but Cara shook his hand gingerly.

"I'm Dr. Roberts."

She turned her gaze back over to Sam, giving him a mega-watt smile.

"So, um, can I help you with anything else?" she asked him.

"Um, sure, just one more thing. This chemical, this…"

"Oxytocin," said Dr. Roberts, grabbing the three files from Sam's hands that he was currently handing back to her.

"Right, Oxytocin. What would cause those high levels that you found?" asked Sam.

Alex glanced around the room, noticing a familiar looking flower behind Cara's head. She committed it to memory and then tuned back into Sam's conversation with Dr. Roberts.

"Nothing that I've ever seen."

Sam and Dean nodded.

"Okay. That's it then. Thanks, Doc," said Sam.

He gave another warm smile to Cara, who smiled right back at him. He stood up from his chair, Alex and Dean doing the same. Alex walked out first, Dean right behind her. They turned to chat with Sam, but Sam had stopped in the doorway and was looking at Dr. Roberts.

"By the way, um, try a greasy breakfast next time you've got a hangover. It's the best thing for one of those, trust me on this one, Cara."

Cara laughed, showing her smile again.

"Watch it, buddy, I'm the only MD here."

Sam smiled again as he shut the door, following his siblings toward the front door.

"Dude, you totally cock-blocked me," whined Dean, shooting Sam a nasty glare.

Alex scoffed and stared at both of her brothers, wondering why they were acting so strange over some girl they had just now met that day.

"So Wylie and Snyder fessed up, huh?" asked Sam, completely ignoring Dean's comment.

"One emptied his IRA, the other his kid's college fund. All on the same thing," answered Dean.

"It's a club called The Honey Wagon," chimed in Alex.

"Did these guys all have affairs too with a stripped named Jasmine?" asked Sam.

"Yes and no. This is where it gets interesting. Each guy hooked up with a different chick," answered Alex, raising her eyebrows.

"So, what, are these girls all connected somehow?" asked Sam.

"Well, they all describe their stripper in the same way, the exact same way, actually. Perfect and everything that they've always wanted."

"You know, it's almost like they were all under some kind of love spell," said Alex.

"Yeah, it sure as hell seems that way," said Sam, agreeing with his little sister.

"Which would then cause them to become totally and completely psychotic," said Dean.

"Absolutely," said Sam.

They had reached the car now and Alex looked between her brothers.

"You guys seem really cheery suddenly, especially you, Dean," commented Alex.

Sam just shrugged while Dean smirked and waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Strippers, Alex, strippers. We're on an actual case which involves strippers. Finally," smirked Dean.

He pulled open his door and Alex and Sam climbed inside the car as well.

Later that night, Dean walked into the strip club, which was pulsing with loud music. He flashed his fake badge to get past the bouncer and then he walked up to the bar to grab the owner.

"Alright, I'm looking for three girls. Jasmine, Aurora, and Ariel," said Dean, having to yell over the loud music.

"You seriously think those names mean anything to me?" asked the owner, scoffing.

"One's a redhead, about 5'9", the other one's Asian, about-"

"Do you have any idea how many girls I deal with? Fake names, fake hair, fake tits."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Well, you've gotta have some sort of paperwork. I mean, check stubs, some way to keep track of all of these strippers," said Dean.

The owner looked offended at Dean's word choice.

"Please. Exotic dancers. Independent contractors working for cash. I stay out of their hair and then they stay out of mine."

"Three of your customers murdered their wives. Now, you cannot tell me that you don't think that's weird."

"Yeah, I think that's super freaking weird actually. But you know what it ain't? My problem."

He shot Dean a sarcastic smirk before walking away from him. Dean looked across one of the many small stages and saw his siblings standing on the other side of him. He headed towards them, watching as one girl on stage removed her top.

"Any luck?" asked Alex, once Dean had approached them.

"No. You guys?" asked Dean.

"A little. Uh, we just talked to Bobby, which means we officially have a theory," answered Sam.

"And what's this so-called theory?" asked Dean.

"A siren," said Alex.

Dean glanced over at his siblings, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Like, Greek myths siren? _The Odyssey_?"

Sam and Alex both did a double take.

"Hey, I read sometimes," said Dean.

"Yeah, actually. But the siren's not actually a myth, it's more of that they're beautiful creatures that prey on unsuspecting men," said Sam.

"Yeah, they entice them in with their siren song," said Alex.

"Their song is more of a metaphor, like a call, their allure, you know?" asked Sam.

"So they shake their thing and then the guys zombie out?" asked Dean.

"Basically, yes. Sirens lived on islands, sailors would chase them, completely ignoring the rocky shores and dash themselves to pieces in the process," explained Alex.

"So just like Adam and his buddies," stated Dean, looking back to the stage now.

"Yeah," said Alex.

"So if you're a siren in 2013, looking for a bunch of morns to ruin, where would you set up shop?" asked Sam, glancing around the room.

"So whatever floats the guy's boat, that's what they look like?" asked Dean, looking back at his siblings again.

Sam and Alex nodded.

"Yeah. You see, sirens can read minds. They see what you want most and then they can kind of cloak themselves, you know? Kind of like an illusion of some sorts," said Sam.

"So it could all be the same chick? Morphing into different dream girls every single night?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, actually, that's probably right, Dean. Sirens are usually pretty solitary," explained Alex.

Dean rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"So how do we kill it then?"

"Bobby's still working on that aspect. But even if we figure that out…" began Sam, shaking his head.

"How in the hell are we gonna find her? It could be any one of these girls!" yelled Dean, frustration setting in for him now.

The three of them looked around the crowded strip club, not spotting the couple currently leaving the strip club holding hands.

The next morning, Dean sat at the table in their motel room. He had a book flipped open, but he wasn't looking through it. He was glaring at Sam's cell phone, which was lying on another open book in the middle of the table. After a few seconds of just staring at it, Dean grabbed it and looked through Sam's recent calls list. He saw his name, Alex's name, and Bobby's name at the top of the list. But an unknown number was below all of that. Dean scrolled down to the unknown number, hit redial, and waited as it rang once.

"Hey, Sam," said Ruby on the other end of the call.

Dean remained silent.

"Sam? You there?" asked Ruby.

Dean pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call. He dropped the phone to the table just as Sam and Alex walked back inside the room. Alex bounded over to Dean and kissed his cheek. Dean kept looking at Sam and Alex looked at him strangely, wondering why he was acting so damn weird lately.

"Liam Bristol was definitely another siren victim," said Sam, slamming the door closed behind him.

"Did you two get in to see him?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded.

"Yep. He said he brought a stripper home named Belle and a couple hours later, he offed his mother. Belle, of course, went MIA," explained Sam.

"Wait, he killed his mom?" asked Dean.

"The woman he was closest to," said Alex, shrugging.

Suddenly, Sam's phone began ringing and Dean smirked, holding it up.

"Yeah, you, um, forgot your cell phone."

Sam looked at him and Dean stood up, tossing it to him as Sam took Dean's vacated seat.

"Hey, Bobby," said Sam, holding the phone up to his ear.

Alex sat down on the bed she shared with Sam and looked over at Dean, who was now pouring himself a cup of coffee. Sam put the phone on speaker then.

"It says you need a bronze dagger covered in the blood of a sailor under the spell of the song," explained Bobby.

"What the hell does that even mean?" asked Dean.

"You've got me, son. We're dealing with 3,000 years of the telephone game here."

"Best guess?" asked Alex, still curled up on her bed.

"Well, the siren's spell ain't got nothing to do with any single song. It's most likely some kind of toxin or venom. Something she gets in the victim's blood," explained Bobby.

"Um, what do you think then? She infects the men during sex?" asked Sam.

"Maybe."

"Hmm, supernatural STD. Nice," scoffed Alex.

"Well, however it happens, once it's done, the siren's got to watch her back. She gets a dose of her own medicine…"

"It kills her," said Dean.

"Like a snake getting iced with its own venom," said Alex.

"So, what, we need to just get the blood of one of the OJ's in prison?" asked Dean.

"It's not that easy. Those men aren't infected anymore. I have no clue where you're gonna get the blood that you need," said Bobby.

Alex sighed and looked over at her twin brother. She could see the wheels turning in his head and she had a really bad feeling about his current idea.

"I think I've got a solution," said Sam.

Alex groaned and fell back on her bed.

"Be careful though. These things are pretty tricky bitches. They'll wrap you up in knots before you even know what hit you," said Bobby.

The three siblings walked into Dr. Robert's office a few hours after their phone call with Bobby. She saw the three of them and brightened as she took in Sam.

"Dr. Roberts," said Sam.

"Agent Stiles. Just couldn't stay away, could you?" she teased him.

Sam smiled shyly and Alex and Dean looked over at him strangely.

"Actually, um, we're here on business. About the blood samples, the ones with the high oxytocin levels," said Sam.

"Do you still have them?" asked Dean.

Dr. Roberts nodded.

"Good because we need them," said Alex.

"Um, what for?" asked Dr. Roberts.

Dean began to explain, but a man dressed in a suit extremely similar to Sam's walked up behind Dr. Roberts then.

"Excuse me, Dr. Roberts," he said.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning towards the new guy.

"Excuse me," said Dean, pulling out his fake badge.

Sam and Alex did the same.

"We're a little busy here, buddy," smirked Dean.

The man pulled out his own, very real FBI badge, flashing it at the three siblings.

"Yeah, so am I, pal."

They all put their badges away and Sam spoke to Dr. Roberts.

"Doc, could you give us one second, please?"

"Um, sure," said Dr. Roberts.

She turned and began walking away, back towards her little office.

"What's your name?" asked Dean, looking at the new guy.

"Vick Monroe, what's yours?" he shot back.

"I'm Special Agent Sam Stiles and these are my partners, Dean Murdock and Alex Stilinksi," said Sam, pulling out his badge once again to show the guy.

"What office are you from?" asked Dean, staring the man down now.

"Um, Omaha, Violent Crimes Unit. I was sent down here to see about the murders," answered Vick.

"Hmm," said Sam.

"You?" asked Vick.

"D.C. Our assistant director assigned us," said Dean.

"Oh, which A.D.?"

"Mike Chiser," answered Sam.

"What are your badge numbers?"

"You're kidding, right?" asked Alex, scoffing at the jerk in front of them.

Vick just shrugged at her.

"I'm just following protocol, sweetheart."

"Look, man, whatever. Just call our A.D. and he'll sort things out, alright?" said Sam, trying to appease the man in front of them.

Sam handed him a fake business card and Vick nodded, taking it from him. He stepped away from them into a secluded corner by the closest vending machine, pulling out his phone to dial the number on the card Sam had just given him.

Sam, Alex, and Dean huddled together while Vick dialed one of Bobby's many fake cellphones.

"Thank God for Bobby, huh?" asked Dean, smirking.

Alex nodded. Vick walked back over to them after a few short minutes, holding out his hand for all of them to shake.

"I'm sorry, guys. And lady," said Vick.

He looked at Alex and winked. Alex smirked back at him.

"So, I think I've found a connection between all of these murders. They were all banging strippers from the same nightclub," said Vick.

"You don't say," said Dean, acting completely surprised.

"Yep. So I say, we should head down there and check it out."

"Just give me one second with my partners here, alright?" asked Sam.

Vick nodded and Sam pushed his siblings along, away from Vick a couple of feet.

"You two have to stay with him," said Sam.

Dean scoffed.

"Why me? Why can't Alex just do it?"

Alex rolled her eyes at Dean's whining.

"Because I've gotta get the blood samples," explained Sam, like it was the easiest thing in the world to understand.

"What the hell are we supposed to do with him?" asked Dean.

Sam just shrugged.

"Just… take him to the damn strip club! And keep an eye out for the siren. Come on, Dean, just focus on the naked girls, you'll forget he's even there," said Sam.

Dean finally relented.

"I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing this for the girls," said Dean.

Sam nodded and Alex rolled her eyes, sighing. She suddenly got a weird feeling about this whole thing. As Sam began to walk off after Dean, Alex grabbed his arm, pulling him back to her and in for a hug. He pulled her in for a hug, looking confused as he did so.

"Alex, what's wrong?"

Sam stepped back to look her in the eyes. He saw that she was biting her lip, a habit she only did when she was very nervous or very upset.

"Baby girl, tell me what's wrong," whispered Sam.

Alex took a deep breath.

"Sammy, I just have a super weird feeling, alright? Just promise me you'll be safe while Dean and I are gone?" she whispered.

Sam sighed, but pulled her in for another hug. He closed his eyes as she rested her head against his chest. He kissed her forehead gently and pushed her hair behind her ears.

"I promise I'll be careful," promised Sam.

Alex nodded into his chest and stood up on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek. Sam watched as she joined Dean and Vick and they headed for the Impala outside, which was currently parked on the curb outside the doctor's office.

Alex threw back another shot with Vick and Dean, her back turned on the girls stripping on the stage behind them. Dean and Vick were getting along splendidly, comparing likes and dislikes as they nursed a beer each.

"There aren't a lot of Feds as cool as us," said Dean.

Vick smirked at him and Alex flagged down the bartender for another shot of tequila.

"I've gotta level with you, man. I went to the crime scene this morning and found something weird," said Vick.

Alex and Dean both perked up then. Vick pulled an evidence bag out of his jacket pocket and slid it across the table to Dean. Alex leaned over to look at it as well. A group of purple flowers were resting in the bottom of the bag.

"Turns out a flower just like that was found at every crime scene. I went back through all of the files earlier this morning," said Vick.

Alex grabbed the flower from Dean, trying to remember where she had seen it before.

"I've got no idea what's going on with this case anymore, man, it's all just so weird," said Vick.

Alex's eyes suddenly widened as she realized where she had seen that particular flower before.

"Fuck. Sammy," she whispered.

She threw some cash down on the bar table and rushed out the door, leaving Dean and Vick behind in her wake.

"We've watched these security tapes twice. Whoever took those blood samples-"

"Must've tampered with these tapes. Who has access to your office?" asked Sam.

"Everyone, I don't ever lock it."

Sam groaned and Cara scoffed.

"What is so important about this damn blood anyway?" she asked.

"I think someone drugged the men, made them commit murder," answered Sam.

"What? What kind of drug?"

"Um, we're not actually sure yet."

"I don't know. I interviewed all of those men and they had their reasons."

"Yeah, but they all loved their victims."

Cara scoffed and sat up on her knees in her chair, facing Sam more fully now.

"Okay, well, haven't you ever been in a relationship where you really loved someone and yet you still kind of wanted to bash their head into the wall?"

Sam chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It sounds like you're speaking from experience."

"Yeah."

Cara walked over to one of her many cabinets and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

"Really?" asked Sam.

Cara nodded, a smirk playing on her face. She held out the glass for Sam to take and he took it from her hand.

"It's medicine. And I'm a doctor, so we're all good," said Cara.

Sam walked around the desk to stand beside her, sniffing the whiskey in his glass as he did so.

"His name was Carl. And we were married."

"So what happened?" asked Sam, sitting on the edge of Cara's desk now.

"Life happened. I don't know really, I mean, I loved him. I still do, I guess, but, um… I don't know. One day I just looked up and it was like I was living with a complete stranger and… You know what I mean though, right?" she asked him.

Sam shrugged.

"I guess. Or, I don't know, maybe."

"People change. God, I know I did. But, I mean, it's nothing to feel guilty about, it just happens sometimes."

"So you two split up then?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's the word for it."

Sam's cell phone began ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket. Alex's name and a picture of the two of them together flashed across his screen. Cara looked at his phone.

"Do you need to get that?" she asked him.

"No, not right now," answered Sam.

He shut off his phone and stuck it back into his pocket. Cara smirked.

"Whatever."

She stood up then and clinked her glass against his to toast. After taking a drink, she set her glass down on her desk and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Honestly, I have been thinking about you all night. Well, parts of you."

"Just parts?"

"Like your lips," said Cara.

She moved to stand in front of Sam and began removing his tie. Sam smirked as she did this. Sam pulled her in close and they shared a small, gentle kiss. Sam smiled against her lips and then Cara began pulling his shirt off of his shoulders. Sam pulled her shirt off and they both laughed as Sam picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The purple flowers behind her desk went unnoticed as they moved together.

Sam unlocked the motel room door and the door swung open. The lights were all off, so he flipped them on. Alex suddenly jolted up from her position on her bed, flinging herself into Sam's arms. Sam caught her as her legs wrapped around his waist. Sam rubbed her back comfortingly as he heard her begin to cry.

"Alex. What's wrong?" he asked her.

Sam carried her over to the bed and he sat down, Alex not letting go of him. Sam sat back, looking at her, worry and confusion etched across his face.

"Sammy, I'm so glad you're alright," whispered Alex.

Suddenly, Sam's phone began ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw that it was Dean calling.

"Dean?"

"Sammy! Where the hell have you been all night?"

"With Cara."

"Oh, it's Cara now, is it? Well, you weren't picking up your phone."

"We were trying to find the blood samples, someone stole them."

"Yeah, I'll bet. Listen, Vick found some flower petals at all of the crime scenes."

"Yeah, so?"

"Sam, Cara had Hyacinth flowers in her office. Hyacinths come from the Greek island where the siren myths all began," explained Dean.

"So, you think Cara's the siren?" asked Sam.

He looked to Alex, who was nodding vigorously now.

"She's only been in town for two months. And she has a dead ex-husband. He dropped like a stone, no warning whatsoever."

"Look, I just really don't think it's her, Dean."

"And why would you say that?"

"I don't know, a hunch. Dean, why is Alex acting so terrified right now? She hasn't let go of me since I stepped into the motel room," said Sam.

He looked over at Alex, who had moved away from him, her eyes wide with fear.

"Sammy, you slept with her, didn't you?" asked Alex.

"Sam, did you sleep with Cara?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed.

"Holy shit, you did. Unbelievable, man, unbelievable."

Alex sighed and ran a hand through her hair nervously.

"As for Alex, she's probably freaking terrified now. She ran out of the strip club earlier to warn you about Cara being the siren and you ignored all her fucking calls, you douche bag!" yelled Dean.

"Look, I'm telling you, it's not Cara, I feel perfectly fine," sighed Sam.

"Oh, I bet you do."

"You don't trust me."

"No, because this could be the siren talking right now."

"Just tell me where you are and Alex and I will come and meet you so we can all figure things out together."

Dean hesitated for one split second.

"No."

"Are you serious?"

"I wish I weren't, but I've gotta handle this, Sammy. By myself, apparently."

Dean hung up on Sam and Sam sighed.

"Fuck!" yelled Sam, throwing his phone against the wall.

"Sammy, please calm down," whispered Alex.

"You know what, Alex? Just shut the fuck up!" yelled Sam.

Alex gasped and she walked over to Sam, slapping him across the face. Sam's face flew to the side after Alex's slap.

"Don't you ever talk to me like that again, Samuel Winchester. I've been trying to help your sorry ass and you just start sleeping with the enemy!"

Sam sighed as Alex stepped away from him. She turned her back on him and Sam walked over to her. He rested his hand on her shoulder and Alex sighed.

"Alex, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I just really don't believe that it's Cara, alright?"

Alex nodded and Sam smiled briefly, kissing her cheek.

"But if it's not Cara, we better figure out who it is real fast," said Alex.

Sam nodded and Alex sat down on the bed, beginning to attempt to piece the puzzle pieces of this case all together. Sam sat down beside her.

Dean sat outside of a local bar with Vick, both men watching as Cara looked took in her surroundings before walking inside the place. They were sitting in Vick's vehicle.

"Should we follow her inside?" asked Vick, looking over at Dean in the passenger seat next to him.

"No, no, no, I don't want to tip her off. Let's just wait and see who she comes out with," responded Dean, turning to look back at the cocktail lounge's front door that Cara had just walked through only moments before.

Vick sighed loudly.

"So you think… what, exactly? Because I'm at a complete loss over here, man."

"I think she's probably drugging these guys," answered Dean.

Vick scoffed.

"Okay."

"Look, I know how it sounds, alright?"

"Yeah, are you sure about that, because it sounds like crazy on toast. All these different strippers, they're magically the same girl, but then they're not even strippers at all, its Dr. Roberts."

"This is all kind of hard to explain, but I have my reasons and they're all pretty good ones, so you're just gonna have to trust me on them."

Vick nodded, looking away from Dean.

"Yeah, okay. I guess."

"Thank you. That's actually incredibly nice to hear," said Dean, opening his flask and taking a drink from it.

He offered it over to Vick, who chuckled, but drank from the flask with a smirk on his face the entire time. He handed it back over to Dean again, who continued drinking from it again.

"So let's say she is drugging our victims. How's she even pulling that off?" asked Vick.

"She could be injecting them. Or passing the toxin through physical contact."

Vick looked down at the flask in Dean's hands, nodding.

"Or it could be through saliva."

Dean nodded, looking down at his flask then. Suddenly, the pieces came together and Vick smirked.

"You really should've wiped the lip of that thing before you drank from it again, Dean. I should be your only sibling. Alex, Sam. You can't trust either one of them. Not like you can trust me. In fact, I really feel like you should get both of them out of the way. So that we can be siblings. Forever," said Vick.

Dean looked over at him.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right."

Sam unlocked the motel room door and Alex walked inside first, her smile fading as she saw Vick sitting on her and Sam's bed. Sam and Alex both looked at him with confusion. Vick smirked over at them, one leg resting on his thigh as he sat on their bed.

"Vick. What are you doing here, buddy?" asked Sam.

Suddenly, Alex screamed as Dean came launching towards the both of them, holding a knife in his hand. Sam shoved Alex away from him just as Dean grabbed him around the chest, holding the knife up to Sam's throat. The motel room door slammed closed with Dean's weight against it. Alex looked up at her brothers from the floor where she had fallen.

"Dean?" asked Sam, holding the knife to his throat at bay.

Vick stood up from his seat on the bed, looking very smug. He began walking towards Dean and Sam.

"I gotta tell you, you are one ugly ass stripper," said Sam, looking at Vick, who was standing in front of him now.

"Well, maybe. But I got exactly what I wanted, I got Dean," responded Vick.

"Dean, come on, man, this isn't you," said Sam.

"Dean, you can fight this. Let Sammy go," begged Alex, standing up and staring at her oldest brother.

"Why don't you cut him just a little on his neck right there?" asked Vick, whispering closer to Dean's ear.

Dean obliged Vick's orders, and Sam groaned and winced as Dean slightly cut his neck. Blood began dripping slowly from Sam's open wound.

"Dean's all mine," said Vick, standing in front of Sam once again.

"You poisoned him," said Sam.

"No, I gave him what he needed. And it wasn't some whore in a G-string. It was you, Sam. The little brother that looked up to him, that he could trust. And now he loves me."

Dean tightened his hold and Sam groaned louder this time as he flinched again.

"And I gotta tell you, Sam, that kind of devotion, watching someone kill for you is the best feeling in the whole entire world."

"Is that why you're slutting all over town then?" asked Alex, glaring at Vick with hatred in her eyes.

Vick looked over at her, his smirk still in place on his arrogant, monstrous face.

"I get bored, like we all do. And I want to fall in love again. And again and again."

"I tell you what, I have fought some nasty sons of bitches, but you are one needy and pathetic loser," said Sam.

Vick looked over at Sam once again.

"Well, you won't feel that way in a minute here."

Sam and Alex both looked confused again. Vick grabbed Sam's mouth and Alex watched in horror as the siren used her venom, squirting it into Sam's open mouth. Sam fought, but it was useless. He looked at Vick with admiration suddenly and walked toward Vick once Dean let him out of his chokehold.

"So I know you two have a lot you want to get off your chests, so why don't you guys discuss it and whoever survives can be with me… forever?" said Vick.

Alex stepped in between her brothers then and Vick growled.

"Alex, get out of their way," he said.

"No way, you slimy bastard."

Vick stalked towards her and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her away from her brothers. Alex fought against his hold, but he was way too strong. She began screaming and Vick slapped a hand over her mouth, immediately silencing her.

"Shut up, slut, or I'll kill you too."

Sam and Dean looked at each other, in a sudden standoff now.

"Well, I don't know when it happened. Maybe when I was in Hell. Maybe when I was staring right at you. But the Sam I knew, he's gone," began Dean.

"Is that so?" shot back Sam.

"And it's the demon blood or the psychic crap. It's the little stuff. The lies, the secrets."

"Oh, yeah? What secrets?"

"Your phone calls to Ruby, for one thing."

"So I need your say so to make a phone call now?"

"That's the whole point. The hiding things from me! What else aren't you telling me, Sam?"

Sam's eyes looked evil.

"That's none of your damn business."

Sam smirked. Dean shook his head at his little brother.

"See what I mean? We used to be in this all together. We used to have each other's backs!" ground out Dean, his teeth gritted together now.

"Okay, fine. You wanna know why I didn't tell you all about Ruby? And how we're hunting down Lilith? Because you're way too weak to go after her, Dean. You're holding me back. I'm a way better hunter than you are. Stronger, smarter. I can take out demons you're too scared to even go near."

"That's bullshit."

"You're too busy sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Whining about all those poor souls you tortured in Hell. Well boo-fucking-whoo."

Alex screamed and ducked as Dean threw the knife he was still holding in his hands at Sam. Sam ducked as well and threw a punch at Dean, but missed. Dean landed a right hook to Sam's right cheek and the boys began pounding on each other relentlessly. Alex ran to get in between them, but Vick grabbed her once again, holding her back as she yelled for them to stop, tears streaming down her face. Sam cried out as Dean held his arm down, hard. Sam eventually got free from Dean's hold and punched Dean several different times, causing Dean to fly back from the force of Sam's punches. Dean fell through a decorative pillar by the wall, smashing it into a million little tiny pieces. Sam charged towards him, grabbing him by the collar of his leather jacket.

"You're not standing in my way," ground out Sam.

Sam pulled Dean up and held him against the door as he punched him in the face repeatedly. Dean found a surge of adrenaline and got the upper hand on Sam. He tackled him through the motel room door, breaking it down completely. Vick let go of Alex momentarily and stood up, moving closer into the hallway to watch the brothers fight. As Sam lay on the ground, the broken motel room door underneath him, Dean spotted the axe in the hallway that was supposed to be used only for emergency purposes. He broke the glass with his covered elbow and pulled it out, holding it down at his side. Sam groaned in pain as he rolled over, trying to get back up from the fight.

"Do it. Do it for me, Dean," said Vick, walking around the brothers to stand in front of Dean now.

Dean nodded as he looked back down at Sam on the floor, whose eyes had widened as he looked back up at Dean now.

"Tell me again how weak I am, Sammy, huh? How I hold you back?"

Dean began to bring the axe down in a wide arch, but halfway through its path, a hand grabbed the handle of the axe. Dean looked over as Bobby stabbed him in the shoulder with a medium-sized dagger. Dean held his shoulder in pain as Bobby grabbed the axe completely, throwing it to the ground. Alex ran into the hallway to watch as Bobby rounded on Vick, who had just begun to run away, back down the hallway where Bobby had just come from. Sam turned his head to watch them, his eyes widening in fear for Vick.

"No, no!" yelled Sam.

Bobby ignored his calls and ran around the corner, flinging the knife directly into the center of Vick's back. Vick fell to the carpeted floor in the hallway, seeing his real monstrous form in a mirror before he completely died. Blood oozed from the corners of his mouth and Bobby walked over to him, making sure he was completely and totally dead as a doornail. Sam sat up, the spell now broken. He surveyed the damage that he and Dean had both caused in the motel room and in the hallway. The brothers looked at each other, both of their eyes wide. Alex stared at both of them sadly.

Sam sighed as Bobby handed all three of them a bottle. They all leaned up against the Impala as they stood in an abandoned parking lot. Dean glanced down at the bottle Bobby had just given him. He scoffed and then looked back over at Bobby, his eyebrows raised in a questioning glare.

"Soda?" asked Dean.

"Well, you boys are driving, ain't you?" asked Bobby.

Both boys shrugged and opened their soda bottles. Bobby drank from his while Alex smirked as she drank from her Bud Light bottle.

"Thanks again, Bobby. You know, if you hadn't shown up when you did…" Sam trailed off.

"You three would've done the same thing for me. And you have, more than once, I might add. Of course, you could've picked up the phone. It only took one call to find out that Agent Vick Monroe wasn't exactly real."

The three siblings each looked a little bit sheepish at this obvious piece of information. Bobby stared at all of them, especially Dean and Sam.

"Are you three gonna be alright?" asked Bobby.

Sam nodded.

"Yeah, fine."

"Yeah, we're all good," agreed Dean.

Bobby nodded reluctantly and with a slight wave of his fingers, he was headed for his car.

"Okay. Well, then, see you."

He climbed inside his vehicle and took off, heading for his home. Alex sighed once he was gone and looked over at her older brothers.

"You know, those sirens are nasty little things. The fact that it got to you, that's no reason to feel bad, alright?"

Sam and Dean nodded. Dean looked off into the distance.

"You gonna say goodbye to Cara?" asked Dean.

"Nah. I'm not interested," answered Sam.

Sam began kicking at a small rock with the toe of his left shoe.

"Really, why not?" asked Alex, staring at him curiously.

"Well, what's the point?"

Dean smirked.

"Well, look at you, Mr. Love 'Em and Leave 'Em."

Sam sighed.

"Dean, look. You know I didn't mean any of the things I said back there in that motel room, right? That it was just the siren's spell talking?"

"Of course, me too."

Sam nodded then, his eyebrows raised questioningly at his older brother.

"Okay, so, we're all good now, right?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, we're all good now."

Dean began walking over to the driver's side while sipping from his drink. Sam sighed, but Alex smiled over at him.

"We're all fine, Sammy. I promise," she said.

Sam pulled her in for a small side hug before letting her climb inside the Impala. Alex stretched out on the backseat and then Sam climbed into the passenger seat, him and Dean slamming their doors closed at exactly the same time before they took off for their next job.

Alex rolled her eyes as Dean messed with the jukebox machine in the corner, unable to get it to work.

"No, no, no, you're right. It's definitely weird. Okay, Bobby. Thanks," said Sam.

Alex looked at Sam expectantly as he hung up his cell phone. Dean walked back over to his siblings when he saw Sam hang up his phone.

"So what's up?" asked Dean.

Sam placed his cell phone back into his jeans pocket.

"Um, Bobby found something in Wyoming," answered Sam, turning his attention back to his computer.

"A job?" asked Alex, scooting in her chair so that Dean could sit beside her.

"Maybe. Small town and no one's died in the last week and a half."

Dean took a bite of his lukewarm hamburger.

"That's not so unusual," said Dean.

"Well, it's how they're not dying. Um, for instance, one guy with terminal cancer strolls right out of hospice, another guy gets capped by a mugger and walks away without a single scratch," explained Sam.

"Capped where, exactly?" asked Alex.

Sam held up one finger as he clicked on the online article and began reading.

"Police say Mr. Jenkins was shot in the heart at point blank range by a nine millimeter."

"And he's not six feet under already?" asked Alex, shaking her head in disbelief.

"The locals are saying it's a miracle," said Sam, looking up from his computer screen.

Dean nodded.

"Okay."

He shoved some more fries into his mouth. Sam closed his computer.

"It's gotta be something nasty, right? I mean, people making deals or something?"

"You really think?" asked Alex.

"Well, what else could it be?" asked Sam.

Alex just shrugged.

"I don't know," answered Dean, his mouth full of unchewed food.

Alex looked at him with disgust. Sam nodded, grabbing his computer and stuffing it into his backpack.

"Alright. Dean, get your food to go because we're leaving, now."

"Come on," said Alex, getting up to leave with Sam.

As Alex and Sam headed for the door, Dean remained sitting, chewing his food slowly and thoughtfully. After a couple of steps toward the door, Sam and Alex both turned back to look at him.

"What are you doing?" asked Alex.

"Are you sure you want me going with you?" asked Dean, ignoring Alex and looking straight at his little brother.

"Why wouldn't I?" asked Sam, looking thoroughly confused now by Dean's behavior.

Dean picked up his hamburger again.

"I don't know, I wouldn't want to be holding you back or anything."

Alex sighed deeply.

"Oh, Lord, here we go," she whispered to herself.

Sam rolled his eyes at Dean's immaturity.

"Dude, I've already told you a hundred thousand times that was the siren talking, not me. Can we please move past all of this?" begged Sam.

Dean set his burger back down on his plate and wiped his hands off with a paper napkin he had on the table beside his elbow.

"Yeah, we're past it," answered Dean.

He stood up then and walked with his siblings to the exit of the small restaurant.

"Now, you three said you were internet bloggers?"

Sam nodded while Alex smiled sweetly at the man sitting across from them.

"Yes, sir, ," answered Sam.

"All of God's glory, fit to blog," chimed in Dean, smiling over at the man next to him.

Sam cleared his throat before speaking once again.

"So, um, some of the people around town are saying that what happened to you was a huge miracle."

The man shrugged.

"It was, plain as day."

"Well, how can you be so sure?"

"How else would you explain it? The doctors certainly can't. I mean, there's a bullet embedded into my heart and it's still pumping like a piston."

"Well how do you explain it?" asked Alex.

The man looked over into the next room where his little girl sat reading with her mother. He sighed before answering all three of them. He looked down at his kitchen table as he spoke.

"Look. Honestly, I was no one's saint. And I'm not exactly father of the year either. But once that guy shot me and I didn't bleed a single drop, I just knew that the Lord was giving me a second chance at life."

"Is that so?" asked Dean, trying to attempt a smile for the man, but failing.

Mr. Jenkins smiled anyway, nodding as well.

"I had this feeling. Like angels were watching over me. But I wouldn't expect you all to understand anyway."

Mr. Jenkins leaned back in his chair, staring at all three siblings.

"Well, we'll just have to try, won't we?" answered Dean.

"You wouldn't have happened to swung by a crossroads the past week or so?" asked Sam.

Mr. Jenkins looked thoughtful for one split second.

"No."

"Maybe you met someone. With black eyes? Or red," continued Sam.

Mr. Jenkins leaned toward Sam then.

"Um, who'd you guys say you were again?" he asked them.

Alex smiled sweetly over at him, nudging Sam under the table as she leaned forward to speak with Mr. Jenkins.

"Never mind. Thank you for your time, sir."

The three of them stood up, leaving Mr. Jenkins' house.

Dean was sitting at the lone desk in the motel room that night, searching for clues on Sam's computer when Sam walked back into the room.

"Hey," greeted Sam.

Dean nodded at him as a greeting and Alex sat up on her bed. Sam shut the door behind him.

"Did you find anything?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, that cancer survivor? He was clinically dead. His wife pulled the plug earlier that day and now he's taking her out for their twentieth wedding anniversary," said Sam, smirking sarcastically at his siblings.

"Any sign of a deal?" asked Dean, putting his chin in his hand.

"No. What about you two, find anyone dying around here?" asked Sam.

"Um, not since Cole Griffith. He dropped ten days ago and he's the last death I could find in this place," answered Dean.

Dean clicked on the kid's obituary picture, making it bigger on his computer screen. Sam shook his head.

"So what are you guys thinking?" asked Alex, standing up and joining her brothers by the desk.

"Well, maybe it is what the people say it is," said Dean, standing up from his chair and stretching.

Sam scoffed and Alex looked at her older brother.

"Miracles? Dean, in our experiences, when do miracles just happen?" asked Sam, taking a seat in Dean's now vacated desk chair.

Dean shrugged as he began pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Well, I'm just saying. There's no deals, there's, uh, no sign of any skeevy faith healers. I mean, these souls just ain't getting dragged into the light, you know?"

Alex snapped her fingers as a thought just came to her. Her brothers stared at her.

"Maybe because there's no one to carry them," she said.

Dean put down the coffee pot after pouring himself a fresh mug. He walked over to join his siblings again.

"What do you even mean?" he asked her.

"Well, grim reapers, that's what they do, right? Take souls to the Promised Land? So, if death ain't in town…" Alex trailed off, looking over at both of her brothers expectantly.

"Then nobody's dying," finished Sam.

Alex nodded, smiling triumphantly.

"Then, what, the local reaper's on strike or something? Playing the back nine? I don't know, Lex."

Dean took a sip from his coffee mug and Sam looked back at the picture pulled up on his computer screen.

"Well, then let's talk to someone who might," offered Sam.

"The kid?" asked Alex.

Sam nodded.

"The kid's a doornail, Sammy," said Dean.

"That's exactly my point, Dean. Look, if he's the last person to die around here, then maybe he's seen something. So, we should probably talk to him," explained Sam.

Dean smirked, bringing his coffee mug up to his lips to take another drink.

"I love how matter of fact you are about all of that."

Sam smirked.

"Strange lives," said Alex, flopping back down onto her bed and sighing deeply.

About an hour later, Sam had everything set up around Cole Griffith's grave. The candles were flickering with bright orange and yellowish flames burning atop them. Dean was leaning against the headstone to the right of Cole's while Alex gently sat against the one to the left of Cole's. Dean flipped to another page in their father's journal.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" he asked Sam.

Sam looked up and over at him. He saw his breath as he exhaled.

"Nope. But if the spirit's around, these should smoke him out," answered Sam.

He poured out some herbs from a large sack onto the frozen ground. Dean closed his father's journal rather forcefully, looking off into the cemetery.

"What?" asked Alex, looking over at her oldest brother.

"This job is jacked, that's what."

"How so?" asked Sam.

"If you want me to gank a monster or torch a corpse, hey, let's light those fuckers up, right? But this job? It's fucked up. I mean, if we face whatever this is, people are gonna start dropping dead all over this whole damn town. Good people too."

Sam sighed, standing up from his crouched position.

"Look, I don't want them to die either, Dean, but there's a natural order," said Sam.

Alex scoffed and Sam and Dean both looked at her.

"What?" asked Sam, looking a little but hurt and offended at Alex's outburst.

Alex stood up and walked over to them, being careful so as not to tread on Sam's recent hard work.

"You're kidding me, right, Sam? A natural order? You don't see the complete and total irony in that for us? I mean, us three, we're like the poster children for the unnatural order, all we do is ditch fucking death," explained Alex.

"Yeah, but the normal rules don't really apply to us, do they?" asked Sam.

Alex and Dean just stared at him in disbelief. Dean began chuckling, but Sam wasn't laughing, so he stopped suddenly.

"Sammy, we're no different over anyone else!" yelled Dean.

"I'm infected with demon blood and have been since birth. Fuck, Dean, Alex and I sometimes have fucking visions! You've literally been to Hell. Look, I know you want to think of yourself as Joe the plumber, Dean, but you're not. Neither am I and neither is Alex. So the sooner you accept that, the better off we're all gonna be."

Dean looked up at the cloudless night sky, exhaling a deep breath and seeing his breath as he let it go.

"Joe the plumber was such a douchebag."

Alex snickered and Sam nodded.

"So are you gonna help me finish this then?" asked Sam.

He crouched back down and Dean and Alex stood up, moving towards Sam.

"Hey! What are you three doing here?" called out a voice behind them.

The three siblings whipped around to see an older, middle-aged man behind them, a flashlight in his right hand as he stared at the three of them menacingly. Sam looked over at his two siblings quickly and then turned his attention back to the man in front of all of them.

"Um, look, just take it easy," warned Sam.

The man stepped forward and shined his flashlight down onto what they had created in front of Cole Griffith's tombstone.

"What the hell is this shit?" asked the man.

"Oh, um, this, this… This is not what it looks like," explained Dean.

He chuckled nervously and the man looked over at him.

"Really, because it looks like devil worship," said the man, his tone more threatening now.

Dean's eyes widened.

"What? No, no, this is not… devil worship, this is, this is, um…"

Dean trailed off and looked over at his siblings apologetically.

"I really don't have a good enough answer," said Dean.

Sam and Alex rolled their eyes at him.

"Look, we're leaving," said Sam, giving the guy a small smile.

The man shook his head, walking towards all of them now.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere ever again. Sam."

Alex scooted closer to Sam as she realized who was currently standing in front of them. Dean nodded his head, a look of pure hatred all over his face as Sam's jaw clenched. The man's eyes rolled back into his head, revealing his pure white and demonic eyes.

"Alistair," stated Dean.

The man's eyes returned to normal then.

"I thought you were deep-fried, extra crispy," said Dean.

"No, just the pediatrician I was riding at the time. Actually, his wife's still looking for him too. It's hilarious," answered Alistair, shaking his head at Dean.

Dean glared back in response, so Alistair turned his attention over to Sam and Alex.

"Anyway. No time to chat. Got a hot date with death."

Alistair flung up his palm and Dean went flying across the graveyard, hitting a headstone and falling to the grass.

"Dean!" screamed Alex.

Alistair smirked over at her next, but Sam stepped directly in front of her, glaring at the demon in front of them. Alistair smirked, but Sam held his ground. Nothing happened when Alistair move his palm, so he tried again.

"You're stronger, Sam. You been working on this with your little slut?" asked Alistair.

"Oh, you have no idea," said Sam.

He flung up his palm and Alistair went flying into a tree trunk. Alex looked on in horror as Sam exorcized the demon from the man's body, the black smoke flying up into the inky black sky.

Sam pulled open the door to the motel room and chuckled when he saw Dean lying back on his bed, an icepack pressed up to his forehead. Alex was lying beside Dean, her hair falling across her shoulders perfectly as she sat up when Sam entered their room.

"How you doing?" asked Sam, looking at Dean.

"I'm in pain, that's how I'm doing. I think I have a concussion," answered Dean.

"You want some aspirin?" asked Alex.

Dean looked over at her sitting next to him.

"No thanks, Lex."

He slowly sat up, sighing as he did so.

"So demons, huh?"

Sam sighed and held up the small leather book he was holding.

"Yep, so much for miracles."

"And what happened with Alistair again?" asked Dean.

Sam glanced over at Alex quickly and subtly. Alex bit her lip and raised her eyebrows, but Sam's gaze flickered away from hers.

"Um, I already told you. He tried his weird flinging thing on me and it didn't work so he bailed."

"Well, how come he couldn't fling you? He chucked you pretty far last time."

Sam just shrugged.

"I have no clue."

Sam turned to the coffee he had made earlier and began pouring himself a cup. Dean looked back at Alex, who had her bottom lip between her teeth. Dean sighed and looked at Sam's back.

"Look, Sam, do me a favor. If you're gonna keep your little secrets, fine. Just don't treat me and Alex like we're idiots, alright?"

Sam turned to look at his siblings.

"What? Dean, I'm not keeping any secrets."

"Yeah. Whatever. So, did you go back and Q and A the dead kid?" asked Dean.

"Didn't have to. Bobby called me earlier today. He did some digging," answered Sam.

He sat down on his and Alex's bed and held up the little brown leather book he was currently holding.

"And?" asked Alex, sitting beside Dean now.

"He thinks I'm right. Local reaper's gone. But not just gone, kidnapped."

"By demons?" asked Alex.

Sam nodded.

"Why?" asked Dean.

Sam opened the book he was holding, his eyebrows raised.

"Listen to this. Any bloody death under the newborn sky, sweet to taste, but bitter when once devoured."

"And what the hell does that even mean?" asked Dean.

"Well, it's from a very obscure, very arcane version of Revelations."

"Which means exactly what you think it means," whispered Alex, looking at Dean sadly.

"Basically, you kill a reaper under the solstice moon," began Sam.

"Which is tomorrow night, by the way," piped in Alex.

"If you do that, then you have yourself a broken seal," finished Sam.

"But you can't kill death," said Dean.

Alex and Sam both shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe demons can. But where the hell are the angels is what I wanna know. We could actually use their help for once," said Sam.

"Well, it looks like we're taking care of this one ourselves," said Dean.

"So what are we gonna do, just swing in and save the friendly neighborhood reaper?" asked Alex, falling back on the bed again.

"If you've got a better idea, I'm all ears," said Dean.

"But Dean, reapers are invisible. The only people who can see them are the dead or the dying," explained Sam.

Dean nodded, looking down at the floor.

"Well, if ghosts are the only ones who can see 'em…"

"Yeah?" asked Alex, sitting back up and looking at her oldest brother.

"Then we become ghosts," said Dean.

He smirked at his plan and placed the icepack back onto his forehead.

"You must have a concussion," said Alex.

"It sounds really crazy, I know."

"No, it's definitely crazy," said Sam.

Dean raised his eyebrows while Sam and Alex sighed.

"How?" asked Alex.

A few hours later, Alex watched from her place on the bed as Sam pulled open the motel room door to reveal Pamela and Dean waiting for him. Pamela walked into the room, immediately shaking her head already.

"I can't even begin to tell you how crazy you three are."

Dean walked in right behind her. Pamela stood in the center of the room, her usual pair of black sunglasses resting on her face.

"Well, Pamela, you're a sight for sore eyes," said Sam, slamming the motel room door closed.

Pamela chuckled at his tasteless remark.

"Aww, that's sweet, Grumpy. What do you say to deaf people?" asked Pamela.

Dean hid his smile and Alex slapped Sam's arm.

"Now, which one of you three braniacs came up with astral projection?"

Dean raised his hand and then remembered Pamela couldn't see him.

"Um, that would be me," he answered her.

Pamela scoffed.

"Of course. So, let's be perfectly clear here. You three want to rip your souls out of your bodies and take a tiny little stroll through the whole entire spirit world?" asked Pamela.

Alex winced.

"Yep, that's exactly right," answered Dean.

"Do you have any idea how heavy duty insane that is?"

"Maybe, but that's where the reaper is, so…" explained Dean, trailing off.

"So? It's still nuts," said Pamela.

"Well, not if you know what you're doing."

"But you have no freaking clue what you're doing!"

"No. But you do," said Dean.

"Yeah. I do. And I'm sick of being hauled back into your angel, demon crap!"

"Look, I would love to be kicking back with a cold one watching _Judge Judy_ too. We're talking the end of the world here. Okay? Pamela, we really need your help," pleaded Dean.

Pamela shook her head at him sadly.

Sam pulled the last of the curtains closed, making the room fairly dark. Dean and Alex finished lighting all of the candles while Pamela sat in a chair in the middle of the room.

"So tell me something, geniuses. Even if you do break into the veil and find the reaper, how are you gonna save it?" asked Pamela.

"With style and class," joked Dean.

Pamela scoffed.

"You're gonna be three walking pieces of fog. You can't touch or move a single thing. You'll all be defenseless, hotshot."

"Well, I seem to recall a bunch of ghosts beating the shit out of us," said Sam.

"Yeah, but they've had plenty of time to practice," answered Pamela.

"Well then. I guess we better start cramming!" said Alex.

"Alright then. Lie down, close your eyes," said Pamela, patting the bed directly in front of her.

Dean heard Pamela's voice a little while later, so he sat up on his bed, looking over at her.

"Well, there's nothing like shooting blanks. So what's Plan B?" he asked her.

Pamela never responded, almost as if she hadn't even heard him.

He looked over at the other bed, where he saw Sam and Alex asleep. A slight noise sounded from behind him, so he looked around and saw Sam and Alex standing behind him. Sam shrugged while Alex looked terrified and worried.

"Alright, let's do this thing," said Dean.

Sam, Alex, and Dean were walking down an empty street when Sam held up his hand, stopping all of them from walking any further.

"Hey, hey, three o'clock. Kid in the window," said Sam.

All three of them looked up and saw a kid looking directly down at them from a window across the street.

"Now am I crazy or is he looking directly at us?" asked Sam.

"That's because we've seen him before," answered Alex.

"Um, we have?" asked Dean, looking at his sister.

Sam looked over at Alex as well.

"Yes, the local newspaper. Cole Griffith, the last person to die in this town," answered Alex.

As the three of them continued looking at the boy, he suddenly flickered from their sight, disappearing. They all exchanged glances, very confused. They headed for the house, looking for Cole.

As they walked up the stairs, Cole's mother came brushing past them. She didn't even flinch as she walked right through Sam's form. They stepped into Cole's bedroom and saw Cole standing by his dresser. Cole grabbed a soccer ball and flung it at them. They all three ducked and walked farther into the room.

"How are you doing that?" asked Dean.

"Who are you three?" asked Cole.

"Relax, Cole. It's alright, buddy," said Sam.

"How do you know my name?"

"Look, this isn't gonna be easy to hear, but… you're dead," explained Sam.

"You're a spirit. Us too," added in Alex.

The kid scoffed and raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, thanks Haley Joel, I know I'm dead."

Sam and Alex looked taken aback at the kid's attitude change.

"What do you want?" asked Cole.

"Well, we just want to talk," answered Alex.

"About what, exactly?"

A couple minutes later, Sam, Alex, and Dean were sitting around Cole's kitchen table while Cole leaned against the doorframe, watching his mother in the kitchen. She poured herself another glass of alcohol while she continued crying. Cole sighed.

"I was outside all morning. They tell you to be careful when it's cold."

"Cold air can cause an asthma attack?" asked Dean.

Cole shrugged, nodding.

"And then I was in my room. It all happened so fast, I called out for my mom, but nothing came out. Everything started spinning and then I was just standing there, looking down at my body."

Cole sat down at the table with them then.

"And that's when you saw the man," said Alex, looking at the little boy sadly.

Cole nodded.

"The creepy old guy with the black suit on. He wanted me to go with him, but I didn't wanna go."

Cole looked back at his mom sadly.

"Reaper," said Sam.

His siblings nodded.

"So how'd you get rid of him?" asked Dean.

"I didn't. The black smoke did though."

"Black smoke?" asked Sam.

"It was everywhere. I hid in my closet and when I came out it was gone and so was he."

"Do you know where the black smoke went?" asked Dean, leaning on the edge of his chair.

"No. But I know where it is," answered Cole.

Suddenly, the lights began flickering and Cole jumped back away from the table. His eyes widened with fear and even his mother noticed the flickering lights.

"They're back," said Cole, looking up towards the ceiling.

"Who?" asked Alex.

Cole flickered out of sight before he could answer her question. Sam, Alex, and Dean looked around the place and they were all swept back by a strong burst of wind. A white form danced up the stairs and the three siblings stood up quickly.

"Another reaper," whispered Alex.

"Hey!" yelled Dean.

They all ran for the stairs, looking up them towards where the reaper had disappeared to.

"Wait, we need to talk to you!" yelled Dean.

As they stood at the bottom of the staircase, a figure came waltzing down. Alex looked at him, a flicker of recognition in the back of her mind flaring up while Sam and Dean had no clue who he even was.

"Alex," he said, looking down at her.

"Do I know you?" asked Alex, looking confused.

"Oh, we go way back, sweetheart," answered the young man.

He pushed past the three of them, walking into the living room of Cole's house. He stood to face all three of them once he was in the middle of the room, his hands stuffed into his front pockets.

"You don't even remember me?" he asked Alex.

Alex looked him over intently, scrutinizing him.

"Honestly, no. So you're probably going to have to refresh my memory," answered Alex.

Jack smiled and stepped forward towards Alex. Once he was close enough, he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on her lips with a hand on her cheek. Both of their eyes closed and Alex saw it all in black and white: the car crash with the semi-truck, the hospital, meeting Jack in the hospital, John making a deal with the yellow-eyed demon, Jack touching Alex's face, Alex gasping for breath once the deal for John's life was finalized.

Jack stepped away from Alex, letting go of her face. Alex looked at him in front of her, recognition finally setting in. Alex took a step back.

"Jack," she whispered.

"That's one of my many names, yeah," he answered.

"So you do know him," said Sam, his arms crossed over his chest.

Alex answered Sam's question, never looking away from Jack's face.

"From the hospital after the car accident."

"The accident with Dad?" asked Dean.

Alex nodded. Sam scoffed.

"So this is the reaper who came after you."

"Yeah," whispered Alex.

Jack turned to Sam and Dean.

"Well, this was fun. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Jack went to push past Alex then, but Alex held her hands up, stopping him from going any further.

"Wait a second, wait, wait. You can't… You can't take the little boy," said Alex.

"Why?"

"Demons are in town, that's why. They've already snatched your reaper pal and the kid knows where too."

"So?" asked Jack, shaking his head.

"So, you should shag ass. For all we know, they could try and snatch you too," explained Sam.

Jack looked over at him.

"Except that this town is off the rails. And someone has to set it all straight."

"Well, yes, we understand that, but… these are special circumstances," said Alex.

"What, your whole angel/demon dance-off? I could care less. I just want to do my job and do it well."

"Right, yeah, and we wanna help you do your job, so if you would just bail from this town-" began Sam.

"No," said Jack, cutting him off.

"Well then, could you just hold off until we fix this? Please," asked Alex.

Jack looked into her eyes and sighed after a few seconds.

"Alright, fine. But just so we're clear. When I start reaping again, I'm starting with that kid."

Sam nodded from beside Alex.

"Understood. I'll go find him," offered Sam.

He began to walk off, but Dean stopped him.

"Wait, wait, wait. What are you even going to say to him?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed and looked between everyone in the room before looking back at Dean to answer.

"Whatever I have to."

Sam took off for the stairs and Dean looked back at Alex and Jack. He cleared his throat as he gave Alex a very fatherly, stern look.

"I'm gonna, um, go help Sam," whispered Dean, taking off after Sam up the stairs.

Sam and Dean slowly walked into Cole's room, looking for Cole. They pushed open the door and walked farther into the room. As they looked over the place, they saw that the closet door was slightly open so they headed for the closet. Sam and Dean both leaned against the wall by the closet and slid down it, sitting on the floor while Cole sat on the floor in his closet.

"This is all a little overwhelming, isn't it?" asked Sam.

"Pretty scary, too," chimed in Dean.

"The worst is my mom," offered Cole.

"It must be hard seeing her like this," offered Sam.

Cole scooted closer to the light shining in through his open closet door.

"She's always coming in here. Talking to me, telling me how horrible sad she is. I knocked some stuff over once to let her know I'm here, but she only gets sadder."

"Yeah, well, you might want to ease up on the flying soccer balls," joked Sam.

Dean chuckled gently. They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Cole finally spoke up once again.

"I'm not telling you where that black smoke is."

"Hey. What if I told you if you helped me, helped us, you wouldn't have to leave here? Ever?" asked Sam.

Dean looked at him strangely, but Sam ignored him.

"What about the man downstairs?" asked Cole.

"Who, Jack? Nah, he wouldn't bother you. No reaper would. You could just stay here with your family for as long as you wanted," explained Sam.

"You could do that?" asked Cole.

"Yeah, you bet I can do that," answered Sam.

"You swear?"

Dean looked at Sam, not understanding why his brother was lying to this poor kid. Sam looked straight ahead, gritting his teeth together as he answered Cole's question.

"I swear."

"I'll tell you, life sure is funny," said Jack, pacing in front of Alex back down in the living room.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

Jack smirked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You and me, together again."

"Are you making a move on me?"

"You're the one that got away, Alex. You'd be very surprised how little that happens to me."

Alex looked at Jack, nodding slightly before speaking once again.

"Can I tell you something between you and me?"

Jack just shrugged.

"Who the hell am I gonna tell?"

"After our little experience, for that whole entire year, I felt like I had this hole in my gut. Almost like I was missing something. I didn't know what, but you know what it was? It was you. The pain of losing my father and then my own twin brother. I just... I wish I'd gone with you for good. But I guess things are different now, huh?"

"What? The angels on your shoulder?" whispered Jack, smirking at Alex.

"So you know about that, huh?"

Jack nodded.

"Well, don't get me wrong, but most of the ones I've met are just dicks with wings."

Jack's smirk grew wider and he stepped closer to Alex. As he began moving closer, Sam, Dean, and Cole came walking down the stairs and into the room, Sam clearing his throat as they walked in.

"Hey, guys," said Sam.

Cole glared at Jack, who smiled at him.

"Hey, Cole. I'm Jack. I'm not going to hurt you."

"It's okay, Cole. Just tell them what you told me and Sam," encouraged Dean.

Cole looked back at Dean, who smiled slightly and nodded encouragingly.

"I saw the black smoke at my funeral."

"At the cemetery?" asked Alex.

"No, at the funeral home. It was everywhere."

After Cole spoke, the lights began flickering once again like earlier before. They all looked around the room except for Jack, who looked very calm and collected. Alex looked over at him.

"Are you doing that?" she asked him.

Jack looked back at her.

"No," he answered her back.

Suddenly, a large cloud of black smoke burst through the front door, larger than any they had ever seen before. It swept through the house, covering all of them up. They all crouched down and when it was over a few seconds later, all of them looked around. Jack was no longer there.

"Jack?" asked Alex, yelling his name.

"Cole, are you alright?" asked Sam.

Cole nodded, swallowing nervously.

"How the hell are we supposed to fight that?" asked Dean, breathing a little bit heavily.

Sam sighed.

"I don't know. Learn some ghost moves?" suggested Sam.

Dean and Alex stopped moving altogether, looking at their brother.

"By tonight?" yelled Dean.

Sam just shrugged, throwing his hands up in frustration.

Out on the front porch of Cole's house, Dean was staring down a small white windmill, trying to make it move. Sam and Alex stood behind him, watching him focus.

"It's not gonna move at all if you never concentrate," said Cole, staring at Dean.

"I am concentrating!" yelled Dean.

He shot a quick glare over in Cole's direction and then turned back to the windmill. A few seconds later, it moved one time.

"Aha, here we go, baby!" yelled Dean.

The windmill stopped moving and Dean's face fell. Cole scoffed.

"What, did you pull a muscle, old man?"

Alex and Sam held back their laughs. Cole focused on the windmill then, making it move steadily. The front porch swing also began moving, along with the wind chimes. Dean smirked.

"Dude, you are so Amityville!" he yelled.

"And this isn't even the good stuff."

Back inside the house, Cole practiced punching on Sam. He punched Sam right in the side and Sam doubled over in pain.

"See, if you want to hit something, you just have to get really mad," explained Cole.

"Yeah, got it," said Sam, his voice strained as he stood back up to his full height.

"Now you try. Hit me," said Cole, looking over at Dean.

Dean's smirk faltered.

"Um, I think I'll just stick to picking on someone my own size," said Dean, pointing over towards Sam.

Cole smiled and then came back and smacked Dean, sending his head flying to the right. Sam and Alex burst into laughter and Cole turned to Sam.

"Now, your turn. Hit me as hard as you can."

"Dude, I'm not gonna play fight club with a twelve year old," said Sam.

Cole punched Sam directly in the face, so Sam came back to finally hit him, but Cole disappeared. They all looked around the room, very confused, until Cole reappeared in the corner of the room.

"Whoa, whoa. You've gotta teach us that," said Alex, pointing at Cole, her eyes wide with amazement.

Cole smirked widely.

Later that night, Alex, Sam, and Dean stood in front of a rather large building covered in all kinds of demonic signs. People walked straight past them, as if the building was invisible to them.

"Let's go inside," said Sam, heading towards the already halfway open doors.

As they all stepped inside, they began looking around. The moon was high up in the sky and shining brightly into the otherwise dark building. Sam and Alex walked around the giant staircase to the right while Dean took the left side. They met in the middle, shrugging once they saw each other. As they walked back to the front of the building where they had come in from, they saw a rather large sitting room off to the right side. In the middle of the room was a large circle with all kinds of symbols drawn around it. In the middle of the circle were Jack and another, older reaper. A demon was standing guard, his back facing all of them.

"Guys, check me out," whispered Dean.

He disappeared like Cole had taught them and reappeared seconds later behind the demon. He tapped the guy on his shoulder, punched him in the nose once he turned around, and then disappeared before the demon could punch him in retaliation. The demon began looking around frantically, but he saw no one. Seconds later, Alex, Sam, and Dean appeared all around the man. Sam and Dean took turns punching him in the face as the man scurried away from them. As the boys followed him into the corner of the room, the man suddenly ran back to where they had just come from. As he ran back towards the circle, another man walked into the room, a large iron chain in his fingers. He clipped it from one wall to the next, locking the Winchester brothers in the corner.

"It's iron!" yelled Sam.

"Sam!" yelled Alex.

She ran towards them to free them, but the demon grabbed her and pulled her hard into his chest. She struggled to free herself, but he held onto her struggling form tight. Suddenly, Alistair appeared in the room.

"Find the place okay, Winchesters?" he asked.

He began walking towards them, the boys and Alex glaring daggers at him. He grabbed a shotgun from off of the wall where it was resting and aimed it at Dean's stomach. Alex's eyes widened as he shot Dean with it, Dean disappearing.

"Rock salt's not so much fun anymore, is it?" asked Alistair, turning his attention onto Sam now.

Dean reappeared then, gasping for breath.

"You bastard," said Dean, looking at Alistair and shaking his head.

"Go to Hell," spat out Alex, still struggling against the other demon.

Alistair looked over at her, smirking.

"Oh, if only I could, sweetheart. But they just keep sending me back up here."

"To kill death?" asked Dean.

"To kill death twice, it takes two of them to break a seal. But I figured another one would show up again soon."

Alistair shot Sam next, walking up as close as possible to Dean without crossing the iron chain.

"By the way, it's, um, so good to see you again, Dean."

Dean smirked.

"You can shoot us all you want, but you can't kill us."

Sam reappeared again then, holding his stomach and breathing heavily.

"Ah, is that so?"

Alex's eyes widened. Alistair smirked and set down the shotgun along the wall. He picked up a weird looking knife. It was curved and had a wooden handle.

"You're gonna kill a reaper with that?" asked Dean.

"An old friend lent it to me," said Alistair.

He walked over to the circle where the two unconscious reapers were lying. He knelt down next to the older reaper and yanked him up by his collar. The reaper's eyes shot open and his eyes widened as he took in the curved knife at his neck. The siblings looked on in horror as Alistair looked down at the reaper, beginning to chant an incantation. After the incantation was over, he slit the man's throat, killing him. They all turned away as bright lights flashed in the room. Alistair stood up from his knees with an evil smirk on his face. As he walked over to Jack, Alex looked up at the ceiling and saw a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. As Alistair grabbed Jack by the collar and Jack began struggling, Dean exchanged a glance with Sam. Alistair began chanting the same incantation again and Alex closed her eyes, picturing the chandelier perfectly in her mind. She blocked out everything else and focused hard. As Alistair got to the end of his incantation, Alex pictured the chandelier falling in her mind. She opened her eyes and watched as it fell, knocking the paint off of the circle slightly. Jack flickered out of sight and reappeared in front of Sam and Dean, unhooking the iron chain in front of them.

"Bye-bye," said Dean, smirking as he, Alex, Sam, and Jack disappeared.

Alex, Jack, and Dean reappeared in front of Cole's house. They all looked around for Sam.

"Where's your brother?" asked Jack, looking at Alex and Dean.

"We'll go find him. You get out of here," said Dean.

As Sam reappeared in his regular body, he watched in horror as a demon stabbed Pamela straight in the stomach.

"Pamela," said Sam.

He watched her fall to the floor and the demon looked over at Sam. Sam flung him against the wall and stood in front of him, exorcizing the demon from the man's body. Once he was finished, Sam rushed over to Pamela, kneeling down next to her. Pamela began laughing humorlessly.

"What's so funny?" asked Sam, looking severely worried.

"I can't die. Not in this town. Look."

Sam looked at Pamela's wound, which was healed now.

"Pamela," said Sam.

Pamela shook her head, slapping his shoulder.

"Don't you worry, Sam. How about you make me a drink, huh?"

"You need a doctor."

"Make me a drink, Sam."

Sam nodded and stood up.

Dean and Alex walked around a group of trashcans in the dark, looking for their brother. As they walked out from behind the last large dumpster, a voice spoke from behind them.

"You can run, but you can't hide," said Alistair.

Alex and Dean whipped around to face him, Dean pushing Alex behind him.

"Not from me, Dean. I'm inside that angsty little noggin of yours."

Alistair began walking closer to them, so Dean and Alex stepped backwards with every step Alistair took forward. Suddenly, a flash of bright light hit Alistair directly and he disappeared. Alex and Dean looked in the spot where he had previously just been.

"What the hell?" whispered Dean.

"Guess again," said a gruff voice behind Alex.

They whirled around once again and saw Castiel standing directly behind them.

"You three just saved a seal. We captured Alistair. Dean, this was a victory."

"No thanks to you," said Dean.

"What makes you say that?" asked Castiel.

Dean and Alex looked shell shocked.

"You were here the whole entire time?" asked Alex.

"Enough of it."

"Well, thanks for your help with the damn rock salt!" yelled Dean.

"That script on the funeral home, we couldn't penetrate it."

"So that was angel proofing," said Alex.

Castiel nodded.

"Why do you think I recruited your three in the first place?"

"You recruited us?" asked Dean, looking shocked once again.

"That wasn't your friend Bobby who called, Dean. It wasn't Bobby who told Sam about the seal."

"It was you," stated Alex.

Castiel nodded, looking down at the ground.

"If you want our help, then why the hell didn't you just ask?" asked Dean, gritting his teeth to rein in his anger.

"Because whenever I ask, you seem to do the exact opposite."

Dean took in a deep breath.

"So what now, huh? The people in this town, are they just gonna start dying again?"

Castiel looked him straight in the face.

"Yes."

"These are good people. Don't you think you could make a few exceptions?" asked Alex, beginning to sound angry.

"To everything, there is a season," answered Castiel.

"You made an exception for me," offered Dean.

Castiel took a few seconds before answering.

"You were different."

A few seconds later, Alex and Dean watched as Castiel disappeared from sight, his huge wings flapping as he disappeared. Jack walked up to both of them after Castiel was gone.

"Dean. Alex. I could use your help."

"Hey, Cole," said Jack.

Cole jumped as he turned and saw Dean, Alex, and Jack standing behind him, Jack dressed all in white. Cole looked past Jack to glare at Dean.

"Tell your brother thanks for nothing."

Alex looked up at Dean, very confused, but Dean just shook his head slightly.

"Look at her, Cole."

Cole looked back at his mother, who was sobbing hysterically as she looked at an old scrapbook containing his pictures and mementos.

"Do you see how unhappy she is?" asked Jack.

"That's why I wanna stay with her."

Jack looked over at him sadly.

"As long as she can feel you, she'll be in pain. Because she can't let go. Because you won't let go of her."

"Why won't anyone tell me what's on the other side?" asked Cole.

"Maybe nobody wants to ruin the surprise."

Dean and Alex slightly smirked.

"That's not an answer though."

Alex sighed.

"He won't answer you, Cole. Reapers never do. But trust me, staying here is a whole lot worse than anything over there," said Alex.

"Why?" asked Cole.

"Because one day, your family will be gone. And there will be nothing left here for you," said Alex.

"It's okay to be scared," chimed in Dean.

"I'm not scared," said Cole, sounding angry and hurt now.

"We're all scared, Cole. That's the big secret. We're all scared sometimes."

"Are you guys coming?" asked Cole tentatively, sounding like a scared little child now.

"Oh, I'm sure one of us will be there sooner than you think," answered Dean.

Cole glanced back over his shoulder at his mother, who was still crying while she looked at his baby pictures. He uncrossed his arms over his chest and slightly nodded, stepping towards Jack now. Jack pulled Cole into his side and closed his eyes. Dean and Alex looked away as a bright white light flashed. Once they looked up, Cole was gone. Jack turned to look at the siblings, who stepped closer to him.

"Look out for that little boy," said Alex, giving Jack a stern, almost motherly look.

Jack nodded.

"Look out for yourselves, you two."

"What do you mean?" asked Dean.

"I've been around death from the get-go. And you know what I see the most? Lies. He's in a better place, at least they're together now. You all lie to yourselves. Because like you said, Dean, deep down, we're all scared. Stop lying to yourself, Dean."

Dean looked taken aback.

"What?"

"The angels said there's something good in store for you. A second chance. Really? Because I'm pretty sure, deep down, you know that something nasty is coming down the road. Trust your instincts, both of you. Because there's no such thing as miracles."

"What are you saying?" asked Alex.

Jack said nothing, just stared at them for a beat longer until he disappeared. They glanced around the room, but knew he was long gone. Dean and Alex both began to hear whispering all around them. They looked at each other and were suddenly transported back into their bodies.

Dean and Alex both sat up at the same exact time, gasping for breath. They both looked over at Sam and Pamela. Pamela was drinking from a small bottle of whiskey while Sam looked on in alarm and worry. They saw blood gushing from the stab wound in Pamela's stomach and both of their eyes widened.

"What happened?" asked Dean.

"Alex, where's Jack?" asked Sam, looking over at his twin sister.

"He's…" Alex trailed off and shrugged sadly.

Sam looked back over at Pamela, sighing.

"Pamela. I'm so sorry," apologized Sam, looking deeply saddened.

Pamela whipped off her black sunglasses and adjusted her position on the bed.

"Stop," she whispered.

"No, you don't deserve this," said Alex.

Pamela chuckled darkly.

"Yeah, you're right, I don't. I told you, I didn't want anything to do with any of this. Do me a favor? Tell that bastard Bobby Singer to go to hell for even introducing me to you three in the first place."

She began coughing as she tried to chuckle again and Dean sighed.

"Take it easy, Pamela. If it's any consolation, you're going to a better place."

Pamela sighed.

"You're lying. But what the hell, right? Everyone's gotta go sometime."

Dean and Sam looked down at the floor while Alex began crying. Pamela waved towards Sam, who leaned in closer. Pamela began whispering in his ear.

"I know what you did to that demon earlier tonight, Sam. I can feel what's inside of you. If you think you have good intentions, think again," whispered Pamela.

Once she was finished talking, she began coughing up blood profusely. Her eyes closed and her head lolled off to her right side.

"Pamela?" whispered Alex.

Pamela never responded, so Dean tried again.

"Pamela!" he yelled.

She didn't respond, so Dean and Alex looked over at Sam.

"What the hell did she say to you?" asked Dean.

Sam looked away from him.


	40. Chapter 40

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think. _

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines._

**Chapter 40**

Alex cringed in the backseat of the Impala as Sam pushed the car to 100 mph, driving straight on the line in the middle of the road. Sam glanced over at Dean.

"Ruby's gonna meet us in Cheyenne. She's been tracking some leads," said Sam.

Dean raised his eyebrows from the passenger seat and Sam sighed.

"Look, I know she's not your favorite person, but if she can help us get to Lilith-"

"Hey, Sam, work with Ruby or don't, I don't really give a rat's ass anymore."

"What's your problem?" asked Sam, looking over at Dean once again.

"Pamela didn't want anything to do with this and we dragged her back into it, Sam," answered Dean.

Sam paused for a split second.

"She knew what was at stake."

Alex scoffed, looking at her twin brother with disgust written all over her face.

"Oh, yeah, saving the world. And we're doing such a damn good job at it," said Alex.

Sam shook his head at her.

"I'm tired of burying friends, Sam," said Dean, looking out his passenger side window.

Sam licked his lips before speaking once again.

"Look, we'll follow Lilith's trail," said Sam.

"Like I said, I'm just getting tired," said Dean.

"Well, get angry," said Sam.

He looked over at his brother one last time before turning his attention fully to the road in front of them.

A few hours later, Sam unlocked their motel room door, letting Alex and Dean walk inside first.

"Ah, home crappy home," said Dean.

He set his stuff down on the nearest table and turned to face the room as Sam flipped on the light switch. All three of their eyes widened as they say Uriel standing only a few feet in front of them, Castiel standing next to him.

"Ah, the Winchesters," said Uriel, an evil looking smirk on his face.

"Oh, come on!" yelled Dean, throwing up his hands in anger and frustration.

"You're needed," said Uriel, looking pointedly at Dean.

Dean raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"Needed? We just got back from needed!" he yelled.

"Now, you mind your tone with me."

"No, you mind your own damn tone with us," threatened Dean, his eyes narrowing as he stepped closer to Uriel.

Sam ran forward, sticking his arm out to stop Dean from moving any closer to Uriel.

"We just got back from Pamela's funeral," explained Alex, stepping forward to join her brothers.

"Pamela. You know, psychic Pamela? You remember her. Cas, you remember her, you burned her damn eyes out. Remember that? Good times!" yelled Dean, very sarcastically.

Castiel finally acknowledged them by looking over at Dean, but he still said nothing and no emotion whatsoever showed on his face at all.

"Yeah, and then she died saving one of your precious seals. So maybe you can stop pushing us all around like chess pieces for five freaking minutes!" yelled Dean.

Uriel just looked amused.

"We raised you out of Hell for our purposes."

"Yeah, and what were those again? What exactly do you want from me?"

"Well, let's start with gratitude."

"Dean, we know this is difficult to understand," said Castiel.

Uriel turned and gave him a look.

"And we don't care."

Castiel stood ramrod straight and looked at nothing after Uriel gave him a stern look. Alex looked at the both of them curiously.

"Seven angels have been murdered and the last one was just killed earlier tonight."

"Demons?" asked Dean.

"How are they doing it?" asked Alex, still looking over at Castiel curiously.

"We don't know," answered Uriel, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, but what do you want us to do about it, exactly?" asked Sam, motioning between himself and his siblings.

"I mean, a demon with the juice to ice angels has to be out of our league, right?" asked Alex, now looking over at Uriel again.

"We can handle the demons, thank you very much," said Uriel.

Castiel looked over at the three siblings once again.

"Once we find whoever it is," said Castiel.

"So you need our help hunting a demon?" asked Dean, walking over and taking a seat at the small kitchen table in the motel room.

Castiel walked up to join Uriel now.

"Not quite. We have Alistair."

"Great. He should be able to name your murderer," said Dean.

"But he… won't talk. Alistair's will is very strong. We've arrived at an impasse," explained Castiel.

Dean nodded.

"Yeah, well, he's like a black belt at torture. You guys are way entirely out of your league," said Dean.

"And that's why we've come to his student," stated Uriel, looking directly over at Dean.

Dean's face hardened.

"You happen to be the most qualified interrogator we've got on tap."

Alex pulled her bottom lip into her mouth while she watched Dean look down at the floor.

"Dean. You're our best hope," said Castiel.

"No. You can't ask me to do this, Cas, not this," answered Dean, looking over at the two angels.

Castiel looked confused and a little bit concerned as Uriel walked forward, getting closer to Dean.

"Who said anything…about asking?"

Suddenly, Sam and Alex heard the flap of angel wings and when they looked around the motel room a split second later, Dean, Castiel and Uriel were all gone. Sam sucked in a deep breath as Alex sighed deeply.

"Damn it!" yelled Sam, running his hands over his face in frustration.

Castiel stood behind Dean as Dean looked in through the small glass window in the door, looking at Alistair chained up and bound to a large structure, a huge Devil's Trap above and under his feet. Dean sighed and turned away, heading for the door.

"Where's the door?" he called out.

"Where are you going?" asked Castiel, not even turning around to watch Dean try to leave.

"Back to good old Cheyenne, thank you very much," answered Dean.

Suddenly, Uriel appeared directly in his path, shaking his head.

"Angels are dying, boy."

"Everyone's dying these days. And hey, I get it, you're all powerful and you can make me do whatever you want. But you can't make me do this," said Dean, turning back to face Castiel once again.

"This is too much to ask, I know. But we have to ask it of you," said Castiel, stepping over towards Dean until he was standing in front of him once again.

Dean looked at Castiel for a few seconds before turning to face Uriel once again.

"I would like to talk to Castiel alone please."

Uriel looked over Dean's shoulder at Castiel.

"I think I'll go seek… revelation. We might have some further orders."

Dean nodded and smirked sarcastically.

"Well, get us all some doughnuts while you're out there."

Uriel chuckled, his white teeth bright against his dark skin.

"Oh, this one just won't quit, will he? I think I'm starting to like you, boy."

Uriel disappeared literally in the blink of an eye and Dean was startled, but composed his facial expressions as he turned back to face Castiel. He walked towards him, stopping only a couple feet in front of him.

"What's going on, Cas? Since when does Uriel put a leash on you?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows.

"My superiors have begun to question my sympathies," answered Castiel.

"Your sympathies?"

"I was getting too close to the humans in my charge. You, specifically. They feel I've begun to express emotions, doorways to doubt. And this can impair my judgment."

"Well, tell Uriel or whoever… They do not want me doing this, trust me on this one, alright?"

"Want it, no. But I've been told that we need it to happen."

"Cas, if you ask me to open that door and walk through it, you will not like what walks back out."

"For what it's worth, I would give anything not to have you do this."

Dean closed his eyes, his lips trembling as he gave into the shaking that was currently racking his whole entire body.

As Castiel opened the door, Dean walked inside slowly, wheeling a large cart in front of him as he walked. The cart was covered up with a sheet and Alistair smirked, his breathing wheezy as he saw Dean walk inside the room, Castiel shutting the door closed behind Dean. Alistair began singing a showy song as Dean wheeled the cart to the edge of the Devil's Trap drawn on the floor in white chalk. He pulled off the cloth to reveal all kinds of different items. Alistair stopped singing and began chuckling as he took in the sight of Dean with his cart beside him. Dean ignored him completely, his face a mask of stone as Alistair chuckled.

"I'm sorry. This is a very serious, very emotional situation for you. I really shouldn't laugh, it's just that I'm, I mean, are they completely serious?" asked Alistair, currently staring Dean down now.

Dean glared at Alistair as he stood in front of him now.

"You get one chance. One. Now, tell me who's killing the angels. I want a name," said Dean.

"You think I'll see all of your scary tools and toys and spill my guts? I don't think so."

"Oh, you'll spill your guts one way or another. I just didn't want to ruin my shoes."

Alistair chuckled once again, smirking.

Dean walked away, stepping over to his table to grab some supplies.

"Come on, you've gotta want a little payback for all the pokes and prods I gave to you. No? Then how about for all the things I did to your father?"

Dean stopped working and looked up, his face hardening.

Sam looked over at Alex, who was sound asleep on the bed they shared, curled up into a ball. He smiled a small smile and sighed as he walked over to open the motel room door, revealing Ruby on the other side of it.

"Ugh, I can still smell them. Seriously, Sam, I'm not exactly dying to tangle with angels again," said Ruby, walking into the motel room and leaning against the kitchen table as she looked over at Sam.

"I need you to find out where they took Dean," said Sam.

Ruby raised an eyebrow, setting her bag down in one of the four chairs around the table.

"I'm not exactly sure I see the problem here. You know they have Alistair strung up six ways till Sunday. Dean cuts himself a slice, Al's reduced to a quivering heap, and the good guys get the goods, what's wrong with that?" she asked him.

"He can't do it," answered Sam, looking down at the floor as he spoke.

Ruby glanced over at him.

"Look, I get it, you don't want him going all torture master again."

Sam looked up at the ceiling, taking in a deep breath before he looked over at Ruby again.

"No, I mean, he can't do it. He can't get the job done. Something happened to him downstairs, Ruby. He's not what he used to be, he's not strong enough."

"And you are."

Sam took in a deep breath as he looked over at Ruby.

"I will be."

"I had your pop on my rack for close to a century," taunted Alistair.

"Just give me a demon's name, Alistair," said Dean, ignoring his comments about his father.

Alistair ignored Dean's request, so Dean turned back to his torture table full of instruments, shrugging off his favorite jacket as he did so.

"I couldn't break him no matter how many times I offered him the same exact deal I always offered you. I'd put down my blade if only he picked one up. I pulled out all the stops, but John, he was… made of something unique. The stuff of full-blown heroes. And then came Dean. Oh, Dean Winchester, I thought I was up against it again."

Alistair sighed as Dean took a sip from his bottle of whiskey.

"But Daddy's little girl, he broke. He broke in thirty. Oh, just not the man your daddy wanted you to be, huh, Dean?"

Dean set down the whiskey bottle forcefully on his table as Alistair smirked once again.

"No, you weren't," whispered Alistair.

Dean grabbed a stone goblet from his table and then grabbed a huge gallon jug full of holy water. He poured it into the goblet until the goblet was completely full to the brim.

"Now we're getting somewhere, but come on. Holy water? Grasshopper, you're gonna have to get creative to impress me," taunted Alistair.

Dean smirked and sucked in a deep breath as he looked over at Alistair.

"You know something, Alistair? I could still dream, even in Hell, and over and over and over, you know what I dreamt? I dreamt of this moment."

Dean grabbed a syringe and a needle from off of his table full of instruments and began putting the needle on top of the syringe.

"And believe me, I've got a few ideas."

Dean's face hardened at his last statement as he stuck the complete syringe into the goblet of holy water. He filled the syringe up to the top with the holy water as Alistair looked on curiously. Dean squirted a little of the water off out of the syringe to make sure it was working properly. He walked over to stand directly in front of Alistair, smirking evilly as he held up the syringe full of holy water.

"Let's get started," smirked Dean.

A few minutes later, Dean set the empty syringe down onto his table, looking back at Alistair, who looked sickly now.

"Let me know if you want some more of that because there's definitely plenty left."

"Go directly to Hell. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars," said Alistair.

Dean crossed his arms over his chest, smirking.

Sam glanced back over to where Alex was still sound asleep, her back facing them. But Alex was fully awake, listening to everything, her eyes wide as she listened to Ruby's spell, trying to locate where Dean was. Ruby's eyes were black as night as she spoke, setting the map on fire with a candle she had lit. Sam looked worried and Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Relax, the fire's our friend. Besides, the only part of the map we even need is the where's Dean part. Out," said Ruby.

The flames immediately subsided, leaving only a small portion of the map intact, right in the center. Ruby pointed to the piece of the map still intact.

"There. Your brother's there," she said.

She wiped her hands off on her pants as she walked over to her bag.

"You know, it's a good thing that angels aren't too concerned with hiding all of their dirty business or else we'd be shit out of luck. Not used to being spied on, I mean, who'd be stupid enough to try?" asked Ruby, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ruby, it's been weeks. I need it," whispered Sam.

Alex's forehead wrinkled in confusion as she tried to figure out what her twin brother was saying to Ruby.

"You don't seem too happy about it," said Ruby, shrugging her shoulders.

Sam stepped over closer to her, beginning to sound distraught.

"You think I want to do this? This is the last thing I…"

Sam trailed off as he sat on the free bed, the one where Dean would normally be sleeping by now.

"But I need to be strong enough," finished Sam, looking over at Ruby from his new sitting position.

Ruby sighed and walked over to him. Alex heard the bed creak, so she assumed Ruby was either sitting next to him or climbing onto his lap.

"She's probably sitting on his lap, the slut," whispered Alex to herself.

She slowly rolled over, keeping her eyes closed as she did so. She opened them slightly to see what was happening. She saw Ruby sitting on Sam's lap.

"It's okay, Sammy, it's okay. You can have it," reassured Ruby.

Alex cringed as she watched Ruby lean forward and kiss Sam on the lips. Alex only opened her eyes again when she heard them stop kissing. She watched as Ruby pulled out a small knife she kept hidden in her boot. Sam leaned back and watched Ruby as she cut herself on her arm, right below the crease in her elbow. Ruby licked her lips as blood ran from her fresh wound. Sam looked at her face and Ruby shrugged, nodding her head. Sam took in a deep breath and grabbed Ruby's arm roughly. He lowered his head and began sucking the blood from her wound as Ruby looked on, smiling. Alex closed her eyes and willed herself not to cry at the monster that her brother was slowly becoming.

"It's okay, Sam," whispered Ruby, an evil looking smirk on her face as she stroked the back of Sam's head while he sucked on her arm.

Dean grabbed a knife and Alistair chuckled as Dean poured holy water over the knife's blade.

"Do you really think that this is gonna fix you? Give you some closure? Oh, that's sad. That's really sad," said Alistair.

Dean ignored him and walked right up to him, glaring at him. As Dean continued to look at Alistair's face, he stabbed Alistair right in the stomach. Alistair groaned in immense pain and Dean listened as the blade sizzled. Alistair grit his teeth as he spoke to Dean.

"I carved you into a new animal, Dean. There is no going back."

"Maybe you're right. But now it's my turn to carve," replied Dean.

He stuck the blade even deeper into Alistair's body and Alistair groaned with the added pain. Alistair cried out and his cries caused Dean to miss the turning of the gear that allowed a small, but steady drip of water to begin leaking from the pipes above them. The water began dripping slowly onto the Devil's Trap located on the concrete floor.

A few minutes later, Dean finally pulled the blade out of Alistair's body. Alistair's head lolled down and Dean rested his hand with the knife in it above Alistair's head. He used his other hand to hold up Alistair's head so he could look him in the eyes. Blood was dripping from Alistair's mouth as Dean looked him over and Alistair began chuckling once again.

"You know, it's your professionalism that I respect so much here."

Dean let go of Alistair's face and walked back over to his torture table. Alistair smirked and spit some of the blood from his mouth out onto the concrete floor.

Outside the torture room, the lights flickered above Castiel's head. He felt a presence behind him and without turning around, he knew immediately who it was.

"Anna," stated Castiel.

Anna walked around to face Castiel.

"Castiel. Why are you letting Dean do this?" she asked him, cutting straight to the chase with him.

"He's doing God's work," answered Castiel, turning away from Anna's forceful gaze.

"Torturing? That's God's work now? Stop him, Castiel. Please. Before you ruin the one real weapon you have."

Castiel stuck his hands in the pockets of his tan trench coat that he was always wearing and sighed, still not facing her.

"Who are we to question the will of God?"

"Unless… this isn't His will."

"Then where did the orders come from?" asked Castiel, looking up at the sky briefly.

"I have no clue. One of our superiors, maybe. But not Him."

Back inside the torture room, Dean splashed a glassful of holy water onto Alistair's bleeding face. Alistair gargled in pain as the holy water hit him. More blood poured from his mouth, but Dean's face was still like stone.

"Who's murdering the angels?" asked Dean.

Alistair gasped for breath as the holy water remained in his mouth.

"The Father you love, you think He wants this? You think that He would ask this of you? Do you actually believe that this is righteous?" asked Anna.

Castiel just stared at her, saying nothing. Anna's face softened.

"What you're feeling… it's called doubt."

Castiel heard the screams of Alistair once again and he closed his eyes, trying to block out the noise.

Dean poured more holy water into his now empty goblet and splashed the water directly onto Alistair's face. Alistair's mouth bubbled over with blood and it flowed down his throat in one long, thick column. Dean just glared at him as he struggled with the pain.

Anna leaned in even closer to Castiel now. She placed her hand gently on top of his and Castiel looked down at their hands touching, surprised at the simplest of gestures.

"These orders are very wrong. And you know it, too. But you can still do the right thing here, Castiel. You're just afraid, Cas. I was too, but together, we can still-"

"Together," repeated Castiel, cutting Anna off.

He looked down at their hands, which were still touching. He ripped his hand away from hers and looked over at her with hatred. Anna looked surprised.

"I am nothing like you, Anna. You fell. Now go," said Castiel.

He turned his back on Anna and began walking away. Anna whirled around to stare at his retreating form.

"Cas," she stated.

Castiel turned back around to face her, the hatred still there in his eyes.

"Go."

Anna looked at him sadly, tears welling up in her eyes. She nodded just slightly and Castiel looked down at the floor as he heard her wings spread out and fly. He remained in the same position as he listened to the cries of Alistair once again.

Dean glared at Alistair as he finally stopped struggling and spit out another stream of blood mixed with holy water.

"You know, it's just not getting deep enough. Honestly, Dean, you have no idea how bad it was. How much you really did for us," said Alistair, smirking over at him once again.

"Shut up," said Dean, his voice a little raspy now.

"The reason Lilith wanted you there in the first place…"

"Well, then I'll just make you shut up," said Dean.

He grabbed Alistair's chin and began pouring a long stream of pure salt straight down Alistair's throat. Alistair groaned in even more pain as the salt entered his system.

Sam looked mad as hell as he drove in the rain to get to Dean. Alex was in the passenger seat, looking out her window and trying to forget what she secretly saw back in the motel room earlier that night. Sam's jaw was clenched and his eyes were basically black as he drove on to get to Dean faster.

Alistair spit some of the salt back up onto the floor, blood coming up with all of it. Dean watched and waited for Alistair to be able to speak once again. Alistair wheezed and gagged as the salt came back up.

"Something's caught in my throat. I think it's my throat," said Alistair, looking down at all of the blood that he had spit up onto the ground.

"Well, strap in. Because I'm just starting to have some fun," said Dean.

Dean walked back over to his table, grabbing the gallon jug of holy water once again.

"Oh, it was supposed to be your father. He was supposed to bring it on, but in the end, it was you," said Alistair, chuckling.

"Bring what on?" asked Dean, focusing on his table and not on Alistair.

"The same offer, remember? Same as your father. And finally, you said, 'Sign me up.' Oh, the first time you picked up my razor. The first time you sliced into that weeping, pathetic bitch. Well, that was the first seal," said Alistair.

As he stared at Dean, he licked his blood-ridden lips evilly. Dean walked over to him again, his favorite blade in his hand. He smirked up at Alistair.

"You're lying," said Dean.

His smirk faded and so did Alistair's.

"And it is written that the first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in Hell. As he breaks, so shall it break," recited Alistair.

Dean walked away from him, his back turned on Alistair momentarily.

"We had to break the first seal before any others, it's the only way you can get all of the dominos to fall right. Top of the one at the front of the line. So when we win, when we bring on the apocalypse and then burn this earth down, we'll owe it all to you. Dean Winchester. And believe me, son, I wouldn't lie about any of that. It's kind of, um, a religious sort of thing with me," said Alistair.

Dean's back was still turned to Alistair. Dean closed his eyes as he took in everything Alistair was saying about him having broken the first seal, his lips trembling. Dean also didn't see Alistair watch as the water continuously dripped on the Devil's Trap, almost breaking the continuous line. Dean's eyes welled with small, yet unshed, tears.

"No. I don't think you are lying. But even if the demons do win, you won't be there to see it," remarked Dean.

He lifted up his blade once again and whirled around to see Alistair free from his chains, smirking up at Dean.

"You should talk to your plumber about those pesky pipes," said Alistair.

He smirked and Dean's eyes widened as Alistair punched him directly in the face. Dean fell to the floor, but Alistair grabbed him by the collar and began to continuously punch him in the face. Dean began gasping for breath as Alistair continued punching him in the face, blood pouring from his nose and multiple other places. Alistair was relentless as he grabbed Dean by the throat, strangling him. He held Dean up, the moonlight shining on all of Dean's injuries.

"You've got a lot to learn, boy. So I'll see you back in class, bright and early, Monday morning."

As Dean's eyes rolled back into his head and he struggled to catch his breath once more, Castiel came rushing into the room. Alistair let go of Dean, who fell to the ground, hard. Castiel stabbed Alistair in the shoulder, but Alistair shoved Castiel away. He looked down at the new blade in his shoulder, which was flickering and glowing with light.

"Oh, almost. Looks like God is on my side today," taunted Alistair.

Castiel got back up rather quickly and held out his arm, palm up and facing Alistair. He began twisting the blade more and more into Alistair's shoulder, Alistair groaning and grimacing in pain. Castiel moved a few steps closer to Alistair as he moved the blade using his powers. Alistair grabbed the blade in his shoulder with his free hand and pulled it back out, throwing it to the side. He yelled and lunged for Castiel, Dean's eyes closing as the fight between the demon and the angel waged on. Alistair grabbed Castiel and ran him into a concrete column where a small pole was sticking out from. Alistair rammed Castiel into the pole and then held him there as Castiel struggled.

"You know, I really wish I knew how to kill any of you. But all I can do is send you back to Heaven."

Alistair still held Castiel up against the concrete column as he began chanting in Latin. A bright white light began pouring out of Castiel's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as Alistair continued chanting in Latin. After the fourth and final time of repeating this Latin chant, Alistair began to feel a strange power come over him. He looked over to his left and saw Sam holding up his hand, using his powers on Alistair. Alistair was forced to let go of Castiel and the white light stopped pouring from his face. Sam flung Alistair along the brick wall and walked over to him while Alex ran over to Dean. She pulled Dean's head into her lap and began stroking his face.

"Come on, Dean, come on," whispered Alex.

Sam looked over at Alistair, who was shaking his head.

"Who's murdering the angels? How are they doing it?" asked Sam, his glare full of hatred for Alistair.

Alistair chuckled.

"And you think I'm going to tell you?"

"Yeah, actually, I do," answered Sam.

He moved his hand in a twisting motion and Alistair's eyes rolled back into his head, revealing their pure white color. He began gagging.

"How are the demons killing angels?" asked Sam, yelling the question at Alistair this time around.

"I… don't… know!" yelled back Alistair.

"Right," said Sam.

He twisted his hand once more and Alistair cried out in immense pain. Castiel watched Sam, his eyebrows raised with what seemed to be worry or maybe even concern.

"We're not doing it," claimed Alistair.

"I don't believe you," argued Sam.

"Lilith is not behind this. She wouldn't kill just seven angels. No, she'd kill one hundred angels. Maybe even one thousand."

Castiel looked over at Alistair's smirking form. Sam let himself rest and Alistair sucked in a large breath of air after Sam had somewhat released him.

"Oh, go ahead. Send me back. If you even can," smirked Alistair, taunting Sam.

"I'm stronger than that now. Now, I can kill," said Sam.

Castiel looked over at Sam, no more emotion on his face. Sam held up his palm once again and closed his eyes, focusing on the task at hand. Alistair began groaning in pain as Sam began killing him. Lights flashed inside his body and began pouring from his face. The yellow lights in his eyes flickered briefly as Alistair fell over to the ground, finally dead. Sam opened his eyes once again, watching as Alistair's lifeless form fell to the floor along the wall Sam had been holding him to. Sam breathed heavily from his exertion and Castiel looked over at him. Sam said nothing as Castiel stared over at him.

"Sammy," called out Alex.

Sam turned back around and rushed over to his little sister, who still had Dean's head in her lap.

"Sammy, we have to bring him to a hospital. He's hurt really badly," said Alex.

Sam nodded.

The next morning, Sam and Alex were sitting by Dean's bedside in the hospital. Alex was curled up into her chair, wearing one of Dean's many sweatshirts, even though it was huge on her. The sounds of his IV bag dripping fluids into his body could be heard throughout the otherwise quiet room. A page for a nurse or doctor sounded throughout the intercom system in the entire hospital and they could hear it from the open door leading into Dean's room. Sam looked over at the screen showing Dean's vitals and wondered why Dean hadn't woken up yet. Sam and Alex looked over as they saw a shadow standing in the doorway of Dean's room. Castiel was standing there, looking into the room. He gave a meaningful look over to Sam and then walked on past Dean's room. Alex looked at Sam and sighed. Sam patted Alex's hand and stood up, stretching his arms above his head.

"Alex, I have to go talk to Castiel in the hallway, alright?"

Alex nodded silently and grabbed Dean's hand tighter, scooting her chair closer to his bedside until she was practically in the bed with him. Sam smiled gently and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Alex let him, but Sam saw the grimace she tried to hide from him. He pretended not to notice, gave her another small smile, and headed into the hallway, whirling around to face Castiel. Castiel looked up at Sam's towering form, his eyes wide.

"Sam," said Castiel.

Sam pointed his thumb back towards Dean's room.

"Get in there and heal him. Miracle, now."

"I can't."

"You and Uriel put him in there."

"I know."

"Because you can't keep a simple Devil's Trap together!" yelled Sam, his eyes wide with fury.

"I don't know what happened. That trap… It shouldn't have broken and I am sorry."

"This whole thing was pointless. Do you understand that? The demons aren't committing these murders. Something else is killing those angels."

Castiel's eyes widened.

"Perhaps Alistair was lying."

"No. He wasn't."

Sam marched back into Dean's room, leaving Castiel standing in the hospital hallway, his eyes wide with confusion.

Back at the warehouse where Castiel and Uriel had been keeping Alistair locked up, Castiel bent down next to the Devil's Trap drawn on the floor. He knelt down and inspected the spot where the trap had been broken. He looked up and saw the leak in one of the pipes, which was causing the dripping water. He stood up and walked over to the gear, turning it with a flick of his hand, stopping the water drips.

"You called," said Uriel, approaching Castiel.

"It's strange. Strange how a leaky pipe can undo the work of angels when we ourselves are supposed to be the agents of fate," said Castiel, looking over at Uriel.

Uriel shook his head while speaking.

"Alistair was just much more powerful than we had imagined."

"No. No demon can ever overpower that kind of trap. I know because I made it myself. We've been friends for a very long time, Uriel. Fought by each other's sides, served together away from home. For what seems like…forever. We're brothers, Uriel. So pay me that respect and tell me the truth."

"The truth is the only thing that can kill an angel …"

Uriel rolled up his sleeve and a long, silver blade appeared into his palm. He held it up to his face, the moonlight reflecting from it.

"Is another angel," finished Uriel.

"You," said Castiel, stepping closer to Uriel and staring at him.

"I'm afraid so."

"And you broke the Devil's Trap. Set Alistair on Dean."

"Alistair should've never even been taken alive. Really inconvenient, Cas. So yes, I did turn the screw a little bit. Alistair should've killed Dean and escaped and you should've gone on, happily scapegoating the demons."

"For the murders of our kin?"

"Not murders, Castiel. No. My work is convergent. How long have we waited here, how long have we played this game with rules that make no sense?"

"It is our Father's world, Uriel," said Castiel, turning his back on Uriel.

"Our Father! He stopped being that, if he ever even was. The moment he created them, humanity. His favorites."

"Are you trying to convert me?" asked Castiel, facing Uriel once again.

"I wanted you to join me and I still do. With you, we can be powerful enough to raise our brother."

"Lucifer."

"So you do remember him. How strong he was, how beautiful. And he didn't bow down to humanity. He was punished for defending us. Now, if you want to believe in something, Cas, believe in him."

"Lucifer is not God."

"God isn't God anymore. He doesn't care what we do and I am proof of that," said Uriel, brushing past Castiel to move and stand in front of him now.

"But this… What were you gonna do, Uriel? Were you gonna kill all of us, the entire garrison?"

"I only killed the ones who said no. Others have joined me, Cas. Now please, brother, don't fight me. Help me. Help me spread the word. Help me bring on the apocalypse. All you have to do is be unafraid."

Castiel shook his head and looked down at the cold concrete floor.

"For the first time in a long time, I am," said Castiel.

He looked back up at Uriel's face, who was smiling. Castiel threw his hands toward Uriel, shoving him backwards through the brick wall behind him. Uriel stood up rather quickly and punched Castiel directly in the face. Castiel retaliated, punching Uriel in the face twice. Uriel grabbed Castiel by the lapels of his tan trench coat and threw him across the room. Castiel rolled back up into a standing position and glared over at Uriel. He spit out some blood from his mouth as he walked towards Uriel. Uriel shook his head at Castiel, but Castiel punched him twice in succession. Uriel grabbed a metal pipe and hit Castiel directly in the face with it, causing Castiel to fall to his knees on the floor. Castiel looked up at him.

"You can't and you won't win, Uriel. I still serve God."

Uriel grabbed Castiel by his collar, anger flaring behind his eyes.

"You haven't even met the man! There is no will, no wrath, and definitely no God."

As Uriel brought his fist back to punch Castiel in the face one more time, Anna appeared, stabbing Uriel in the neck with her blade.

"Maybe. Or maybe not. But there's still me," whispered Anna.

She let go of Uriel, pulling her blade from his neck. Uriel fell straight onto the remaining Devil's Trap. Blood dripped from his neck wound, all down his throat. She walked over to stand beside Castiel and they both watched as bright white lights erupted from Uriel's eyes and mouth. A huge flash of white light lit up the whole entire building and then Uriel was still, finally dead. Castiel stood up then, blood dripping from his nose and the cut on his bottom lip. He looked over at Anna, who looked straight back at him.

Castiel sat in the chair beside Dean's hospital bedside, his head leaning back against the headrest. He looked over at Dean in the hospital bed.

"Are you alright?" asked Castiel.

Dean looked over at him, sighing, but then wincing as it hurt.

"No thanks to you," said Dean, his voice all raspy.

"You need to be more careful."

"And you need to learn how to manage a damn Devil's Trap."

"You know that's not what I mean. Uriel is dead."

"Was it the demons?"

"It's disobedience. He was working against us."

"Is it true? Did I break the very first seal? Did I start all of this?"

Castiel nodded sadly.

"Yes. When we discovered Lilith's plan for you, we laid siege to Hell. And we fought our way to get to you before you-"

"So I started the apocalypse?" whispered Dean.

Castiel looked up at the ceiling.

"We were too late."

"Why didn't you just leave me there then?"

"It's not blame that falls on you, Dean. It's fate. And the righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have the power to stop it. You have to stop it."

A tear rolled down Dean's face.

"Lucifer. The apocalypse. What does that even mean?" asked Dean.

Castiel looked away from him.

"Hey! Don't you go disappearing on me now, you son of a bitch. What does that mean?"

"I don't know."

"That's bullshit!"

"I don't. Dean, they don't tell me very much anymore. All I know is that our fate rests with you."

"Well, then you guys are screwed. I can't do it, Cas. That's too big. Alistair was right. I'm not all here, I'm not strong enough."

Castiel looked over at him, a sad smile on his face. Another tear rolled down Dean's cheek.

"But I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted us to be. Now find someone else. Because it's definitely not me."

Dean's tears began falling more steadily now as Castiel looked over at him one last time. He sighed sadly, but then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

A few minutes after Castiel had disappeared into thin air, Alex walked back into Dean's room. As she walked in, she saw that Dean was facing away from her. She smiled brightly as she walked through the doorway. She leaned against the doorframe.

"Hey, handsome," she said.

As Dean rolled over to face her, Alex's smile fell as she took in the dried tear tracks on her oldest brother's face. She rushed over to his side, climbing up into the bed with him and tucking her head under his chin.

"Dean, what's wrong? What happened?" she asked him.

Dean shook his head as he held her close.

"I started all of this, Alex. I broke the first seal, I started the apocalypse," whispered Dean.

Alex took in a shaky breath and lifted her head up, looking at his face. Tears welled up in his eyes once again and Alex looked at him sadly.

"Dean, look at me. This is not your fault, do not blame yourself. And you know what? We're gonna fix all of this, alright?"

Dean looked away from her, so Alex grabbed his chin gently, forcing him to look down at her.

"You listen to me, Dean Winchester. We are going to fix this, alright? I'll do whatever I can to help you out, okay?"

Dean looked into her eyes and slowly nodded. He closed his eyes to keep his tears at bay and Alex nodded. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. She snuggled back into his chest, tucking her head under his chin once again like before. He closed his eyes as he rested his chin on the top of her head. Alex sighed, wondering how she was going to tell Dean about Sam. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling to herself when she noticed that he was falling asleep. She glanced over to the doorway and saw Sam standing there, watching the two of them with a soft smile on his face as he leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest. Alex closed her eyes once again, listening to Dean's heartbeat as she fell into a deep sleep.

At the end of his long work day at Sandover Bridge and Iron Company, Dean Smith walked into the elevator, typing away on his blackberry. He stepped onto the elevator without looking at the other two occupants. Once the doors shut completely, he looked over at the two people inside the elevator with him. He gave them both a head nod. One was a tall guy with shaggy dark hair and the other was a petite blonde. She was blowing bubbles with a piece of gum she was currently chewing while the guy was looking at both of them strangely, a confused look on his face.

"Do I know you too?" the long haired guy finally asked.

Dean and the girl stared up at him.

"I don't think so," said Dean.

"No, I don't think so," said the girl.

The guy scoffed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, guys, you both just look really familiar."

Dean nodded.

"Save it for the health club, pal," said Dean.

The elevator dinged as they arrived on the ground floor. The girl looked up at the tall guy after Dean had left the elevator, her eyebrows raised.

"Jesus. What a douche bag," she said.

The tall guy nodded in agreement with her.

"Anyway, I'm Alex Glock. It was nice to meet you…"

She trailed off as she stuck out her hand for him to shake and introduce himself. He took her hand.

"Sam. Sam Wesson."

The next morning, Sam sat at his cubicle up on the third floor of the Sandover Bridge and Iron Company. He was employed in the technology/customer services part of the company. His phone was ringing off the hook, all of the lights blinking at him on the phone. He sighed and used the eraser end of his pencil to hit a button on his phone.

"Tech support, this is Sam Wesson," he answered.

The caller on the other end of the line explained her problem and Sam resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her.

"Okay, well, did you try turning it off and on? Okay, so, go ahead and turn it off. No, no, no, just off. Alright, now, give it a second. Turn it back on. Okay, is it printing now? Great, anytime," finished up Sam.

He threw off his headset and hit the end button for his call.

"Hey," said a voice from behind him.

Sam turned around in his rolling chair and looked at his coworker behind him who wanted his attention currently.

"Dude, have you seen the new receptionist down on the second floor? She's a total babe," said Sam's coworker, Ian.

Sam's forehead scrunched up as he thought hard.

"Is she kind of small and blonde?" he asked.

Ian nodded, biting his lip.

"Super hot. I might have to hit that soon."

Sam groaned and shook his head.

"Dude, way too much information. I think I met her yesterday in the elevator. Her name's Alex, I think."

"Nice. Her big, round blue eyes have sucked me in, man. She's fucking sexy, dude."

Sam rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but feel a wave of emotions running through his body. He felt angry, betrayed, hurt, and maybe even a little protective over this new girl whom he hardly even knew. Ian smiled over at him as he stood up from his chair.

"Coffee break?"

Sam stood up as well, nodding. They began heading for the break room, stopping by another coworker's desk first.

"Paul, time for a refuel, buddy," said Ian.

Paul never looked away from his computer screen, his fingers furiously typing away on his keyboard.

"Sorry, no time."

"Since when? Dude, we get paid by the freaking hour," said Ian.

"Working here!"

Sam and Ian began walking away.

"Well, he seems stressed," remarked Sam.

"I think he's freaked because he got busted surfing porn on the internet here at work," said Ian.

"Oh, no way. When?" asked Sam.

Ian scoffed.

"Paul got sent up to HR yesterday. I guess they put the fear of God in him."

Ian brushed past Sam to walk into the break room. Sam began pouring each of them a cup of coffee while Ian pulled open the storage cupboard, stuffing his jeans with four packs of pencils. Sam whirled around with their coffee cups and rolled his eyes at Ian.

"Ian, dude!"

Ian just smirked and grabbed the cup of freshly brewed coffee Sam was offering him.

"So, Sam. Had any of those… dreams lately?"

Sam sighed.

"I never should've told you about those dreams in the first place," said Sam.

"They're complete genius. Don't hold out on me, man. Come on, share some with the class here."

"Dude, you're just gonna be a complete dick about it."

"What? No way. I won't say a single word about any of them, I promise. I have total respect. Now, come on," urged Ian.

Sam sighed deeply, shaking his head.

"I dreamt that I saved a grim reaper named Jack from demons," offered Sam.

Ian busted out laughing hysterically.

"Dude, that's classic! How much D and D did you play when you were a child?"

"You're such a fucking dick," whispered Sam.

Ian laughed even harder as they walked out of the break room, returning to their seats.

Back in his cubicle desk, Sam was filling out a couple pieces of paper on a clipboard. He began yawning profusely, so he rested his head in his hands, his eyes closing as he sat there. As he closed his eyes, he saw images appear in front of him. He saw himself shooting off a gun into a crossroads demon's head, he was standing with a guy and a girl as they fought off a group of demons, and he saw a guy cutting the head off of a rogue vampire. He startled awake, gasping. He looked around to make sure no one had seen him fall asleep and then he shook off his weird dream.

Sam stepped into the semi-crowded elevator later that night around five thirty, glancing around and seeing the man, Dean, from yesterday standing right next to him. Sam tried not to stare at Dean as the rest of the people stood around in the elevator talking. On the second floor, the four other people in the elevator walked out, chatting with each other. The new receptionist from the second floor, Alex, stepped inside and rolled her eyes when she saw who was on the elevator with her. The elevator doors closed after she had stepped on and Sam took in a deep breath.

"Can I ask you both a question?" he asked them.

Dean and Alex both sighed deeply.

"Sure," they both said at the same time.

"What do you two think about… ghosts?" asked Sam.

Alex held back her laugh, but Dean looked at Sam, his forehead scrunched up with confusion from the question.

"Ghosts?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, do you believe in them?"

Dean chuckled slightly.

"Um, to tell you the truth, I've never actually given it very much thought."

Sam turned to Alex then.

Alex shook her head.

"Ghosts aren't real."

"What about vampires?" asked Sam.

"What?" asked Dean and Alex.

They looked at each other, confused.

"Why?" asked Alex, turning to look at Sam.

"Because I've been having some, um, weird dreams lately. You know what I mean?"

Alex shook her head.

"No, not really," answered Dean, turning to look at the front of the elevator now.

"So… you two have never had any… weird dreams?" asked Sam.

"Alright, look, man. Um, I don't even really know you, alright? But I'm gonna do us all a public service and let you know that you overshare," said Dean.

The elevator doors opened and Dean quickly rushed out, shaking his head at Sam's weird questions. Alex walked out after Dean and Sam shook his head as he stood inside the elevator.

Later that night, Alex was lying down on her couch, falling asleep as she watched an older episode of _One Tree Hill_. Her eyes closed and she saw flashes of herself. She was fighting alongside two men who seemed to resemble Sam and Dean from work. They were fighting a demon and then she saw a ghost. She shot up as she woke up, her chest heaving as she looked around the room. She grabbed the television remote, shutting off her TV and walking across the hall to her bedroom, shaking off the weird feeling she had as she walked.

The next day, Sam was sitting back at his desk, his headset on. He had a pad of notebook paper in front of him and he was drawing what looked to be the scary monster faces in his dreams.

"Okay, did you turn it off and then back on?" he asked the customer on the other end of his line.

He opened up the Internet on his computer, bringing up a search engine.

"No, that's fine, I'll just wait," reassured Sam.

As he waited on his caller, Sam looked around him. He saw that no one was paying any attention whatsoever to him, so he typed "Vampires" into the search engine pulled up on his computer. He clicked on the tab marked "Images" and looked through some scary looking pictures.

"Is it printing now?" asked Sam.

"Oh, that's wonderful. Anytime. Thanks," said Sam.

He hung up his phone call and browsed through some more of the pictures.

"What you doing?" asked Ian from behind Sam.

Sam quickly minimized his Internet browser and whirled around to face Ian. He shook his head.

"Nothing," answered Sam.

"Did you happen to get an email from Human Resources?" asked Ian.

Sam shook his head.

"No, why?"

"Damn it. I guess it was just me then. I'm supposed to 'report to HR.'"

Sam chuckled and scoffed.

"Well, they're probably finally busting you for snaking all of those office supplies."

Ian chuckled and stood up from his chair. Sam gave him a soft smile and watched his friend leave his cubicle, headed for HR.

Sam pulled his Internet browser back up and was looking through the pictures of vampires once again until he heard someone across from him.

"No, no, no, no, come on. Don't do this to me, please," whispered a man.

Sam stood up from his desk chair and looked over the top of his cubicle at Paul, who was holding his head in his hands.

"Hey, man, are you alright?" asked Sam.

"It froze," said Paul, looking sadly up at Sam.

Sam chuckled.

"They're crap, Paul, they freeze all of the time."

"No, no, you don't even understand. When I rebooted it, everything was gone. All my stuff from the day before, I need it!"

"Well, did you back any of it up?" asked Sam.

"No, I didn't back up. I wish to God that I backed up, but I didn't. But it's okay, I'll get it back, I will. It's gotta be somewhere. I'll find it!" whispered Paul.

"Paul, it's alright, man. These things always happen," reassured Sam.

Paul ignored him and continued typing away on his computer. Sam sighed, but sat back down in his own seat.

At 9 AM the next morning, Sam stood back and watched as the EMT's wheeled Paul's dead body out on a stretcher, a white sheet covering his dead form. He looked across the room and saw Alex and Dean standing on the other side of the room. Alex gave Sam a curious look, but Dean quickly looked away, leaning over to whisper to one of his coworkers.

"Does something about this just not seem right to you?" asked Dean.

His coworker nodded, his eyebrows raised.

"Uh, yeah. Try the whole entire thing."

Dean was back in his office an hour later, looking up Paul's employee file. He saw Paul's smiling face from his employee picture and Dean clicked on a special note in the file. The note was about Paul's retirement party, which was coming up in less than two weeks.

"Two weeks?" whispered Dean.

Sam wheeled his chair over next to Ian's cubicle, his forehead wrinkled with confusion.

"Hey, why would someone kill themselves two weeks before they were gonna retire?" asked Sam.

Ian never said anything, so Sam looked over at him. Ian was wearing the standard uniform, which he never used to do before today. His headset was on tight and he was typing away on his computer's keyboard.

"Ian?" asked Sam.

Ian whirled around to face him now.

"I don't have time for this, Sam."

Sam laughed, his smile lighting up his face.

"Oh, that's really funny, Ian."

Ian ignored him and turned back to his computer. Sam's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"What's with you?"

"I'm working here, Sam. And it's very important."

"Did HR bust your balls or something? I mean, you're wearing this God awful yellow shirt. Did you shave?"

"Tech Support, this is Ian."

Ian paused for a few seconds.

"I'll be right up there."

Ian hung up his phone call and removed his headset.

"I've gotta go up to twenty-two and speak to a manager," said Ian.

He stood up and walked straight past Sam, Sam looking confused in his wake.

Ian knocked on Dean's office door, gulping nervously as he did so. Dean looked up, his eyebrows raised.

"Hi, Ian, is it?" asked Dean.

Ian nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, come on in," said Dean.

Ian stepped into Dean's office slowly as Dean began talking.

"Yesterday, you filled out a 445T? And uh, there's no problem, just a few small errors. I mean, we did just switch over to Vista, so I'm sure you're just really used to filling out the dash R's, am I right?"

Dean smirked and reached for the papers he needed.

"Oh no," whispered Ian, dread filling his voice.

"Oh, no, it's perfectly fine. I just need you to, uh, redo one today so I can get this show on the road and invoice it," explained Dean, setting a new form out on his desk for Ian to pick up.

Ian looked down at the form on Dean's desk, his chin trembling.

"Oh, my God."

"No, no, it's really fine. Just re-file it and we're all square."

"I can't believe I did this, I did this," whispered Ian, his eyes twitching.

Dean's eyebrows pulled together with worry and confusion.

"Hey, guy. Come on."

"No, no. It affected profits, I screwed up! I can't… I am so sorry. I mean, how could I even do that? I failed Sandover, I failed this entire company," whispered Ian.

Dean removed his headset and slowly stood up.

"Okay, hey, why don't you just sit down here? Ian? Ian?" asked Dean.

Dean watched as Ian ran from his office. Dean walked after him, finding him in the men's restroom. Ian was holding onto one of the sinks as he looked at himself in the mirror above the sinks.

"Hey, Ian. Let's just chill out, man, alright?"

Dean's smirk faded as he saw his breath once he breathed out. He realized how chilly it was in the restroom. He watched as all of the sinks and soap dispensers turned on by themselves, no one having waved their hand over them or anything.

"Ian, hey. Maybe we should get out of here, huh? Come on. Ian. Look at me," demanded Dean.

The soap began falling onto the floor and Ian finally looked over at Dean. His face was an emotionless mask as he reached into the left pocket of his ill-fitting khaki pants. Dean watched as Ian pulled out a sharpened wooden pencil and clutched it in his fist. Ian suddenly stabbed himself straight in the neck, gasping as he did so. Dean's eyes widened as blood began pouring from Ian's neck wound. Ian fell to the floor and Dean fell to his knees right beside him. As Dean briefly glanced up, he saw an old man in the shiny bathroom stall door. He looked behind him, but no one was behind him. He looked back into the bathroom stall door, but the old man had disappeared.

"Someone, help me!" yelled Dean.

An hour later, Ian's dead body was being wheeled out of the bathroom and the police were talking to Dean.

"No, no, I, um, followed him into the bathroom. He was, he was, um, standing there in front of the mirror and then…"

Dean trailed off as he saw Sam standing among the crowd of onlookers. He looked past Sam and saw Alex standing a couple of people behind Sam. He shook his head and turned back to the police officer.

"And then he, um, stabbed himself in the neck. I'm sorry, that's all I can tell you," finished Dean.

He looked back over at Alex and Sam.

Sam answered the phone once he was back in his cubicle.

"Tech Support, this is Sam."

"I need to see you in my office. Now. Oh, and bring that chick from the elevator with you too."

Sam hung up his phone and headed for the second floor.

Sam stepped off of the elevator on the second floor, immediately spotting Alex at the receptionist's desk. He chuckled as he saw her hang up her phone and then roll her eyes. He walked up the desk and Alex looked up at him. She saw him standing in front of her and she immediately pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"Um, that man from the elevator, Dean? Yeah, he wants to see us in his office. Now," explained Sam.

Alex nodded and removed her headset. She stood up and walked around the receptionist's desk to stand with Sam. A girl quickly stepped in and replaced her as Alex and Sam headed for the third floor.

Alex knocked on Dean's office door as she and Sam stood in the doorway of his office door. Dean finished buttoning up the buttons on his new shirt and looked over at the two of them. He waved them inside, so Alex and Sam walked into his office, taking a seat in the two chairs located in front of his desk. Dean walked over, shutting his office door. Dean walked back to stand behind his desk chair, placing his hands on the back of his chair as he looked at Alex and Sam.

"Now, who the hell are you two again?" he asked them.

Sam and Alex scoffed.

"I'm not even sure if I know," said Sam.

Alex nodded in agreement with him.

"What does that even mean?" asked Dean.

Alex sighed.

"I'm Alex Glock and this is Sam…"

"Wesson. I started here three weeks ago," finished Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Alright, well, you cornered me in the elevator, talking about ghosts and vampires. And now…"

Dean trailed off, not knowing where to begin.

"Now what?" asked Alex.

"Now nothing. I, um… So you started working here three weeks ago, huh? What about you?" asked Dean, looking over at Alex.

"Um, I started three weeks ago too," she answered him.

"Yeah, me too," said Dean.

He took a drink from his water bottle and sat down at his desk, looking away from both of his fellow coworkers.

"When you were in that bathroom with Ian, did you see something?" asked Sam.

Dean looked up at Sam's question and both Alex and Sam adjusted in their seats as he looked up at them.

"I don't know, I don't know what I saw," said Dean, shaking his head.

"Wait, are you saying that… Did you see a ghost?" asked Alex.

"I was freaking out, alright? The guy stabbed himself in the neck with a damn pencil!"

"You did see one, didn't you?" asked Alex.

Dean sighed and hung his head.

"Okay, listen. What if these suicides aren't actually suicides? I mean, what if they're something… not natural?" asked Sam.

"So, what? Ghosts are real? And they're responsible for all the dead bodies around here, is that what you're trying to say?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded profusely as both he and Alex leaned forward in their seats, closer to Dean.

"Look, I know this sounds crazy. But yes. That's what I'm telling you, both of you, said Sam, looking over at Alex as well.

"Uh-huh. Based on what, exactly?" asked Dean.

"Um, instinct?" said Sam.

Alex shook her head, smiling slightly at Sam's response.

"I've got the same instinct," she whispered.

"Yeah, me too," said Dean.

"Seriously?" asked Sam, looking between the two of them.

They both nodded once again.

"Well, you know those dreams I was telling you about? I was dreaming about ghosts. And then it turns out that there's a real ghost, here!" said Sam.

"I've been having those dreams too, actually," whispered Alex.

Sam looked over at her sitting next to him, his face in total surprise. Dean rubbed a hand over his own face.

"So, are you guys telling me that your dreams are some sort of special visions and you're both some sort of psychic?"

"No. I mean, that would be nuts," said Alex, scoffing.

"We're just saying something weird is going on around here, right?"

Dean and Alex nodded slightly. Sam grabbed his satchel and began digging through it, looking for something.

"So, I've been doing a little digging. And I think I've found a connection between the two guys," said Sam.

He pulled out a couple pieces of paper. He handed them over to Dean. Alex sighed and stood up from her chair, walking over to read the papers over Dean's shoulder. Instead of being irritated, Dean felt a sense of déjà vu. He shrugged it off and began reading through the papers with Alex.

"You broke into their email accounts?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows over at Sam.

"Um, I used some skills that I happen to have to… satisfy my curiosity," explained Sam, looking a little sheepish.

Dean nodded.

"Nice," said Alex, smirking over at him.

"Yeah, okay. So, it turns out that both Ian and Paul both got this same email telling them to report to HR, Room 1444," explained Sam.

"HR's on Floor Seven," said Dean.

"Exactly," responded Sam.

"Should we go check this out?" asked Alex, looking between the two men she barely knew, but felt a strange sense of camaraderie with them.

"Like, right now?" asked Sam.

"No, no, it's getting late, you're right, Sam," said Dean.

Alex looked at them.

"Guys, I am dying to check this out right this very second," she said.

"Right?!" yelled Dean, his eyebrows raised.

On the fourteenth floor, Sam, Alex, and Dean rounded the corner to see the door to Room 1444. Just as they stepped towards the door, they heard a man scream inside the room. A loud crash followed his scream. They all ran for the door and Sam reached it first, grabbing the door handle. It was locked. He let go of the door handle and kicked the door in with a grunt.

"Whoa," said Alex.

She and Dean exchanged confused glances, but didn't question Sam's strength. Sam just shrugged and they all ran into the room. A man from Tech Support was lying on the floor, a metal shelf holder lying on top of him, pinning him to the floor. Sam and Dean got on either side of the shelf holder, getting ready to lift it. Alex stood behind them and glanced over Dean's shoulder. She saw a white-haired man appear suddenly behind Dean. Before she could yell his name, the man grabbed Dean and flung him across the room. He fell into a pile of cabinets. The man grabbed Alex next and then Sam, sending them flying across the room as well. Once they were all disposed of momentarily, the white-haired man looked down at the man on the floor. The ghost's fingers flickered with electricity as Sam, Alex, and Dean stood up. The man reached down to touch a finger to the other man's forehead, but just as he got close, Dean grabbed an iron wrench from off of a shelf. He rushed forward, swinging at the ghost. The ghost disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared only moments before. All of the computer screens turned off as Sam and Dean lifted the shelf holder off of the Tech Support guy.

"How'd you know how to do that?" asked Alex, walking over to them, blowing a strand of blonde hair out of her face.

Dean shook his head, his eyes wide.

"I have no clue."

Later that night at Dean's house, Sam was leaning against the back of the sofa, Dean was pacing his hardwood floors as he sipped from his health drink, and Alex was lying on Dean's sofa.

"Holy shit, guys," said Dean.

"Yeah. I could use a beer," said Sam.

"Yeah, me too, actually," said Alex, sitting up and leaning her head against the back of the sofa, watching Dean pace.

"Sorry, I got rid of all the carbs in the house. I'm on the deep cleansing diet," said Dean, holding up his thermos.

"Hey, how did you know that ghosts are scared of wrenches?" asked Sam.

Dean walked back over to the both of them and handed them each a bottle of water. He shrugged.

"Crazy, right? And nice job kicking in that door too. What are you, like a black belt or something?" asked Dean.

Sam just shrugged while Alex shook her head.

"Actually, the wrench was made of iron. That's why the ghost disappeared," she said.

Sam and Dean turned their heads, looking at her strangely. Her eyes widened.

"I have no idea where that just came from. It just… popped into my head," whispered Alex.

"Anyway, I'm no black belt. I have absolutely no clue how I kicked that door down. It was almost like I've done it a million times before," said Sam.

"What do you mean, before?" asked Alex.

"I don't know, but I just can't shake this feeling like I don't belong here. Like we don't belong here, you know what I mean? Like we should do something more than sit at desks all day, answering phone calls," explained Sam.

Alex nodded and Dean watched as both she and Sam took a sip from their water bottles at the same exact time. They drank from it and then they both sighed afterwards, the exact same way. Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Has anyone ever told you two that you kind of resemble one another?" asked Dean.

Alex and Sam looked at each other and then smirked, laughing at Dean.

"No way," said Alex.

"That's just ridiculous," agreed Sam.

Dean just shrugged and took a sip from his health drink.

"I don't like this job, I don't like this town. I don't like my clothes and I don't even like my own last name. Look, I don't know how else to explain it except that…"

Sam trailed off, taking in a deep sigh.

"Maybe it feels like you should be doing something else with your life?" asked Alex.

Sam's eyes brightened as he looked over at her.

"Yes, exactly! It's like you're reading my mind or something!"

"It's just something in your blood. I feel it too," said Alex.

"You ever feel that way, Dean? Like you were destined for something completely different?" asked Sam, looking over at Dean.

"I don't believe in destiny, but I do believe in dealing with what's right in front of us, though."

Sam and Alex nodded.

"Alright, so, what do we do now?" asked Sam, looking at his two companions.

"We do what I do best, Sammy. Research," smirked Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Okay," he said.

Dean began walking into another room and Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Wait a minute, did you just call me Sammy?"

Dean stopped walking and Alex got up from the couch.

"Did I?" asked Dean.

"I'm pretty sure you did. Yeah, you did. Don't call me that," said Sam.

Alex giggled at the two of them before grabbing her water bottle and following Dean and Sam into the study.

"Sorry," said Dean.

An hour later, Dean was sitting on his home computer, Sam was researching at another table, and Alex was sitting at the same table as Sam.

"Oh, jackpot!" yelled Dean.

Both Alex and Sam looked up and over at him across the room.

"What you got?" asked Alex.

"I just found the best site ever. Real life ghost hunters," said Dean.

Alex and Sam stood up and walked over to stand on either side of Dean, looking over his shoulder at the website he had found.

"Man, these guys are geniuses!" said Dean.

"Ooh, instructional videos," said Alex.

Dean and Sam nodded as Dean hit "Play," starting the first video on the list. A logo appeared, Ghostfacers. Two guys in lab coats appeared next.

"We know why you're watching," said one man.

"You've got a problem," said the other one.

"A ghost problem," said the two men together.

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place. The only decent place really because The Ghostfacers know how to solve it."

"Period."

"Watch and learn," whispered one man.

"See, the first step in any ghost related fight is to figure out what you're up against," chorused the two men.

Dean paused the video and looked at Alex and Sam.

"Let's do some more research then," said Sam.

Alex groaned.

After only thirty minutes, Sam had found an article about the owner of the building where they worked, P.T. Sandover. There was a black and white picture of him in the article and Dean looked over Sam's shoulder at the laptop screen.

"That's definitely him. That's the ghost," said Dean, his eyes wide.

Sam nodded and began reading from the article.

"P.T. Sandover, died in 1916. Whole life devoted to his work. No wife and no kids. Used to say he was the company and his very own blood pumped throughout the building."

"Wow, okay then. So, a slight workaholic. Maybe he's still here, you know, watching over the company and even killing for it," said Alex.

"Plus, it turns out that this isn't the first time people have started killing themselves in the building. 1929," said Sam.

"Yeah, but lots of guys jumped off of lots of high-rises that year," said Dean.

"How many companies had seventeen suicides though?" asked Sam.

Dean whistled at that number, his eyes wide.

"Okay, so, P.T. Sandover, protector of the company, his ghost wakes up and becomes active. During times of grave economic distress," theorized Dean.

"Well, the worst time we've seen since The Great Depression…" began Sam.

"Is now," said Alex.

"Yeah, now sucks," whispered Dean.

"So Sandover's helping the bottom line…"

"By zapping some model employees," said Dean.

"Yeah. I mean, Ian and Paul. It was like they turned into completely different people," said Sam.

"Perfect worker bees, exactly," agreed Alex, pacing the floor.

"Want one more interesting fact? The building wasn't always that high. It used to be fourteen floors and the room where the ghost attacked, 1444? Once upon a time, that was the old man's office," said Sam.

"Now, once you've got that thing in your sights, you've gotta kill it!" chorused the two nerds on the Ghostfacers video.

Sam, Alex, and Dean were back to sitting around Dean's desktop computer, figuring out how to deal with this ghost situation.

"Using special ghost hunting weapons. First, you'll need salt. It's like acid to ghosts. But burning acid," said one man.

"Yeah, not like LSD," said the other man on the video.

"It's a bad trip for ghosts. Next up, iron!"

Alex and Dean looked over at Alex, who smirked back at them. Sam rolled his eyes at her and returned his attention back to the video.

"Dissipates ghosts instantly! It's like power in your hands."

"Our third little trick we learned from those useless douchebags…"

"That we hate!"

"The Winchester family," said the first man on the video.

"Well, we really only hate the two guys. That sister of theirs is mighty fine," said the other man.

The first man nodded, a wistful look in his eyes. His buddy nudged him in the side after a few seconds and the first man shook his head.

"Right."

He cleared his throat and picked up a shotgun.

"Shotgun and shotgun shells."

"Pack the shotgun shell up with fresh rock salt and it's very, very effective," said the second man.

"The Winchesters still suck ass, though," said the first guy.

The second guy nodded and then the video was over, the Ghostfacers logo appearing on the screen once again.

"Man, they really didn't like those Winchesters," remarked Alex.

Sam and Dean nodded in agreement.

"Weird though. I almost felt like I needed to defend them and I don't even know who they are," said Sam.

Dean nodded.

"Well, let's get all the equipment we need and get back to Sandover," said Alex.

Sam and Dean nodded and they began to find everything they would need to defeat the ghost.

Dean stuck some fireplace pokers into the duffel bag they were using to store all of their equipment.

"Where would we even get a gun?" asked Dean.

Sam walked into the living room holding two cans of salt in each hand.

"I don't know, a gun store maybe?"

"But isn't there like, some kind of waiting period or something?" asked Alex, standing next to Dean now.

"Yeah, I think so," said Sam.

"Then how are we gonna get one?" asked Dean.

"I don't know, guys, this seems pretty impossible," whined Alex.

"Right," said Dean.

"Also, those weird dudes from the video said we have to burn the remains to completely get rid of the ghost," said Alex.

"Yeah, but Sandover was cremated. It said that in his article," said Sam.

Dean sighed, rubbing a hand over his face with frustration.

"They also said we'd have to find some sort of other remains if he was cremated. Just some genetic material of some sort," said Alex.

Sam and Dean sighed.

Back at Sandover, Dean stepped onto the elevator first, holding the duffel bag full of stuff.

"Set your cell phones to walkie-talkie mode in case we all get separated," said Dean.

He pulled out his own cell phone, so Alex and Sam followed suit.

"How in the hell are we going to find some ancient speck of DNA in a huge skyscraper?" asked Sam.

"Well, the creepy storeroom used to be Sandover's office, right?" asked Alex.

Up in Room 1444, Sam, Alex, and Dean were searching for some form of DNA that P.T. Sandover would've left behind after his death. They looked everywhere and Sam was looking through Sandover's desk when he felt a new presence behind him. He shot up and whirled around to see a security guard standing in front of him now.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked the security guard.

Dean and Alex hid behind some cabinets, Dean pulling Alex to stand behind him.

"Um, nothing. I was just…"

"Right. Come with me, please."

Sam sighed as the security guard grabbed his arm, leading him out of the room. The security guard shut the door behind them and Sam began protesting with him.

"Come on, man, listen to me. I work here, I-"

"Whatever, man. Tell it to the cops."

The guard led Sam down the hallway and away from Room 1444. Dean and Alex stood up from their hiding spots.

The security guard led Sam onto the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor. As the elevator passed Floor 13, the air suddenly became chilly. Sam and the security guard could both see their breath as they exhaled. Once the elevator got down to Floor 10, it stopped suddenly. The numbers flickered between 10 and 9, so the guard used his emergency key. The elevator doors opened to reveal that they were stuck in between the two floors. The guard pried the other set of metal doors open and looked up into the elevator shaft.

"Well, come on," he said.

Sam's eyes widened.

"What?" asked Sam, trying to keep his voice level.

The guard turned his head to look back at Sam.

"Last time this happened, it took them two whole hours to get here."

"So, let's just wait then," said Sam, shrugging his shoulders.

The guard shook his head and gave Sam a weird face. He hoisted himself up and had half of his torso out the elevator doors, his legs still inside the elevator. He began crawling out of the elevator, Sam wincing every single time the elevator creaked and groaned. Once he was out of the elevator, he turned and looked back at Sam. Sam gave him a nervous smile.

"I'll just wait right here," said Sam.

The guard leaned back into the elevator to get closer to Sam, his upper half inside the elevator with Sam.

"Look, I don't have the rest of my life here-"

Suddenly, the elevator shaft readjusted and it completely smashed the security guard, blood spattering all over Sam's face and body. Sam gasped and his heart beat faster. He was startled as he heard a beep from his phone.

"Hey. Are you alright over there?" asked Alex.

Sam removed his phone from his pocket, holding it away from his blood soaked face and neck.

"I'm gonna have to call you back, alright?"

A few minutes later, Sam had managed to get out of the elevator shaft and was walking through the Tech Support Center, wiping his face and neck off with a large handful of Kleenexes.

"Alex, Dean? You still there?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, we're both here. Listen, I think I may have got it. Meet us on twenty-two," responded Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Okay, yeah. Let me just, um, take the stairs," he whispered, mostly to himself.

Dean and Alex were waiting for Sam in front of the large mural painted on a wall on the 22nd floor. Both of their eyes widened as they took in Sam's appearance.

"Whoa, that's a lot of blood," remarked Alex.

"Yeah, I know," said Sam.

Alex nodded and they all turned to the mural on the left wall. Dean pointed to a pair of gloves placed in a glass case inside the mural. He cleared his throat.

"Okay. So, um, right there," said Dean.

"P.T. Sandover's gloves," said Alex.

"Mmm-hmm. So how much you two wanna bet there's a little smidge of DNA in there? You know, like a fingernail clipping or a hair or two? Something," said Dean.

"So you two ready?" asked Sam.

Dean took in a deep breath and Alex shook her head.

"I have no clue," said Dean.

Sam nodded.

"Me neither."

The three of them all bent down, Sam and Dean grabbing fireplace pokers and Alex grabbing a canister of salt. Sam took in a deep breath and looked at the other two.

"Go ahead," said Alex, gently nudging Dean forward.

Dean nodded and licked his lips.

"Right."

Dean inched forward slowly and smashed the glass with the other end of his fireplace poker. As the glass fell to the ground, Sam exhaled and his eyes widened as he saw his breath. Alex screamed as she saw the ghost behind Dean. The ghost grabbed Dean, threw him into a wall, and then rounded on Sam and Alex. He pushed Sam into the other wall and Alex went with him. As the ghost stepped towards the both of them, his fingers sparking with electricity, Alex grabbed the salt canister beside her. She opened it and ducked as she flung it out. The ghost disappeared. The three of them all stood up, smirking, but then the ghost reappeared behind Dean once again.

"Dean!" yelled Alex, throwing Dean Sam's fireplace poker.

Dean caught it effortlessly and whirled around, swiping straight through the ghost with the iron fireplace poker. The ghost disappeared once again.

"Dude, nice catch!" said Alex, her eyes wide.

"Right?!" yelled Dean, looking at the fireplace poker in his hands.

The three of them walked toward the duffel bag and Sam grabbed the other fireplace poker. Just as he grabbed it, the ghost reappeared and both Sam and Dean swung at him. He disappeared once again. But just as quickly as he disappeared, he reappeared, shoving both Sam and Dean into the walls once again. He appeared directly in front of Dean, sparks of electricity reaching his fingertips once again. Dean's head lolled to the side as the ghost got closer and Sam was taking forever to get back up. Alex bit her lip, but ran over to the gloves in the wall. She grabbed the lighter from her pocket and picked up the old, worn gloves.

"Come on, come on," whispered Alex, watching as the gloves finally caught on fire.

She and Sam both looked over as the ghost got closer to touching Dean's forehead. As Dean's eyes widened and he turned away from the ghost, the ghost's arm went up in flames. Eventually, his whole entire body disappeared as Alex dropped the still burning gloves onto the white tile floor. She and Sam headed over to Dean.

"That was amazing!" yelled Sam, smirking.

"Right? Right!" said Dean.

He used the wall behind him as leverage to help him stand up.

"Come on, I have a first aid kit down in my office," said Dean.

Back in Dean's office, he grabbed his first aid kit from under his desk. Sam and Alex were sitting on his desk as Dean used once corner of his desk to place the first aid kit on.

"Guys, I've never had so much fun in my entire life," remarked Dean.

"Yeah, me neither," agreed Sam.

"But it was one hell of a workout," remarked Alex, cringing as she rolled her shoulder.

Sam and Dean nodded.

"We should keep doing this," said Sam.

Dean chuckled, but then his face turned serious as he took in Sam's expression.

"I really mean it. There've gotta be other ghosts out there. We could help and save a whole lot of people," said Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but then we'd be like The Ghostfacers," she said.

"No, really. I mean, for real," said Sam.

"So, what, quit our jobs, hit the road?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded eagerly.

"Exactly!"

"Okay, but how would we live, Sam?" asked Alex, pulling her lip in between her teeth nervously.

"Um…" began Sam.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me. How would we get by, stolen credit cards, huh? Eating diner food drenched in saturated fats? Sharing a crap motel room every single night?" asked Dean.

"Those are all just details," said Sam.

"But details are everything, Sam! You don't wanna go fighting ghosts without any health insurance!" yelled Dean.

Sam looked away from him, his jaw clenched.

"Alright, um, I have a confession," said Sam.

"What?" asked Alex, placing her hand over his and giving him a warm smile.

Sam smiled back at her.

"Remember those dreams I've been having about the ghosts and stuff?"

"Yeah?" asked Dean.

"I was always fighting them. In every single dream."

"Um, okay," said Dean.

"With you, Dean. And Alex, too."

Dean looked a little bit surprised, while Alex didn't, considering she had already been having these dreams as well.

"We were like these hunters and we were friends. Actually, more like siblings, really. I mean, what if that's who we really are? I mean, you saw all three of us back there, working together. The ghost was scrambling people's brains, what if it scrambled all of ours too?" said Sam.

Dean stood up, walking away from Sam.

"Sam, that's just insane."

"Is it really though? Think about it for just one second, Dean. I mean, what if we think this is our life, but it's really not?" asked Sam.

Dean leaned against the windowsill in his office, away from Sam and Alex.

"Look, man, the ghost is dead now and we're still standing. I mean, I'm sorry, but-"

"Look, all I know is this isn't who any of us are supposed to be!" yelled Sam.

"No. I'm Dean Smith, okay? Director of Sales and Marketing. I went to Stanford, my father's name is Bob and my mother's name is Ellen and my brother's name is Joe."

"Okay, and when's the last time you talked to any of them?" asked Sam.

"Wow, okay. You're upset, you're confused-"

"Yeah, because I only moved here because I just broke up with my fiancée, Madison. But I called her number and I got a damn animal hospital!" yelled Sam.

"Okay, so what are you saying? Are you trying to say that my family isn't even real? Huh? That we've been injected with fake memories? Come on!" yelled Dean.

"All I know is that I've got this feeling in my gut and I know, I know that deep down, you've gotta be feeling it too," said Sam.

Dean scoffed, but Alex's eyes widened.

"We're supposed to be something else," she whispered.

"What?" asked Sam.

Both men looked over at her. She looked up from the floor, glancing in between both Sam and Dean.

"Look, Dean, you're not just some corporate douchebag, this isn't you. I know you," said Alex.

"Know me? You don't know me, sweetheart. Now, you should go. Both of you," said Dean.

Sam looked defeated while Alex nodded sadly. She walked over to Sam, grabbing his arm and tugging him away from Dean's desk gently.

"Come on, Sammy," she whispered.

Sam gave Dean one last, long stare before he left with Alex, slinging his arm over her shoulder as they disappeared from Dean's sight.

The next morning, Sam was sitting in his little cubicle, staring at his ringing phone. After a couple of seconds, he removed his headset from around his head, pushed away from his small desk, and slowly stood up. He grabbed his iron fireplace poker from underneath his desk and swung at his phone, smashing it. Everyone around him gasped in shock, flying out of their chairs as they tried to get away from him. Sam continued smashing his phone until it was completely broken, pieces all over the floor and his desk. Sam threw the fireplace poker down onto his desk and glanced around at his fellow coworkers, who were now staring at him, all of their eyes wide.

"I quit," said Sam.

Dean was typing away on his computer when his boss knocked on his door. Dean looked up and managed a semi-forced smile for his boss.

"Can I come in?" asked Mr. Adler.

"Oh, of course," said Dean.

He removed his headset as Mr. Adler shut Dean's office door.

"How are you feeling, Dean?"

"Um, great," answered Dean.

"You look a little tired. Been working hard, I take it?"

Dean glanced over at his computer.

"Yeah."

"Well, don't be modest. I hear everything. And I'm very pleased with what I'm hearing," said Mr. Adler.

He unbuttoned his jacket and sat down in one of the chairs in front of Dean's desk.

"That's why it's so important to me that you're happy."

Mr. Adler took a pen out from his jacket pocket and grabbed a sticky note from Dean's stack lying on his desk. He wrote something down and pushed it over towards Dean.

"How's that for a bonus?" he asked Dean.

Dean grabbed the piece of paper, his eyebrow raising as he stared at it.

"That's very generous," said Dean.

"It's purely selfish, I just want to make sure you're not going anywhere," explained Mr. Adler, a smirk on his face.

Dean looked over at him and then back down at the piece of paper.

"Wow. Are you sure?" asked Dean.

"Absolutely positive. You are definitely Sandover material, son. A real go-getter, carving your own way."

"Well, thanks, I certainly try."

"I see really big things in your future. Maybe even Senior V.P, Eastern Lakes Division. Now, don't get me wrong, you'll have to work for it. Seven days a week, lunch at your desk. But in eight to ten short years, that could definitely be you, son."

"Um, well, thank you. Thank you very much, sir. But I am giving my notice," said Dean, sliding the sticky note back over to Mr. Adler.

"This is a joke. You're kidding me, right?" asked Mr. Adler.

"No, I… I recently, very recently, realized that I have some other work I have to do. It's, um, very, very important to me."

"Other work, another company?"

"No, I… It's hard to explain. Um, but, it's just, this… It's not who I'm supposed to be."

Mr. Adler stared at him for a few seconds, but then he smirked and began chuckling at Dean.

"What?" asked Dean.

"Dean, Dean, Dean. Finally."

Mr. Adler stood up slightly and leaned over, touching Dean's forehead with two of his fingertips. The room lost all of its color and everything was now in black and white, literally.

"What the hell?"

Dean looked down at himself, touching his tie.

"Why the fuck am I wearing a tie? God, am I hungry," remarked Dean.

"Welcome back."

Dean stood up from his chair, looking at the man across from him.

"Wait, did I just get touched by a… Are you a… You're an angel, aren't you?" asked Dean.

"I'm Zachariah."

"Oh, great, that's all I need is another one of you all."

"I'm hardly another one, Dean, I'm Castiel's superior. And believe me, I had no interest in popping down here into another one of these smelly things. But after the unfortunate situation with Uriel, I felt it necessary to pay a visit. Get all of my ducks in a row."

"I am not one of your ducks," said Dean, stepping towards him.

"Starting with your attitude."

"Oh, so what? This was all some sort of a lesson, is that what you're telling me? Wow. Very creative. So what, I'm just hallucinating all of this?" asked Dean.

Zachariah shook his head.

"Not at all. This is a real place, real haunting. I just plunked you all in the middle without the benefit of your memories."

"Just to shake things up? Hmm? So you all can have fun watching us run around like ass clowns in monkey suits?"

"To prove to you that the path you're currently on is truly in your blood. You're a hunter, Dean. Not because your Dad made you, not because God called you back from Hell but because it is what you are. And you love it, you'll find your way back to it in the dark every single time because you're miserable without it. Dean, let's be real here, you're great at this. You'll be successful and you will stop it."

Dean looked up at his last statement.

"Stop what, exactly? The apocalypse that I started? Huh? Lucifer? What? Be specific, man!"

"You'll do everything you're destined to do, trust me on this one, Dean. All of it. I know, I know, you're not strong enough, right? You're scared, you've got daddy issues, and you can't do it, right?"

"Angel or not, I will stab you in your face."

Zachariah chuckled at this.

"Look, all I'm saying is it's how you look at it. Most folks live and die without moving anything but the dirt it takes to bury them, you get to change things here."

Dean shook his head, rolling his eyes at Zachariah.

"Save people. Maybe even save the world. All the while, you drive a classic car and fornicate with women. This isn't a curse. It's a gift. So for God's sake, Dean, quit whining about it. Look around you here. There are plenty of fates worse than yours. So, are you with me? You wanna go steam yourself another latte? Or are you ready to stand up? And be who you really are?" asked Zachariah.

Dean took in a sharp breath as he stared at the angel in front of him.

A few days later, Dean, Alex, and Sam walked into a comic book store. Alex cringed at all of the looks she received from the guys in the store. The three siblings walked up to the counter and the guy behind the counter looked at the three of them expectantly.

"Um, can I help you three?" he asked them.

"I sure hope so. We're agents with the FBI and we just need to ask you a few questions," explained Dean, flashing his badge in the man's face.

"Have you happened to notice anything strange in the building within the last couple of days?" asked Sam, tucking his own badge back into his jacket pocket.

"Like what?" asked the cashier.

"Well, some other tenants reported flickering lights," explained Dean.

"Um, I don't think so. Why?"

"What about noises? Any skittering in the walls, kind of like rats?" asked Alex.

"So the FBI is investigating a rodent problem now?"

"What about cold spots? Feel any sudden drops of temperature?" asked Sam, ignoring the man's snarky remark.

Suddenly, a grin spread across the man's face and he pointed at all of them.

"I knew it! You guys are LARPing, aren't you?"

"Um, excuse me?" asked Alex, looking seriously offended.

"You're fans!"

"Fans of what?"

"What is LARPing, exactly?" asked Dean.

"Like you don't know. Live action role-playing! And pretty hardcore, too," explained the man.

"Okay, we have no clue what you're talking about," said Alex.

"You're all asking questions like this building's haunted. Like those siblings from the books. What are they called, um… oh! _Supernatural. _Three siblings, use fake ID's with aliases and hunt down ghosts, demons, vampires. What are their names? Uh, Steve… Sal… Dane… Lexi…"

Alex looked at her brothers.

"Sam, Dean, and Alex?" she guessed.

The man pointed at her triumphantly.

"That's it, those are their names!"

"And you're saying this is a book?" asked Dean.

"Books. It was a series. We didn't sell a lot of copies though. Kind of had more of an underground cult following. I might still have some actually…"

The man stood up from his seat behind the cash register and headed for the bargain bin in the store. Sam, Alex, and Dean followed him as he grabbed a book from the bin and handed it over to Dean.

"Here you are. That's even the first one, I believe!"

"_Supernatural _by Carver Edlund. 'Along a lonely California highway, a mysterious Woman in White lures men to their deaths'," read Dean from the back of the book.

"Give me that," whispered Sam, grabbing it from Dean's hands.

He began flipping through the pages of the book and then he looked at the cashier.

"We're gonna need all the copies of _Supernatural_ that you've got," ordered Sam.

A few hours later, Dean was lying on his bed, a copy of one of the _Supernatural _books in his hands. It was the story of Route 666, the ghost truck that they had fought a while back.

"This is freaking insane," remarked Dean, his eyes never leaving the page as he spoke.

"How does this guy even know all of this stuff?" asked Alex, flipping through one of the books as well.

Sam sat at the kitchen table, his laptop open in front of him.

"You got me," said Sam.

"I mean, everything is in here. From the racist truck to me having sex. I'm full frontal in here, guys."

Alex and Sam both made faces of disgust at Dean's remark.

"How come we haven't heard of them before?" asked Dean.

He threw the book in his hands down and stood up from his bed.

"They're pretty obscure, actually. I mean, almost zero circulation. They started in '12, publisher ordered a couple dozen before going bankrupt. And, um, the last one, _No Rest for the Wicked_, ends with you going to Hell," said Sam.

He pushed the computer over to Dean, who was now sitting down at the table with Sam. Alex still sat on her bed, flipping through more of the books chronicling their lives.

"So I reiterate. Freaking insane," muttered Dean.

"Hey, check this out. There are actually fans of these books. Not that many of 'em, but still, did you read this?" asked Dean.

"Yep," said Sam, scratching the back of his neck and looking away.

"Although their fans sure do complain lot. Listen to this. This chick says, 'The demon storyline is overall craptastic.' Yeah, well, screw you, bitch, we lived it," said Dean.

Sam and Alex chuckled, Alex joining them at the table now, sitting across from Sam.

"Yeah, well, keep on reading," said Sam.

Dean scrolled farther down the page, smirking.

"There are Sam girls and Dean girls. Hey, Lex, there are even a couple Alex dudes," said Dean.

Alex's face brightened as Sam shook his head, a smile on his face.

"But what's a slash fan?" asked Dean, looking confused now.

"As in… Sam/Dean. Together," answered Sam.

Alex's face fell and she tried not to gag. Dean looked over at his brother.

"Like… together together?"

Sam nodded and Dean's eyes widened.

"But they do know we're brothers, right?"

"Doesn't seem to matter."

"Aww, come on, that… That's just sick," said Dean.

He closed out of his tab and slammed the laptop closed.

"We've gotta find this Carver Edlund," said Alex, standing up from the table.

"Yeah, well, that might not be so easy," muttered Sam, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Why not?" asked Dean.

"No tax records, no known address. Looks like Carver Edlund is a pen name."

"Well, someone's gotta know who he is," said Dean.

Alex nodded.

"The publisher."

"So, you published the _Supernatural_ books?" asked Sam, looking at the publisher.

She was a young woman, probably about Alex's age. She had a blonde streak in her hair. She nodded to answer Sam's question.

"Yeah, yeah. These books, you know, they never really got all of the attention they deserved. Everyone wants to read all of that romance crap. Please," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Right. Well, we're hoping that our article can shine a light on your very underappreciated series," explained Alex.

The woman nodded profusely.

"Yes, yes. Because if we got just a little bit of good press then maybe we could start publishing again!"

"No, no, no, no, God, no. I mean, why would you wanna do that, you know? It's, um, such a complete series now. What with… Dean going to Hell and all," explained Dean, smiling warmly at the publisher.

"Oh, my God, that was one of my favorite ones because Dean was so strong and sad and brave. And Sam and Alex. I mean, the best parts are when they all cry."

The three siblings looked lost and confused, but the woman just continued on.

"You know, like in _Heart_. When Sam had to kill Madison, the first woman since Jessica that he really loved."

Dean and Alex looked over at Sam, who rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw.

"And in _Home_ when Dean had to call John and ask him for help. Gosh," whispered the woman.

She turned away from them, her eyes wet with unshed tears.

"If only real men were so open and in touch with their feelings," she remarked.

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Real men?" he asked.

The woman whirled around.

"I mean, no offense, but how often do you cry like that? Hmm?"

Dean looked down at the floor while Alex let a laugh escape from her throat. The publisher looked at her strangely and Alex waved her off, turning around to control herself.

"Well right now, I'm crying on the inside," said Dean.

"Was that supposed to be funny?" she asked, looking offended.

"Lady, this whole thing is funny."

"So, how do I know you three are legit, hmm?"

She walked around and sat at her desk. The three siblings sat in the chairs in front of her desk.

"Oh, trust me. We're legit," assured Dean.

"Well, I don't want any smart ass article making fun of my favorite family."

"Oh, no. No, no, no, never," said Alex.

"We are, um, actually really big fans," lied Sam.

"Oh. You've read the books, have you?"

"Just a couple of times," said Dean, smirking at the woman.

"Cover to cover," said Alex, smiling brightly.

Sam nodded in agreement with them.

"What's the year and model of the car?"

"It's a 1967 Chevy Impala," answered Dean.

"What's May 2nd?"

"That's our… um, Sam and Alex's birthday," answered Alex.

"January 24th is Dean's," said Dean.

"Sam's score on the LSAT?"

Dean looked over at Sam, his eyebrows raised.

"1...7…4," guessed Sam.

"Dean's favorite song."

Dean smirked over at her.

"It's a tie. Between Zepp's "Ramblin' On" and "Travelin' Riverside Blues."

The woman smirked, letting out a little giggle.

"Okay. Okay. What do you three want to know?" she asked them.

"What's Carver Edlund's real name?" asked Sam.

The woman blanched.

"Oh, no. No, sorry. I can't tell you that."

"But we just want to talk to him. You know, get the _Supernatural_ story in his own words," said Alex.

"He's very private. Like Salinger."

"Please," said Sam.

"Like I said, we are, um, big, big fans," said Alex.

She nudged Sam, who rolled his eyes. He unbuttoned his jacket and pulled down his shirt just a little bit so that he could see the tattoo over his heart.

The woman looked expectantly over at Alex and Dean. They both sighed, but showed her their charm tattoos as well.

"Awesome," she whispered.

She grabbed a small piece of paper and a marker and wrote an address down.

"His name's Chuck Shirley and he's a genius, so don't piss him off," she warned.

She handed the small piece of paper over to Dean, who took it from her with a smile plastered on his face.

Dean, Alex, and Sam approached the run-down house, looking around to check out the neighborhood. They jogged up the front porch steps and crowded around the front door. They looked at each other and Sam nodded. Dean reached out, pushing the doorbell. After two minutes, the front door opened. A short, very skinny man stood in the doorway. He had on boxers, a gray wife-beater, and a robe. He looked at them, squinting from all of the sunlight pouring into his home.

"Are you Chuck Shirley?" asked Dean, wasting no time.

"The Chuck Shirley who wrote the _Supernatural _books?" asked Sam.

"Maybe," answered the man.

"Well, I'm Alex. This is my twin brother, Sam, and my older brother, Dean. The same Alex, Sam, and Dean that you've been writing about," she said.

The man nodded his head and then slammed the door closed. Dean reached out and rang the doorbell once again. Sam cleared his throat just as the front door opened again.

"Look, um, I appreciate your enthusiasm. Really, I do. It's always nice to hear from the fans. But for your own good, I strongly suggest that you three all get a life."

He began to slam the door again, but Dean reached out, pushing it open. Chuck looked over at him.

"You see, here's the thing. We have a life. And you've been using it to write all of your books."

Dean shoved his way inside, causing Chuck to stumble backwards. Sam and Alex followed their brother inside the small house, Sam slamming the door closed behind him.

"Now, wait a minute, this isn't funny!" yelled Chuck.

"Damn straight it's not funny," said Dean.

"Look, we really just want to know how you're doing it," said Sam.

"I'm not doing anything."

"Are you a hunter?" asked Alex.

"What? No. I'm a writer."

"Then how do you know so much about demons? And changelings?" asked Dean, stepping towards the smaller man threateningly.

"What do you want?" yelled Chuck, cowering away from all of them.

Alex rolled her eyes, pushing past her brothers to stand in front of Chuck now.

"Look, I'm Alex. And these are my brothers, Sam and Dean."

"Alex, Sam, and Dean are fictional characters. I made them up! They're not real!"

Dean pulled open the trunk of his Impala and removed the fake bottom to reveal their weapons arsenal. Chuck's eyebrows rose.

"Are those real guns?" asked Chuck, looking over at Dean.

"Yup. This is real rock salt, these are real fake ID's," said Dean.

Chuck smirked.

"Well, I've gotta hand it to you all. You really are my number one fans. That's awesome. I think I've got some posters in the house…"

Chuck began walking back towards his house, but Dean slammed the trunk closed and caught up to him.

"Chuck, stop!"

"Please, don't hurt me. Please."

"How much do you know? Do you know about the angels? Or Lilith breaking seals?" asked Sam.

Chuck looked confused.

"Wait a minute, how do you all know about that stuff?"

"The question is, how do you?" asked Alex.

"Because I wrote it."

"So you kept writing?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, even after the publisher went bankrupt, but those books never even came out," explained Chuck.

Sam, Alex, and Dean looked at him expectantly. Chuck smirked, laughing.

"Okay, this is some kind of joke, right? Did Phil put you three up to this?"

Dean sighed.

"Well, nice to meet you. I'm Dean Winchester and these are my siblings, Sam and Alex."

Chuck paused, looking between the three of them.

"Last names were never in the book. I never told anyone about that, I never even wrote that down."

Alex shrugged, her eyebrows raised expectantly.

Back inside Chuck's house, Dean, Alex, and Sam stood around Chuck's desk while Chuck took a long drink from his beer bottle.

"Oh, you three are still here. That wasn't a hallucination," said Chuck, rubbing his eyes.

"Nope," said Dean.

Chuck sighed.

"Well, there's only one explanation. Obviously I'm a god."

Alex rolled her eyes at Chuck's logic.

"You're not a god," said Sam.

"Well, how else do you explain this? I write things and then they come to life? Yeah, no, I'm definitely a god," said Chuck, looking down at the scattered papers on his desk.

"The things I put you through. The physical beatings alone. I killed your father. I burned your mother alive."

"Chuck," said Sam, trying to grab the guy's attention.

"All for what? God, I toyed with all of your lives. Your emotions for... entertainment."

"You didn't toy with us, Chuck, okay? You didn't create us," explained Alex.

Chuck turned back around to face all three of them, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyebrows raised questioningly.

"Did you really have to live through all of those bugs?"

Sam sighed deeply.

"Yes."

"What about the ghost ship?"

"Yeah, that too," said Alex.

"I am so sorry. I mean, horror is one thing, but to be forced to live bad writing… if I would've known it was real, I would've done another pass."

"Chuck, you're not a god!" yelled Dean.

"We think you're probably just psychic," explained Sam.

Chuck shook his head, sitting down at his desk now.

"Nah. If I were a psychic, you think I'd be writing? Writing is hard."

"It seems that somehow you're just focused on our lives," said Alex.

"Chuck, are you working on anything right now?" asked Dean.

Chuck looked at his computer screen and then looked back up at them.

"Holy shit."

"What?" asked Dean, looking a little worried now.

Chuck picked up the pieces of paper that were lying under his glasses.

"The, um, latest book… It's, um, kind of weird," explained Chuck.

"Weird how?" asked Alex, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth worriedly.

"It's very… Vonnegut."

"_Slaughterhouse Five _Vonnegut or _Cat's Cradle _Vonnegut?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex looked at him like he was crazy.

"What?" asked Alex.

Dean looked over at his siblings.

"What?"

Sam and Alex shook their heads and Dean looked back over towards Chuck.

"It's, uh, Kilgore TroutVonnegut. I wrote myself into it. I wrote myself at my house, confronted by my characters."

At the Laundromat later that day, Sam was pulling clothes out of a duffel bag while Dean and Alex sat on the table next to Sam.

"I'm sitting in a Laundromat reading about myself sitting in a Laundromat reading about myself. My head hurts," whined Dean.

"There's gotta be something this guy's not telling us," said Sam.

He shoved a pile of jeans and shirts into the nearest washer.

"'Sam tossed his gigantic pile of darks into the machine. He was starting to have doubts about Chuck, about whether he was telling the whole truth,'" read Dean.

He gave Sam a look while Alex smirked.

"Stop it," said Sam.

"'Stop it, Sam said.'"

"Guess what you do next?" asked Alex, reading over Dean's shoulder.

Sam said nothing and turned away from his siblings.

"'Sam turned his back on Alex and Dean, his face brooding and pensive.'"

"I mean, I have no clue how he's doing it, but this guy is doing it. We can't see your face, but those are definitely your brooding and pensive shoulders," remarked Alex.

Dean smirked and gave her a fist bump.

"Nice."

Sam sighed deeply. Dean looked down at the paper.

"You just thought we were acting like dicks," said Dean.

Sam turned to face them then.

"That guy's good," said Sam.

Alex and Dean frowned and Sam chuckled at their faces.

The next morning, the Winchesters were back at Chuck's house. This time though, they were sitting in his living room while Chuck paced in front of them.

"So, you wrote another chapter?" asked Sam, raising his eyebrows.

Chuck stopped pacing and stood in the middle of his living room, right in front of his coffee table.

"This was all so much easier before you three were real," said Chuck.

"We can all take it, just spit it out," said Dean.

Chuck looked down at his paper and then back up at Dean.

"You especially aren't going to like this, Dean. And Alex, you'll probably be upset too," warned Chuck.

Sam looked worried now as Alex pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth. Dean's face was stony.

"I didn't like Hell," remarked Dean.

Chuck nodded and looked back down at the papers in his hands again.

"It's Lilith. She's coming for Sam."

"Coming to kill him?" asked Dean.

"When?" asked Sam, moving closer to Chuck.

"Tonight."

"So she's just gonna show up, here?" asked Alex.

Chuck put his glasses on and flipped through the pages in his hands until he found the right one.

"'Lilith patted the bed seductively. Unable to deny his desire, Sam succumbed and they sank into the throes of fiery, demonic passion,'" read Chuck.

Sam started laughing while Alex and Dean looked over at him.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"You think this is funny," stated Dean.

"And you don't? I mean, come on. Fiery, demonic passion?"

"Well, it's just a first draft," argued Chuck, shrugging his shoulders.

"Wait, wait, wait. Lilith is a little girl," said Alex, her eyebrow pulling together with confusion.

"No, this time, she's a comely dental hygienist from Bloomington, Indiana," said Chuck, looking down at the papers in his hands.

"Great. Perfect. So what happens after the fiery, demonic whatever?" asked Dean.

Chuck shrugged.

"I don't honestly know. It hasn't come to me yet."

"Dean, look, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. Lilith and me? In bed?"

Dean looked at Sam and then turned back to Chuck.

"How does this whole psychic thing of yours work?"

"You mean my process? Well, it usually starts with a headache, so I drink until I fall asleep. The first time it happened, I thought it was just some crazy dream," explained Chuck.

"The first time you dreamt about us?" asked Alex.

"It flowed. It just kept flowing. It still does, I can't stop it really."

"You two can't seriously believe-" began Sam.

"Humor us," said Dean, interrupting him.

"Look, why don't we just take a look at these and see what's what?" asked Alex.

Chuck was already holding the papers out to her when she turned to him. She looked at him expectantly.

"Already knew you were gonna ask me for those," whispered Chuck.

"Right," said Alex, taking the pages from him.

In the Impala, Dean was driving while Sam flipped through the pages Chuck had just written about them, Alex looking over his shoulder as he read.

"Guys, come on. All of this is totally implausible, it's nuts," said Sam.

"Sam, the dude's been right about everything so far. You think he's just gonna ground out at first now?" asked Dean.

Sam rolled his eyes and looked back at the papers.

"Well, he might be wrong about the details, but that doesn't mean he's wrong about the end result," said Alex.

"So we're just gonna run away?" asked Sam.

"Sam, we are a long way from ready for a face-to-face death match with Lilith," said Dean.

Sam shook his head and looked out the front windshield. His eyebrows pulled together in confusion when he saw two police cars blocking the way out of town. Dean slowed to a stop and rolled down his window as one police officer walked up to the car.

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Dean.

The police officer bent down to be eye level with Dean, smiling warmly at all of them.

"The bridge is out up ahead," he explained.

"Well, we're just trying to get out of town," said Dean.

"Yeah, I'm afraid not."

"Is there a detour somewhere nearby?"

"Nope. To get to the highway, you have to cross that river. To cross the river, you have to take that bridge."

"How deep's the river?"

"I'm sorry, son. I'm afraid you kids will have to spend the night in town."

Dean looked at his siblings and shrugged. He gave the police officer a wave before rolling up his window and throwing his car into reverse.

Alex sat between her two brothers at the diner in town. Sam was glancing at the menu while Dean was poring over the pages Chuck had just given them a few hours before. Alex picked at her fingernails, sighing.

"Hey, this could actually be a really good thing. I mean, if this is what puts us on the path to Lilith, then all we've gotta do is get off the path," said Dean.

"Dean, what are you talking about?" asked Alex, looking over at him.

"This is a blueprint of what not to do. I mean, if the pages say that we go left, then…"

"We turn right instead," finished Sam.

"Exactly! We get off book, we never make it to the end. It's opposite day. It says that we get into a fight, so no fighting. No research for you," said Dean, pointing over at Sam.

"Then no bacon cheeseburger for you, Dean," said Alex.

Dean looked at her, his lips in a pout. Alex chuckled.

"Sorry, bro. You're too predictable."

Sam and Alex smirked while Dean looked back down at the pages he had in front of him.

"Yeah, no problem. I'll just order something else."

The waitress walked up to them then, smiling warmly at them.

"Hello," she said.

"Hi. What's good here?" asked Dean, grabbing a menu from off of the table and skimming over it.

"Well, if you like burgers, Oprah's girlfriend said we have the best bacon cheeseburgers in the country."

Sam and Alex chuckled while Dean groaned quietly to himself.

"I'll just have the Cobb salad, please," requested Sam.

"I'll have the veggie tofu burger," ordered Dean.

"And for you, sweetheart?" asked the waitress, smiling over at Alex.

"I'll just have an order of French fries, please."

The waitress nodded and removed all of their menus from the tabletop.

"This whole thing's just ridiculous," said Sam, shaking his head.

"Lilith's ridiculous?" asked Dean.

"The idea of me hooking up with her is."

Dean chuckled darkly.

"Right. 'Cause something like that would never happen."

Alex cleared her throat nervously and looked down at the tabletop. Sam shook his head.

"Dean, for the first time, we have warning that Lilith is close."

"So?"

"So, we've got the jump on her. If we know when she's coming, we know where… This is an opportunity," explained Sam.

"Are you…"

Dean held himself back from yelling, realizing they couldn't fight.

"It, um, frustrates me when you say such reckless things, Sam."

"Well, it frustrates me when you'd rather hide than fight," shot back Sam.

Alex looked between her two brothers, biting her lip nervously. The waitress reappeared with their food, setting it down in front of them.

"Thank you," said Alex, watching her walk away from their table.

"It's not hiding, it's being smart. It's picking your battles and this is a battle that we're not ready for at all," said Dean.

He picked up his veggie tofu burger and took a large bite.

"Oh, my God. This is delicious! Tofu is amazing!" exclaimed Dean.

As he got ready to take another bite, their waitress approached their table, looking severely apologetic.

"I'm so sorry. I gave you the bacon cheeseburger by mistake," she explained.

She grabbed Dean's burger and his plate and took it back to the kitchen. Alex's eyes widened and Dean looked depressed.

Dean unzipped his duffel bag as it rested on his bed. Alex looked around their motel room, her face one of disgust.

"This place is horrible. And it charges by the freaking hour," whined Alex.

"Yeah, well, Lilith finds Sammy at the Red Motel. Hence, the hooker inn," said Dean.

Alex nodded sadly and watched as Dean began placing hex bags around their room.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Sam, looking confused now.

"A couple of hex bags ought to Lilith-proof the room," explained Dean, placing one behind the fridge.

"So, what, I'm supposed to just hole up here all night?" asked Sam.

"That's exactly what you're gonna do, alright? And no researching. Hell, I don't care what you do all night," said Dean.

He nodded to Alex, who sighed, but walked over to Sam's bag and took out his computer, holding it in her arms.

"Come on, guys," pouted Sam.

"Just call it a little insurance," said Dean.

Sam sighed, but let it go.

"What are you guys gonna do?" he asked them.

"Well, the pages say we spend all day riding around in the Impala. So, I'm gonna go park her," said Dean.

He followed Alex to the door.

"Behave yourself, Sammy. No homework, alright? Watch some porn," said Dean.

Alex smacked his arm, but Dean smirked as he followed her out of the motel room. Sam looked depressed as he stood in the middle of the motel room, his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets.

Dean parked the Impala and he and Alex headed across the street. As they were walking, Dean looked back and saw two punk kids trying to break into his car.

"Hey!" he called out, startling the kids.

As Dean ran out into the street, Alex screamed as a minivan came from out of nowhere, running into Dean. The van blared on its horn, but it was way too late. Dean had already been hit and he was lying in the middle of the street, unconscious as Alex rushed over to him.

A knock sounded on the motel room door. Sam opened it slowly to reveal Chuck, his hands in his pockets as he stood in front of Sam. Chuck looked up at him, a little nervously.

"You wanted to see me?" asked Chuck.

Sam nodded, stepping aside to let Chuck inside the motel room.

"Thanks for coming," said Sam.

"Yeah, sure thing," whispered Chuck.

He stood in the middle of the motel room and Sam stood across the room, facing him. Sam crossed his arms over his chest.

"Um, I was wondering how much you actually know. About me."

"What do you mean?" asked Chuck.

Sam sighed.

"Have you seen visions of me… when I'm not with Alex and Dean?"

Chuck took in a sharp breath, looking down at the floor.

"Oh. You want to know if I know about the demon blood."

Sam looked away, a little ashamed.

"You didn't tell my siblings?"

"I didn't even write it into any of my books. I was afraid it would make you look unsympathetic."

"Unsympathetic?"

"Yeah, come on, Sam. I mean, sucking blood? You've gotta know that's wrong," said Chuck.

Sam shook his head and sighed, sitting down at the small kitchen table in the motel room. Chuck sat across from him.

"It scares the hell out of me. I mean, I feel it inside of me. And I wish to God I could stop."

"But you keep going back, Sam."

"What choice have I got? If it helps me kill Lilith and stop the apocalypse…"

"I thought that was Dean's job. Isn't that what the angels say?"

Sam shook his head.

"Dean's not… He's not Dean lately. Ever since he got out of Hell. He needs some serious help."

"So that means you've gotta carry all the weight? You do realize Alex is still around, don't you?"

"Dean's looked out for me my whole life. And I've looked out for Alex, it's my job. It's my turn to return the favor now."

"Is that what this is, Sam? Returning the favor?"

"Well, what else would it be?"

Chuck shook his head.

"I don't know, you tell me. Maybe the demon blood makes you feel stronger? More in control."

"No. That's not at all true."

"I'm sorry, Sam. I know it's a terrible burden, feeling that it all rests on your shoulders. Unfortunately, that seems to be where this story is headed. But let Alex in, let her help you. She may surprise you," explained Chuck.

Sam let out a deep sigh, but nodded. He looked into Chuck's face.

"Am I strong enough to stop Lilith tonight?" he asked Chuck.

"I don't know, Sam. I haven't actually seen that far in advance yet," answered Chuck.

Alex let out a deep sigh of relief when she saw Dean's eyes begin to flutter open. His eyes opened slowly and she closed her eyes, sending up a silent prayer.

"Alright, take it easy, bro," whispered Alex.

Dean nodded very slowly and began to sit up, wincing as he did so. Alex helped him sit up, a small crowd of people surrounding them.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't even see you," said one woman.

Dean glanced over at her and saw that she had a blonde bob haircut and was wearing dangling star earrings. He saw the van behind him and he winced once again.

"Sorry about the pink Band-Aids. My doctor's going through a bit of a doctoring phase," explained the woman.

"What are you talking about?" asked Dean.

Alex nudged him and pointed to his forehead. Dean reached up and felt two Band-Aids on his forehead. The little girl next to Alex smiled up at him, her brown hair falling down to the middle of her back.

"You're all better now," she assured Dean.

Dean nodded slowly and looked over at his car. The back rear window had been smashed in, glass all over the backseat.

"Oh no," whispered Dean.

Alex bit her lip as she also looked over at the Impala. Dean swiftly began walking over to his car, the small crowd dispersing as he walked away. Dean looked angry as he saw his back windshield. He saw his reflection in one of the windows and he finally saw the pink Band-Aids that were placed on his forehead. He peeled one off and cursed.

"Alex, get in the car. We're going back to see Chuck," said Dean.

"A please would've been nice," muttered Alex.

She obliged Dean's request and strapped herself into the passenger seat.

Dean was sitting in an armchair while Alex was perched on the couch, flipping through more pages of Chuck's writing when Chuck finally walked into his own living room. He held a six-pack of beer in his arms and a bag of takeout in his other hand.

"Dean. Alex," said Chuck, not surprised at all to see the two of them.

"I take it you knew we'd be here," said Dean.

"You look terrible, Dean."

"That's because I just got hit by a mini-van, Chuck."

"Oh," whispered Chuck, looking down at his floor.

Dean leaned forward in his chair.

"Is that all you have to say?" yelled Dean.

"Please don't yell at me," said Chuck.

Dean stood up from his chair while Chuck placed the six-pack of beer on his coffee table. Alex stood up quickly and placed a hand on Dean's chest, stopping him from charging at Chuck. Alex whirled around to face Chuck, who smiled at her warmly. Alex smiled back at him gently.

"Dean here has the feeling that there's something you're not telling us," explained Alex.

"What wouldn't I be telling you?" asked Chuck.

"How you know what you know, for starters!" yelled Dean.

Alex turned around and gave him a threatening look. Dean glared back at her, but she turned back around to face Chuck once again.

"Look, I don't know how I know these things about you, I just do."

"That's just not good enough," said Dean.

He barreled past Alex and grabbed Chuck by the lapels of his jacket. He shoved Chuck back into the nearest wall, Chuck wincing.

"How the hell are you doing this?" yelled Dean.

"Dean, you let him go!" yelled Alex.

Suddenly, she felt a presence beside her. She looked over and Castiel was standing next to her, staring at Dean's back.

"Dean, let him go," ordered Castiel.

Dean quickly let go of Chuck and whirled around to face Castiel.

"This man is to be protected."

"Why?" asked Dean.

"He's a prophet of the Lord."

"You… You're Castiel," whispered Chuck, a tone of reverence and awe in his voice.

Dean, Alex, and Castiel looked at Chuck then.

"It's an honor to meet you, Chuck. I admire your work," said Castiel, grabbing one of the books from off of an end table.

"This guy's a fucking prophet of the Lord?" asked Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Alex rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. He turned to face her.

"You can't say fuck when you say the Lord's name! Jesus!"

Dean ignored her and turned back to face Castiel, who was looking between the two of them, amused.

"Did you know about this?" yelled Dean, looking over at Chuck.

"I, um, might've dreamt about it once."

"And you didn't say anything?" asked Alex.

"It was way too preposterous," explained Chuck.

He took a drink from a beer and Alex sighed.

"This is the guy who decides our fate?" asked Dean, leaning in towards Castiel, who nodded.

"He isn't deciding anything, he's simply just a mouthpiece. A conduit for the inspired Word."

"The Word?" asked Alex.

"The Word of God? What is this, the New New Testament?" asked Dean.

"One day, these books will be known as the Winchester Gospel," said Castiel.

Alex snorted while Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, Cas. You've gotta be kidding me."

"I am not kidding you."

Suddenly, Chuck stood up, brushing past all of them to run upstairs.

"Him? Are you kidding me?" whispered Alex, glancing back at the stairs that Chuck had just disappeared up.

"You two should've seen Luke."

Dean scoffed and Alex sat back down on Chuck's couch, running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"Why'd he get tapped anyway?" asked Dean.

"I don't know how prophets are chosen. The order comes high up from the chain of command list."

"How high?" asked Alex, biting her lip again.

"Very high."

"Well, whatever. Now, how do we work our way around this?" asked Dean.

"How do we stop the Sam and Lilith love connection from happening?" asked Alex.

Castiel looked up at the ceiling and then down at the floor.

"What the prophet has written can't be unwritten. As he has seen it, so it shall come to pass," explained Castiel.

Alex turned away from her brother and Castiel, cursing under her breath. She walked into Chuck's kitchen and saw a bunch of empty beer bottles on the table. She screamed in frustration and flung them all to the ground. Castiel didn't look surprised as Dean rushed into the kitchen. He wrapped Alex up into his arms from behind, trapping her with his body. She shoved against him, but he ever eased up.

"Why is this happening, Dean? Why Sammy, why us?" cried Alex.

She turned around to face him, tears streaming down her face. Dean sighed, pulling her into his embrace. He closed his eyes as he kissed the top of her head gently.

"I don't know, Alex. I don't know."

Dean parked the Impala swiftly, shutting it off and climbing out in one smooth motion. As he headed for their motel room, Alex grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Dean, look," she whispered, pointing up to the sign.

Dean looked up and saw that half of the bulbs in the sign were now burnt out and all it said was "Red Motel." Dean cursed under his breath and marched over to their room, Alex scrambling to keep up. Dean threw open the door and walked up to Sam.

"Let's go," he ordered.

"What? Where?" asked Sam.

"Anywhere, alright? We're getting out of this motel room, out of this town. I don't care how, but all three of us are getting out of here," said Dean.

Dean began gathering up his things while Alex looked around, sensing that something was off. She glanced at the nightstand and saw that the hex bag Dean had set there earlier in the day was now missing. She looked over at Sam in the middle of the room. He had his hands on his hips and was staring straight at her.

"Sammy. Where are the hex bags?" she asked him, afraid to know the answer.

Dean stopped what he was doing and watched Sam as he answered Alex.

"I burned them."

"You did what?" asked Dean.

"Look, if Lilith is coming, which is a big if-"

"No, no, no, it's more than an if. Chuck isn't a psychic like we originally thought. No, he's a freaking prophet of the Lord. Castiel showed up and apparently, Chuck is writing the Gospel of us," explained Dean.

Sam looked very confused.

"Um, okay?"

"Okay, let's get the hell out of here," said Alex, heading for the door.

Sam sighed, closing his eyes briefly.

"No."

Alex stopped and turned around to face him, as did Dean.

"Lilith is going to slaughter you," said Dean, beginning to get even angrier now.

"Maybe she will or maybe she won't."

"So what, you think you can suddenly take her?" asked Dean.

"Well, there's only one way to find out, Dean, and I say bring her on."

"Sam!"

"You think I'll do it, don't you? You think I'll go dark side."

"Yes, okay? Yes. The way you've been acting lately, the things you've been doing."

Sam's face looked worried and Alex's face paled visibly as she began furiously biting on her lip until she began tasting blood.

"Oh, I know. I know how you ripped Alistair apart just like it was nothing to you. Castiel told me, alright?"

"What else did he tell you?"

"Nothing I don't already know. That you've been using your psychic crap and you've been getting stronger. We just don't know why or how," explained Dean.

"Look, it's not what you think," whispered Sam.

"Then what is it, Sam? 'Cause I'm at a total loss," yelled Dean.

Sam said nothing, but just stared at his older brother. Dean smirked nastily and marched back over to pack more of his stuff in his duffel bag resting on one of the two beds. Once he was finished, he stormed over to the door, stopping right before he reached Alex's form. He turned around to look at his brother.

"Are you coming or not, Sam?"

Sam faced both of them, letting out a deep breath.

"No."

Dean threw down his duffel bag on one of the kitchen chairs and brushed past Alex, opening the door. He stepped outside first and Alex followed him out after she glanced at Sam sadly.

Alex didn't move a muscle as she heard Castiel land on the step beside here. He sat down beside her, Dean on his other side.

"Does this mean you're here to help us?" asked Dean, glancing over at Castiel.

"I'm not really sure what I can do to help," answered Castiel.

"Drag Sam out of here, now, before Lilith shows up," said Alex.

"It's a prophecy. I can't interfere."

"You have tested me and thrown me every which way. And I have never asked for anything in return. Not a damn thing. I need your help, Castiel. Please," pleaded Dean.

Castiel looked up at the sky briefly before facing Dean.

"What you two are asking is not within my power to do."

"Why? 'Cause it's a Divine Prophecy?" asked Dean.

"Yes!"

"So, what, we're just supposed to sit around and wait for it to happen?" asked Alex.

Castiel looked at her and then looked back at Dean.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Dean's face hardened.

"Fuck you. You and your mission. Your God. If you don't help me now, then when the time comes and you need me, you need us, don't bother knocking," said Dean.

He nodded to Alex and they both stood up, brushing past Castiel and walking away from him.

"Dean. Dean!"

Both Dean and Alex turned around to face him again.

"What?" yelled Dean.

"You must understand why I can't intercede. Prophets are protected. If anything threatens a prophet, anything at all, an archangel will appear to destroy that threat. Archangels are fierce. They're absolute. They're Heaven's most terrifying weapon."

"And these archangels, they're tied to prophets?" asked Dean.

"Yes."

"So if a prophet was in the same room as a demon…" began Alex.

"Then Heaven's fiercest weapon would rain down on that demon," finished Castiel.

Dean and Alex looked deep in thought while Castiel nodded.

"Just so you two are clear and understand. Why I can't help you."

Alex smirked and Castiel gave her a meaningful look, actually winking at her as well. Her smirk grew wider across her face.

"Thanks, Cas," said Dean.

Castiel nodded.

"Good luck, you two."

Dean pushed open the door to Chuck's house and walked into the living room to see Chuck nursing a glass of scotch, wrapped up in a blanket. He looked over at Dean, actually surprised to see him there.

"What are you doing here?" asked Chuck.

"Come on. I need you to come with me," explained Dean.

He pulled Chuck to his feet and they headed for the front door.

"What, where?"

"To the motel where Sam is."

"That's where Lilith is though."

"Yeah, exactly, I need you to stop her."

"Are you insane? Lilith? I know perfectly well what she's capable of, Dean. I wrote her."

"Alright, listen to me. You have an archangel tethered to you, okay? All you've gotta do is show up and boom! Lilith gets smoked."

"But I haven't even seen that yet…."

"Chuck, you're the only shot that Alex and I've got left. Please," begged Dean.

Chuck looked at Dean's face and nodded slowly. Dean grabbed him by the elbow and led him towards the front door to the Impala where Alex was waiting for them.

A knock sounded on the motel room door. Sam took in a deep breath and stood up, walking over to answer it. He reached it, pulling open the door. No was there and all he saw were the trees blowing in the night breeze. He sighed and shut the door, turning around. Once he was turned around, he saw Lilith standing in front of him. She smirked over at him.

"Hello, Sam."

"I've been waiting for you," replied Sam.

Lilith's smirk remained on her face as her eyes rolled back into her head, revealing her pure white irises. After a few seconds, they returned back to a normal color.

"Where's the knife, Sam?"

"On the nightstand. By the bed."

Lilith began walking towards the bed. She stopped as she reached the ugly pink carpet and bent down, picking up one corner to reveal a Devil's Trap drawn on the hardwood floor beneath it. She touched a finger to it and it evaporated instantly. She put the carpet back down and faced Sam once again, her smirk now gone.

"You're going to have to try a lot harder than that," she remarked.

"How 'bout this?" asked Sam.

He held out his palm towards Lilith, trying to exorcize her. Lilith just stood there, her face emotionless as Sam's powers failed to work on her. Sam lowered his hand, his eyes wide.

"You're strong. But you're not that strong. Not yet, at least."

"So why don't you throw me around then?"

"Because I can't and you know it. You're immune to my charms. It seems as if we're at a stalemate."

"Why are you here?" asked Sam.

"Just to talk."

"Yeah, well. I'm not interested."

"Mmm, even if I'm offering to stand down? From the seals. The apocalypse. All of it."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Honestly? No. You were always the smart one. But it's the truth. You can end this, Sam. Right here, right now. I'll stop breaking seals, Lucifer keeps rotting in his cage. And all you have to do is agree to my terms."

"And why would you back down? Why now, huh?"

Lilith turned her back on him, walking towards one of the beds.

"Turns out I don't survive this war. Killed off. Right before the good part starts," said Lilith, facing him once again.

Sam sneered over at her.

"What do you want?"

Lilith shrugged.

"For it to go back to the way it was. Before I had to deal with angels all day, every day. Back to the good old days. When it was all baby blood all the time."

Sam nodded.

"And what do you want in return?"

Lilith smirked, cocking her head to one side,

"Your head on a stick, of course. Dean and Alex's too. Call it a… consolation prize. So what do you say, Sam? Self-sacrifice is the Winchester way, isn't it?"

"And you really think I'm stupid enough to fall for all of this, any of this?" asked Sam, glaring daggers at her now.

"I make a deal, I have to follow through. Those are the rules and you know it," stated Lilith, beginning to get angry with Sam.

Sam glared down at her still.

"Are you really so arrogant that you would put your life before the lives of six billion innocent people? Maybe it's all of that demon blood pumping through your system. A man after my own heart."

"So you think I'm just like you, huh? I am nothing like you!" yelled Sam.

Lilith didn't even flinch.

"Then prove it. Going once…"

Lilith turned her back on him and began walking away.

"Going twice…"

"Fine!" yelled Sam.

Lilith turned back around to face him, smirking.

"Swell. By the way, a contract with me will take more than a kiss. A lot more," said Lilith.

She sat down on one of the beds and patted the spot next to her.

"But don't worry. The dental hygienist in here… She wants it bad."

Sam slowly walked over to the bed that Lilith was sitting on. Once Sam was close enough, Lilith ran a hand up his thigh, Sam clenching his fists at his sides. Her eyes were pure white once again, but they turned back to a normal color as she pulled Sam down to the bed. Lilith smirked up at Sam above her, but Sam quickly reached out and grabbed the knife off of the nightstand. Lilith was too quick and grabbed his arm before he could stab her with it. As she rolled them over and climbed atop him, the door was kicked in. Dean shoved Chuck into the room first, and then he and Alex followed Chuck inside. Chuck's eyes widened as he took in the sight of Lilith in front of him.

"I am the prophet, Chuck!" he yelled.

Alex rolled her eyes while Lilith just looked confused. She rolled off of Sam and headed towards the three of them.

"You have got to be joking," said Lilith.

As soon as she got to the middle of the room, the whole entire room began shaking.

"Oh, this is no joke. You see, Chuck here's got an archangel on his shoulder. You've got about ten seconds before this room is full of wrath and you're a piece of charcoal!" yelled Dean.

The room began to fill up with a bright white light as paintings fell off of the walls and plates crashed to the floor, shattering into a million little tiny pieces.

"Are you sure you want to tangle with that?" asked Dean, yelling to be heard over the roar of the noise.

Lilith looked up to the ceiling as pieces of it began falling down. She glared over at Sam one final time before opening her mouth, releasing the demon inside of her body. The cloud of big black smoke flew out of the window of the motel room and Lilith's former body fell to the floor. The room slowly stopped quaking and they all caught their breath. Once the room was finally back to normal, Dean, Alex, and Chuck moved closer to the blonde woman lying on the floor. Alex shook her head sadly, looking over at Sam.

"So, a deal, huh?" asked Dean.

He glanced over at Sam in the passenger seat, but Sam was looking out of his own window.

"Yep, that's what she said," responded Sam.

"To call the whole entire thing off? Angels, seals, Lucifer rising, the whole nine yards?" asked Alex, leaning forward from the backseat to listen closely.

"That's the gist of it," said Sam, not looking back at her.

"Huh," said Dean.

Sam finally looked over at one of them.

"What?"

"And you didn't think once about taking it?" asked Dean.

"Dean, are you kidding me? You just spent all day trying to talk me off the Lilith crack."

"I'm just saying," remarked Dean.

Sam turned back to looking out of his passenger side window.

"She would've found some way to weasel out of it, I'm sure," said Sam.

"Yeah, and all it would've cost us was our lives," said Alex.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Dean.

"But anyway, that's not the point," said Sam.

"Well, what's the point?" asked Alex.

"The point is, she's scared. I could see it. Lilith is running," said Sam, a weird smirk on his face now.

Alex looked away from him, goosebumps breaking out on her arms.

"Running from what?" asked Dean, glancing over at his brother.

"I don't know. But she was telling the truth about one thing, that's for sure. She's not gonna survive the apocalypse. I'll make sure of that," said Sam.

Alex looked into the rearview mirror, her bottom lip in between her teeth. Dean looked into the mirror to see Alex and he didn't like what he saw there. Fear mixed with guilt, as if there was something she wasn't telling him. Dean looked ahead to pay attention to the road, but he was going to find out whatever Alex was hiding from him.


	41. Chapter 41

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think. _

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines._

**Chapter 41**

Alex leaned against the hood of the Impala with Sam as they both brushed their teeth. The car was parked along a harbor and Dean was napping in the car. Alex and Sam both turned around as they heard commotion inside the vehicle. Dean pushed open the passenger side door and crawled out, grunting as he did so. Sam removed the toothbrush from his mouth.

"Hey. How'd you sleep?"

Alex smirked as Dean slowly stood up, squinting as the sun shone into his half-lidded eyes.

"How do you think?" asked Dean.

"I'm starving. Let's get breakfast," he said, wiping his face with his hand.

"Where? We're like, two hours away from anything," said Sam.

"But I'm hungry now," whined Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes and took her toothbrush out of her mouth.

"Well, there's probably still a sandwich in the backseat," she offered.

Dean reached through the open backseat window and grabbed a brown paper lunch sack out of the backseat. He smirked as he pulled it open, sniffing it. His head flew back from the rank odor and he took in a few deep breaths.

"It's tuna," he complained.

Alex rolled her eyes once again as a cell phone started ringing. Dean threw the lunch sack on the ground and Alex and Sam spit the toothpaste out of their mouths as they turned around to see Dean. He reached inside the vehicle and sifted through his glove box, finding the ringing cell phone. Dean stared at it in his hands.

"Isn't that Dad's phone?" asked Sam.

Dean looked over at his siblings, nodding as he flipped open the silver cell phone. He hit the green button and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" asked Dean, his voice now gruff and businesslike.

"Um, is this John?" asked the kid on the other end of the phone call.

"He can't come to the phone, so can I help you?"

"Um, no, no, no, I really need to talk to John. This is Adam Milligan, he knows me."

"Well, I'm really sorry to have to be the one to break this to you, pal, but John died more than two years ago."

Sam and Alex faced Dean fully now, confused as to who would be asking for their dead father. The person on the other end of the call let out a strangled gasp.

"Who is this?" asked Dean.

"Um, I'm his son."

A few days later, Sam, Dean, and Alex were in the small town of Windom, Minnesota. Dean parked the car in front of a very small diner and they all climbed out, Dean slamming his door shut angrily as he walked back to the trunk, opening it. Sam sighed.

"Dean, look. The best I can tell, this Adam Milligan kid is real. Um, born September 29, 1993 to Kate Milligan. No father listed on the birth certificate. He's an Eagle Scout, graduated from high school with honors. And currently goes to the University of Wisconsin, Biology major, Pre-Med," finished Sam, holding a file folder in his hands.

Alex and Sam watched as Dean stuffed his pockets full of small knifes and stuck a gun in the large pocket in his jacket. Alex raised her eyebrows at her oldest brother.

"Um, Dean?" she asked.

Dean slammed the trunk closed and turned to face her and Sam.

"Are you even listening?" asked Sam.

"This is a trap."

Sam sighed and watched as Dean walked away from them, heading for the diner's front entrance. The bell rang as the three of them walked inside the small restaurant. Dean grabbed a chair from one table and dragged it over to another table, Sam and Alex following him. Alex sat next to Dean while Sam sat on the booth across from them.

"Dean, we're telling you, this kid really checks out," explained Alex.

"Great, so he's an actual person on this planet. Sucks that he's got a demon in him."

Alex and Sam both sighed heavily as the waitress approached their table. She handed all three of them an ice cold glass of water and began to speak again, but Dean rudely interrupted her.

"We're actually waiting on someone."

The waitress scoffed and threw their menus down rudely.

"Thank you," said Sam.

Once she was gone, Alex and Sam glared at Dean. Dean ignored their stares and grabbed his small glass of water, pouring it out into the plant behind his chair.

"What the hell are you doing?" whispered Alex, her eyes wide as she looked at her brother.

Dean pulled out his silver flask and placed the cup in his lap as he uncorked the flask.

"Really, Dean? Holy water?" whispered Sam.

"Yep. Once he drinks this Jesus juice, this evil son of a bitch is gonna be in a world of hurt," explained Dean.

Alex closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her fingers.

"Oh my God," she whispered to herself.

Dean placed the water glass full of holy water in the empty spot on the end next to Sam and then began unrolling his silverware.

"And what if he's not possessed, Dean?" asked Sam.

"Then he's obviously a shape-shifter," replied Dean, his face completely serious as he glanced over at Sam.

"Hence the silver," said Sam, watching as Dean removed all of the diner's silverware and replaced it with real silver.

Alex looked over at Sam, nudging him under the table with her foot. Sam sighed and Dean looked between the two of them.

"What?"

Sam sighed and opened their father's leather bound journal.

"Look, Dean. There's an entry in Dad's journal from January of 1993, saying he's headed to Minnesota to check out a case," said Sam.

"That's roughly about nine months before this kid was born," said Alex, her eyebrows raised.

"Coincidence," said Dean.

"Oh, coincidence? Right, that's why the next two pages of the journal are torn out," said Sam.

"You two aren't actually buying this, are you?" asked Dean.

"Look, man, I don't want to believe it either, but I'm just saying, it's possible. I mean, Dad would be gone for weeks at a time and he wasn't exactly a monk," explained Sam.

He closed their father's journal and placed it down at his side.

"I mean, a hunter rolls into town, kills the monster, saves the girl. Sometimes the girl's grateful. I mean, that's how Kellan and I got together. I mean,_ I_ was pregnant because I was grateful," said Alex.

Dean and Sam both cringed while Alex looked a little sheepish.

"Sorry, guys," she whispered.

"Now I'm thinking about Dad having sex, stop talking," said Dean.

The bell over the diner's front door chimed as a tall, skinny kid walked in. He looked to be about 19 or 20 and he was at least six feet tall. Alex's face fell as she saw him and Sam and Dean looked over at the front entrance. The kid looked at the floor, so Sam called out his name.

"Adam?"

Adam suddenly looked up, walking over to them.

"Are you Sam?" he asked him.

"Yeah. Um, that's Dean and Alex over there," introduced Sam.

Adam nodded and took the empty seat beside Sam, setting his backpack down on the floor beside him. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his tan coat and glanced at all three of them.

"So, um, how'd you know my dad?" asked Adam.

Alex bit her lip nervously as Sam answered for all of them.

"Um, we all worked together."

"How'd he die?"

"On the job."

Adam looked a little confused.

"He was a mechanic, right?"

"A car fell on him," said Dean, his tone hostile.

Adam glanced over at him and Alex nudged Dean under the table gently. Their waitress reappeared then, handing Adam a fresh glass of water and greeting him with a soft smile.

"Hey, Adam, how you doing?"

Dean quickly reached out and grabbed the glass of water before Adam could even touch it.

"Oh, I'll take that. I'm very thirsty," said Dean, throwing back half of the glass.

The waitress gave Dean a weird look and then turned back to Adam.

"The usual, Adam?" she asked him.

"Um, yeah. Thanks, Denise."

She walked back into the kitchen as Adam picked up his water, clearing his throat. The Winchesters all watched closely as Adam brought the glass up to his lips. He drank a couple sips and then placed it back down on the table, wiping his mouth with the back of his left hand.

"So, um, when's the last time you saw John?" asked Alex.

"Gosh, I don't even remember. It's been at least a couple of years."

"What made you decide to call him now then?" asked Sam.

Dean was staring off into the distance, but he discreetly removed his handgun from inside his jacket. He rested it on his knee, pointing it straight at Adam as he focused his attention back on the conversation.

"I really didn't know who else to call. He's the only family I've got left."

Alex and Sam looked at Adam sadly and Adam looked down at the table briefly before answering their unspoken question.

"My mom's missing."

"Really? I'm so sorry. For how long?" asked Sam.

"That's tragic, really, but if you're John's kid, how come we've never heard of you?" asked Dean.

Adam just shrugged.

"Because John and me didn't really know one another. Not until a few years ago, anyway," answered Adam.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex, looking at Adam sadly.

"My mom never really talked about him. I mean, I knew some stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" asked Dean.

Adam hesitated before answering.

"My mom's a nurse and Dad came into the ER once, pretty torn up. Hunting accident or something? Anyway, I knew his name. John Winchester. That's about it, we're not exactly a nuclear family," explained Adam, smiling slightly.

"Yeah, well, who actually is one these days?" joked Sam, smiling over at Adam.

"So when did you, um, finally meet him?" asked Dean.

"When I was 12. My mom had one of his old numbers and after I begged her 24/7, she finally called him. God, when John heard he had a son, he dropped everything and raced to town, driving all night to get here."

The waitress dropped off Adam's food then and Adam stopped talking to begin eating his plate full of eggs and bacon.

"That's heartwarming," said Dean, his face showing no emotion whatsoever.

"Do you all mind?" asked Adam, motioning to his silverware.

Dean smirked.

"No, please, dig in," encouraged Dean.

Adam nodded and pulled his napkin out from underneath his silverware. Dean's face turned serious once again as he cocked his gun, ready to shoot and kill Adam at a moment's notice.

"He would come by once a year or so. Called when he could, but still…"

Adam picked up his knife and fork and Dean watched as nothing happened to Adam. Dean put the safety back onto his gun and stuck it back into his jacket discreetly.

"He taught me how to play pool and poker. He even bought me my first beer when I was only fifteen. And, um, he showed me how to drive. Dad, he had this beautiful, gorgeous 1967 Impala-"

"Oh, this is complete bullshit! You know what, you're lying," exclaimed Dean.

Alex and Sam's eyes went wide at Dean's outburst.

"No, I'm not lying," said Adam.

"Yes, you are."

"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you to call me a liar?"

"We're John Winchester's kids, that's who. _We_ are his children," said Dean, motioning to Alex, Sam, and himself.

Adam looked from Dean to Alex and then to Sam sitting next to him. His eyebrows were raised.

"I've got siblings?" asked Adam.

Dean shook his head angrily.

"No, you don't have siblings. Look, man, I don't know if you're a hunter or what kind of game you're playing here."

"I have never been hunting in my life."

"Whatever. I'm out of here. Come on," said Dean.

He glared at Adam one last time and then stood up from the table, briskly walking over to the diner's entrance to leave. Adam sighed before speaking up.

"I can prove it."

At Adam's house, Alex stood in between her brothers as they all stared at the framed picture she was currently holding in her hands. The picture showed Adam standing next to John, John's arm slung over Adam's shoulders as they both smiled for the camera.

"He took you to a baseball game?" asked Dean, looking over at Adam.

Adam smiled fondly as he recalled the memory.

"Yeah, right as I turned fourteen. Dad was around for a few of my birthdays."

Sam opened up John's journal and read another excerpt to Dean and Alex.

"September 29, 2007. One word: Minnesota."

Sam looked over at Adam while Alex glanced at Dean. Dean was struggling with his emotions, his eyes closed. A few seconds later, Dean opened his eyes, looking over at Adam once again.

"He took you to a freaking baseball game?"

Alex sighed, biting her lip nervously.

"Yeah. Why, what'd Dad do with you on your birthday?" asked Adam.

Alex handed him back the picture as Dean smirked sarcastically, scoffing. Adam placed the picture back on the end table where it had been before.

"Adam, you said you called Dad because your mom was missing?" asked Sam.

"Yeah."

"How long has she been gone?" asked Alex.

"Three days."

"Who was the last person to see her?" asked Dean.

"Mr. Eb and Nancy, our neighbors. They saw her come home Tuesday night, but she never showed up for work on Wednesday."

Dean noticed a framed picture of John and Adam's mom on the mantel above the fireplace. He looked down at the floor, keeping his emotions in check as Adam continued talking.

"Did you call the police?" asked Alex.

"Um, her supervisor at the hospital did. And then I drove down here as fast as I could from university. I should've been here," said Adam, looking sad.

Dean cleared his throat and focused back in on the conversation.

"What'd the cops say?" he asked Adam.

"They, um, they searched the house. They didn't find anything though."

Adam choked up then.

"She would never leave without telling anyone. I mean, it's like she just dropped off the face of the earth, you know?"

Dean pushed Adam's mom's dresser back into place against the wall up in her room. As he stood up, he glanced at the pictures she had placed on top of it. One was of her, Adam, and John all standing in a field, Adam holding a dead rabbit in his hands. Dean's eyebrows pulled together in thought. He heard a creak from behind him and he whirled around to see Adam standing in the doorway. Dean walked towards Adam a few steps.

"The, um, nightstand was knocked over. Anything else?" asked Dean.

Adam shook his head, his hands back in his coat pockets once again.

"No, not really. The sheriff said there were no signs of a break-in," answered Adam.

Dean scoffed and glanced around the room.

"What, you think the police missed something?" asked Adam.

"It's possible. They don't have my eyes."

Dean walked over to the window, peeking out of the curtains as he looked through the room.

"You're a mechanic," stated Adam.

"Yeah, that's right."

Adam sighed.

"Dean, what else can you tell me about Dad?"

Dean shrugged.

"You knew him."

"Not nearly as well as you."

"Trust me, kid. You don't wanna know."

Dean gave Adam a long, hard stare as they heard shuffling in the hallway. Adam turned and faced the doorway again as Alex and Sam came marching into the room, Alex holding up a piece of paper for Dean to see. Dean looked over at Adam.

"Give us a minute."

Dean left the room with his siblings and they walked a little farther down the hallway, out of Adam's earshot.

"Talk to the cops?" asked Dean.

"Yeah. Like Adam said, no leads on his mom so far. But we did find this," said Alex.

She pulled open the piece of paper and all three of them looked down at it in her hands.

"Here."

She handed it over to Dean so he could read it himself.

"In 1993, there were 17 grave robberies in this town," explained Sam.

"Think that's why Dad came through here?" asked Dean, looking at the newspaper article in his hands.

"Yeah, we'd say so. Check it out," said Alex.

She pointed to a figure in the picture and Dean held the newspaper article closer to his face, seeing his father in the background of the picture accompanied with the newspaper article.

"Alright, so he was hunting something. What?" asked Dean.

"We have no clue. Those are the pages he tore out of the journal. But last month, the corpse snatching started back up again, three bodies from the local cemetery," explained Sam.

"So whatever he was after, he didn't kill it and now it's back," said Sam.

"Kate's missing and so is a local bartender," said Alex, snatching the newspaper article from Dean's grip and replacing it with a picture of the missing bartender.

"This guy's named Joe Barton," said Alex.

Dean looked at the picture for a few more seconds and then headed back into the bedroom where Adam looked up at all of them as they re-entered his mom's room.

"Hey, does your mom know Joe Barton?" asked Dean, showing the picture to Adam.

"Um, I don't think so. Why?" answered Adam.

Dean folded the picture back up and sighed, not answering Adam's question. He looked down at the floor and cocked his head to the side in confusion as he saw marks going under the bed. They looked like marks someone would make if they were being dragged against their will. Dean crouched down and headed towards the bed, Adam standing up as Dean got closer to his mother's bed.

"What is it?" asked Adam.

"Watch out," said Dean.

He pulled up the covers and the bed skirt that were obstructing his view under the bed and then he released them after only a couple of seconds. Dean motioned to Adam.

"Give me a hand with the mattress," he ordered.

Adam obliged and they lifted the mattress up and away from the bed, setting it against the wall in an empty corner of the room. Underneath the bed was a small, metal door, leading into an air duct. Adam looked at the three of them, Sam and Alex now standing beside Dean. Without speaking a word, they all held up their fists and counted to three in their heads. Dean held out scissors while Alex and Sam held out rock. Dean threw his arms out in frustration before he placed his hands on his hips, Alex and Sam smirking at his little temper tantrum.

"Every time," whined Dean.

Adam looked at Sam and Alex, who nodded.

Dean shined his flashlight down the air duct, seeing nothing ominous yet. He climbed in head first and sighed as he barely fit inside the small space.

"Why didn't I throw paper?" he asked himself.

He began crawling through the air duct, groaning as he would hit the smaller spaces. He stopped when he had almost reached the end of the duct, seeing tiny spots of blood in the corner. He crawled forward slowly, his gun in his other hand. Once he got closer to the end, he threw himself around the corner, but nothing was there on the right side except another metal door leading out into the hallway beside Adam's mom's room. Dean sighed and pushed himself farther out, whipping his head around the corner to look at the left side of the air duct. He rested his head on the duct behind him when he saw the blood, hair, and chunks of skin that were on the left side of the air duct.

Dean was cleaning out his shotgun in their motel room when a knock sounded on their motel room door. He turned around as Sam opened the door, Adam pushing his way inside their motel room.

"Who the hell are you guys?" asked Adam.

"Adam, hey. Take it easy," said Sam.

"No, don't tell me to take it easy, okay? My house is now a crime scene, my mom's probably dead, and you three, you told me to call the police, but you all have to bail before they show up at my house? So, who are you, really?" asked Adam, looking between the three of them now.

Dean looked at Alex and Sam, no one answering Adam's questions. Adam looked at Dean then.

"The cops didn't know where to look for my mom, Dean, but you sure did. And I heard you talking earlier, something about grave robberies."

Adam looked over to Dean's side and saw Dean's shotgun. He looked at Alex.

"You're not mechanics. I just wanna know what's going on. Please," asked Adam, his voice pleading now.

Alex sighed, biting her lip.

"We're hunters," she said.

"Alex!" yelled Dean.

"He deserves to know, Dean," said Alex.

"What do you mean when you say hunters?" asked Adam.

Dean shook his head at his sister.

"So, basically you're saying that every movie monster, every nightmare that I've ever had, that's all real?" asked Adam, a couple hours later.

Sam nodded sadly.

"Godzilla's just a movie," said Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes while Sam just ignored him.

"We hunt them. And so did Dad."

Adam looked away, nodding.

"Okay."

"Okay? That's it?" asked Dean.

"Well, what am I supposed to say?" asked Adam.

"That we're liars, that we're crazy. Nobody just says okay."

"You're my family. You're telling me the truth, right?" asked Adam.

Sam nodded and Alex smiled at Adam.

"Yeah," said Sam.

"Then I believe you. Now, what took my mom?" asked Adam.

"We're not sure. Something's in town stealing bodies, living and dead. But we don't know what," explained Sam.

"There's a long list of freaks that fit the bill," said Alex.

"Do any of you think maybe she might still be alive?"

Adam looked at each of them, but they all avoided eye contact.

"Oh," whispered Adam, looking down at the floor.

Dean looked over at Adam then.

"How can I help?" asked Adam, a determined look on his face.

"You can't," said Dean.

Adam looked at him across the room.

"This thing killed my mom. If you're going after it, I want in."

"No."

Sam sighed.

"Dean, look. Maybe-"

"Maybe what?"

"He lost his mother. Maybe we can understand what that feels like!" yelled Sam.

Dean stood up from his chair and walked over to join all of them.

"Why do you think Dad never told us about this kid, Sam? Huh? Why do you think he ripped out the pages?" asked Dean, holding up John's journal to emphasize his point.

"Because…"

"Because he was protecting him," whispered Alex, biting her lip nervously as she spoke.

Sam and Dean both looked at her, Dean pointing at her.

"Exactly," agreed Dean.

"Yeah, well, Dad's dead," said Sam.

"It doesn't matter. He didn't want Adam to have our lives, okay? And we're gonna respect his wishes because we sure fucked it up once already," yelled Dean.

He threw John's journal down on the bed Sam was sitting on, not noticing the look of panic Sam was giving him from his previous statement. Alex stood up from her spot next to Adam.

"What do you mean, you already fucked it up once?" she asked.

Dean turned around, his face panic stricken.

"Lex, I didn't-"

"You mean that time I ended up in the hospital because of that damn car accident and Dad ended his life to save mine? Or that time I was pregnant and you still blame yourself because I lost the baby? Damn it, Dean, just stop it! I was the pregnant one, I was the one who lost a child, not you! It was all my fault, not yours, not Dad's, mine! He ended his life to save mine and I have to live with that guilt every fucking day! I don't want to hear about the guilt you feel for all of my fucking problems!"

Tears rolled down Alex's face as she brushed past Dean and Sam, who was standing up now as well.

"Lex, please," said Dean, grabbing Alex's wrist as she moved past him.

Alex pulled her arm out of his reach and gave him a hateful glare.

"Just leave me alone."

She stormed out of their motel room, Adam's eyes wide as he watched her leave. Dean rubbed his hands over his face as he headed for the door.

"Babysit the kid," he told Sam.

"Where are you going?" asked Sam.

"I'm going to fix this!" yelled Dean, motioning towards the door Alex had just walked through.

He slammed the door after him and Sam expelled a deep breath.

"Are they always like that?" asked Adam.

Sam chuckled darkly.

"Welcome to the family."

Adam looked down at the ground and Sam sighed. He pulled the gun from the waistband of his jeans and held it out for Adam to take.

"Here. Let me teach you a few things."

Adam's eyes widened.

"Um, Dean said-"

"Yeah, I know what Dean said."

Sam held the gun out towards Adam, who took it in his hands gently.

"I know what it's like to want revenge," said Sam.

Alex paced around the parking lot of the motel, wiping the tears off of her cheeks as she walked. She cursed when she saw Dean walking towards her. When he was only a few steps in front of her, Alex looked up and Dean's face broke her heart. He had tears in his eyes as he looked at his little sister.

"Alex, I'm so sorry. I never knew how much guilt you felt," whispered Dean.

Ale chuckled sarcastically and toed a pebble on the cement, not looking at Dean as she spoke.

"Yeah, well, I have an awful lot to feel guilty for."

"Stop that. Don't play the blame game."

"What game, Dean? Dad's dead because of me. Kellan will never know what it's like to be a father because of me!"

Alex's tears spilled over and Dean took two more steps, pulling her into his arms as she sobbed into his chest.

"Why do all these awful things keep happening to us? Why couldn't we have lived a life like Adam, oblivious to the horrible things this world has to offer?" cried Alex.

Dean closed his eyes as a tear fell from his eye onto the top of Alex's head.

"I wish I knew, Lex. I wish I knew."

Alex nodded as they stood there for a few more minutes. Once Alex's tears had subsided, she stepped back, looking up at Dean's face. She grabbed his chin in her hands and forced him to look at her.

"Now, you listen to me, Dean Winchester. Don't you ever blame yourself for any of my problems ever again. Do you understand me?"

Dean nodded and Alex let go of his chin. They started to walk back to their motel room slowly.

"You know, my baby would've been two months old by now. You think someday I'll be able to have that life? A white picket fence with a yard full of kids?" asked Alex.

Dean stopped walking and looked over at her then, smiling.

"I sure hope so. But I really think it's too late. For all of us. You, me, and Sam. But Alex, I promise to do what I can so that you can have a better life."

Alex leaned up on her tip-toes and kissed Dean's cheek. Dean smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Come on, big brother. We've got some work to do."

Dean nodded and he pulled her over to the Impala.

"Let's go for a ride. I need to blow off some steam for a little while."

Alex nodded and followed Dean into the Impala.

Adam looked over at Sam, who was polishing off a sawed-off shotgun.

"Sam, what really killed Dad?"

Sam never looked up from what he was doing.

"A demon."

"So you three hunted it down and got revenge?"

"Dean killed it."

"So it's over for you?"

Sam stopped what he was doing and finally looked over at Adam.

"It's never over."

As soon as Sam finished speaking, the lights in their motel room shut off.

"What the hell?" asked Adam, standing up from his spot on the bed.

"Shh," cautioned Sam, also standing up.

Sam loaded a few bullets into his shotgun as he walked over to the bathroom. He pushed the door open, but no one was there. He heard another noise, so he whirled around, looking up at the air vent right next to the bathroom door.

"It's in the vents," whispered Sam.

He grabbed Adam and they headed for the door, Sam shooting at the air vent as they ran away. Adam grabbed his jacket as they ran out of the motel room door, Sam directly behind him. They rushed down the stairs to get to the parking lot, Adam leading the way to his car.

"Keys!" yelled Sam.

Adam threw him the car keys and Sam caught them in one graceful catch. As Sam began unlocking the driver's side door, something grabbed him from underneath the car. Sam fell flat on his back as the mysterious creature tried pulling him under Adam's truck.

"Sam!" yelled Adam.

As Adam rushed over to Sam's side of the car, Dean and Alex pulled up in the Impala.

"Help!" yelled Adam, grabbing one of Sam's arms.

Dean grabbed Sam's other arm and they pulled Sam away from the creature. Alex grabbed Sam's abandoned shotgun and pointed it under the truck bed, firing the shotgun. Adam laid flat on the ground as he tried to catch his breath. Alex looked at Sam and Dean.

Adam pulled his truck out and parked it in the next spot over. A sewer grate was directly underneath his car, the top open and covered with what looked like blood. Adam, Sam, and Alex watched him walk back towards them.

"I winged it. Did you two see anything?" asked Dean, opening the Impala and placing the shotgun in the trunk arsenal.

"I didn't get a good look," said Sam.

"What the hell is this thing?" asked Alex, looking down at the sewer grate.

"Should we go after it?" asked Adam.

"No, no. With that maze, that thing is long gone," said Dean.

"Alright, so we don't know what it is, but we do know who it's going after. Joe Barton, Adam's mom…" began Sam.

"And Adam," finished Alex.

"I mean, it was under his truck just waiting for him," said Dean.

"It set a trap. And I walked right into it," said Sam, shaking his head.

"That doesn't matter. You're right, there's a pattern. Joe Barton was a cop. I'm pretty sure he helped out Dad. So we've got him, Dad's girl, and his son," explained Dean.

"All the people Dad knew in this town," said Alex.

"At least we know why its back," said Dean, looking behind him at the sewer grate once again.

"It wants revenge," said Adam.

Adam opened the side door of his house, Dean tearing down the crime scene tape that blocked the doorway. Adam flipped on the kitchen light switch as he headed into the hallway and up the stairs.

"Grab your stuff and then we'll hit the road," said Dean.

Adam nodded as Sam and Alex sat at his kitchen table.

"We shouldn't leave," said Sam.

"Yeah, let's just stay here where the kid's mom got ganked. Good one," said Dean.

"I'm serious."

"No, Sam. We're gonna take the kid, we're gonna drop him off at Bobby's, and then you, me, and Alex are gonna come back here and finish what Dad started," said Dean.

He began looking at all of the pictures stuck to the fridge.

"How? We've got no leads, no witnesses. But we do have what this thing wants," said Sam.

Alex and Dean both cocked their heads to the side, looking at Sam curiously.

"Are you suggesting that we use Adam as bait? That's why you want to stay here?" asked Alex.

"Maybe this thing will come back. We could train Adam. Get him ready," said Sam.

"He could die, Sam," said Dean.

Sam finally looked over at his siblings then.

"We could all die, Dean. Even if we do kill this one thing, there are tons of other freaks that want revenge on us, on Dad. What if they find Adam instead and he's not even ready?"

"I'll do it," said Adam, standing in the entryway of the kitchen.

The Winchesters all looked over at him then.

"Whatever it takes, I'll do it. I wanna do it."

Alex shook her head.

The next morning, Sam aimed his handgun at the target, hitting the bull's-eye every single time he shot off his gun.

"Whoa," said Adam.

Sam smirked.

"It's easy. Just feel the recoil and time the trigger pulls. Three taps," said Sam.

He handed his gun over to Adam, who shot it three times, hitting the target every single time. Sam smirked.

"Beginner's luck, right?" asked Adam.

Sam just shrugged.

Later that night, Sam was telling stories of their previous hunts to Adam while Dean sat with Alex in the next room.

"This is some cool job you three have here," said Adam.

Sam's face hardened as he looked over at Adam.

"Hunting isn't a job, Adam. It's a way of life. You got a girlfriend, friends?" asked Sam.

Adam nodded solemnly.

"Not anymore you don't. If you're really gonna do this, you can't have those kinds of connections. Ever. You'll just put those people in danger and end up getting them all killed. That's the price we pay."

"Sam. Can we talk to you please?" asked Alex, her arms crossed over her chest with exasperation.

Sam stood up from his spot at the kitchen table and followed Dean and Alex into the hallway.

"What the hell was all of that?" asked Dean.

"What?" asked Sam.

"Um, hunting is life, you can't ever have connections. Dad gave you that exact same speech, remember?" asked Dean.

"It was just before you left us all for Stanford. You hated Dad for saying all of that stuff to you years ago and now you're sitting here quoting him?" asked Alex.

Sam just shrugged.

"Yeah, well. Turns out Dad was right."

"Since when?" asked Dean.

"Since always. When I look at Adam, do you know what I see?"

"A normal kid?" offered Alex.

"No. Meat. Because to the demons and monsters out there, that's all he is. I hated Dad for an awfully long time, but now I think I understand him. Dad did right by us, he taught us how to protect ourselves. Adam deserves the same," said Sam.

"Sam, listen to yourself," whispered Alex.

"What, you two think I'm wrong?"

"I think it's too late for us. This is our life, this is who we are, okay? And it's fine, I accept that. But with Adam? He's still got a chance, man. He can go away to school, he can be a doctor," said Dean.

"And what makes Adam so special?" asked Sam.

"What are you, jealous of the kid?" asked Dean.

"Are you? Dean, all of this, it's not real. The dad Adam knew, he wasn't real. The things out there in the shadows, those are what's real. The world is ending, that's real."

"Dad didn't have a choice with us, but with Adam, he did. Adam doesn't have to be cursed."

"He's a Winchester. He's already cursed."

"No. Whatever's hunting Adam, we're gonna find it," chimed in Alex.

"We've already looked everywhere," said Sam.

"Then we'll look again."

"Fine. Maybe I should come with you this time since you clearly didn't do it right the first time," taunted Sam.

Alex shook her head at Sam and Dean clenched his jaw.

"I'll watch over Adam. You two go," said Alex.

Dean nodded and kissed Alex's forehead before he marched out of the room, Sam following right behind him. Alex gave Adam a small smile as the boys left.

Dean and Sam were in the town's small cemetery mausoleum, where Dean and Alex had been earlier that day. Dean noticed a small opening, so he and Sam worked together to pry the cement block away from the wall. Dean crawled through the tunnel first, Sam right behind him. As they crawled through it, they found themselves in the creature's lair, dead body parts scattered everywhere. As they looked around the large room, they heard the brick being moved back into place. Dean shot at the person down the tunnel, but he only caused more dirt to fall into the tunnel.

"Son of a bitch!" yelled Dean, seeing that their escape route was now caved in.

Sam rolled his eyes and pulled out his cell phone, holding it up into the air. He sighed when he couldn't get any service.

"Son of a bitch," said Sam.

Back at Adam's house, Alex and Adam worked together to salt all the doors and windows. They nailed wooden boards over all of the air vents except for one. They stood over the air vent in the bedroom of Adam's mom, Alex looking over at Adam.

"Alright, we've closed every other way into your house, so if this thing's coming, it's coming through here," said Alex.

Adam nodded and they both turned around when they heard a creaking noise from somewhere in the house.

"You were saying?" asked Adam, his eyebrows raised.

Alex's eyes widened as a woman's voice called out from downstairs.

"Adam? Adam! Adam!" yelled the woman.

"Mom?" called out Adam.

He ran for the door.

"No. Adam!" yelled Alex.

"Mom!" yelled Adam.

Alex ran after Adam down the stairs and into the kitchen. Adam was directly in front of a woman who looked like his mother. She was dressed in her nurse scrubs, holding her stomach. Blood was all over her face and matted into her dirty-blonde hair.

"Adam, please wait!" yelled Alex.

Adam hugged his mother into his chest as Alex held her shotgun up, aimed at Adam's mother.

"Adam, step away from her," demanded Alex.

Adam's eyes widened as he took in Alex's raised gun.

"Alex, what the hell?"

"She's not your mother!"

"Adam, what is going on?" asked Adam's mother.

Sam kept trying to bust his way out of the mausoleum while Dean took a longer look around. Dean saw a coffin in the corner and he walked over to it, prying it open. He held back a gag as he took in the smell coming from the coffin he had just opened.

"Sammy, you may want to come take a look at this," said Dean.

Sam rolled his eyes, but walked over to stand beside Dean.

"What?" he asked him.

Sam looked inside the coffin and saw Kate, Adam's mother. He exchanged a curious glance with Dean.

"Adam, you have to listen to me," begged Alex, her eyes still on Adam's mother.

"Alex, it's really her, I know it," said Adam.

"No, there was too much blood. Your mother's dead," said Alex.

Adam stepped towards her and grabbed the shotgun. Alex fought for it, but somehow, Adam got it into his hands. He aimed the shotgun at his own mother.

"Adam, you have to shoot her, okay? I know this is difficult, but you just have to trust me, alright?" asked Alex.

"Adam, she's crazy. Honey, it's me, I swear," begged Kate.

She began crying into her hands and Alex cocked her head to the side, confused. The woman's tears sounded fake as she cried. Adam smirked as he held the gun towards his mother, his face turned away from Alex.

"Fuck," cursed Alex, realizing something was wrong as chills suddenly ran up her spine.

She took off running up the stairs, Adam right behind her.

"Leave me alone!" cried Alex.

As she reached the landing at the top of the stairs, Adam grabbed her by the ankle. Alex fell to the floor, wincing as she felt something cut into her abdomen. Alex kicked out, hitting Adam straight in the shoulder. Adam let go for a brief second as Alex kicked out, but he was still too quick. Alex had crawled away down the hallway, but Adam caught up to her in less than a minute. He smirked as he brought the end of the shotgun down onto Alex's forehead, knocking her unconscious.

Dean and Sam spotted another coffin in the lair. They walked over to it, Sam lifting up the lid this time. They both sighed simultaneously as they saw Adam's dead body inside the second coffin, dried blood splattered everywhere.

"Sammy, we have to get to Alex."

Sam nodded.

"I know."

"Fuck!" yelled Dean.

He threw his hands up in the air in frustration at putting Alex in danger once again. Sam looked above them and saw a stained glass window in the top of the creature's lair.

"Dean," whispered Sam.

He pointed skyward and Dean looked up.

Alex woke up, taking in her surroundings. She was tied spread-eagle to the kitchen table, ropes holding her hands and feet down. Kate was humming beside her and she smirked when she noticed that Alex was awake. Alex tried pulling on her bonds, but they wouldn't budge. Alex looked over at Kate, sighing.

"No wonder none of the tests worked. You're not shape-shifters. You're ghouls," said Alex.

Kate turned her head, looking at Alex.

"You know, I find that term very racist."

"Oh, you do, do you?"

Alex looked away as Kate came closer, sniffing her.

"Mmm, fresh meat. So much better than what we're used to."

"I should've known. It was the fresh kills that threw us off your trail. Ghouls don't usually go after the living. See, you're just filthy scavengers, feeding off of the dead and taking the form of the last corpse you choked down," said Alex.

"And their thoughts and their memories. Like Adam, for instance," said Adam, walking into the room.

"You're just monsters," said Alex.

Adam pulled out a small silver knife and made a horizontal cut on Alex's forearm. Alex groaned in pain, gritting her teeth together to hold in her scream and then turned away when Kate began licking the blood from her wound.

"You know, you all use that term a lot, Alex. I don't think you know what it means. Our father was a monster. Why? Because of what he ate? He never hurt anyone, Alex. Living, anyway," said Adam.

"No. He was no monster, but the thing that killed him was. A monster named John Winchester," said Kate.

Dean and Sam had piled up the coffins inside the lair up so that they could reach the stained glass window in the ceiling above them. Sam handed Dean some sort of bar he had found and Dean broke the window, flinching as the glass rained down on them. Once the glass was gone, Dean used the same bar to climb out of the lair, Sam coming up right behind him. They ran across the cemetery to the Impala.

Alex screamed in pain as Adam stuck his finger into the wound on her abdomen. Adam twisted his finger in deeper as Alex screamed.

"Thanks to your daddy, my brother and I were forced to grow up on our own. At least we had each other," said Kate.

Adam finally removed his finger from Alex's wound and licked all of the blood clean from his finger.

"Like you and your brothers. Inseparable."

"Actually, it was really hard to get one of you on your own," said Kate.

"Like your twin brother said, Alex. The only thing you can count on is family," said Adam.

Kate licked more of the blood from Alex's arm wound, Alex looking away in disgust.

"And for 20 years, we lived like rats. Graveyard after graveyard, all that rotting flesh," said Kate, licking her fingers clean of Alex's blood.

"But then we thought, hey. Why not move up to fresher game?" asked Adam.

"And we knew just where to start. Revenge, it's never over, Alex."

Alex screamed once again as Adam dug his knife into her open arm wound.

"Scream all you want, baby. No one can hear you," said Adam, whispering in her ear.

Alex cringed away from him as he licked her earlobe, sighing with contentment at her taste.

"First was John's cop friend. And then his little slut and then his son," said Kate.

"And then I called John, but the bastard was already dead."

"So, I guess you three will have to do instead. We figured we might as well start with Daddy's precious little angel who could never do any wrong."

Adam reached out and brushed a hand over Alex's cheek. Alex flinched and tried to move away from the creature's touch.

"We're gonna feed on you nice and slow. Like we did with good old Adam," said Adam.

"Oh, and by the way. He really was your younger brother. I thought you should know that," smirked Kate.

She winked over at Alex, who looked up at the ceiling, praying for Sam and Dean to get there soon.

"He was still alive when we took our first bites," said Adam.

"And he was a screamer," whispered Kate.

She exchanged a glance with Adam and then both ghouls cut a vertical slit on both of Alex's forearms. Alex screamed in pain as blood began gushing from her arms, dripping into bowls on the floor. Kate made the incision longer and Alex cried out in pain, wishing it would all go away. She closed her eyes and Kellan's face flashed through her mind. She focused on his face, willing herself not to cry or give up.

"Alex, I'm impressed. You aren't struggling as much as we hoped you would considering that the more people struggle, the faster they bleed out," taunted Adam.

Kate looked at Alex and saw that her eyes were closed.

"Aww, she must be in her happy place."

Adam smirked and made another incision directly on Alex's wrist. Alex screamed and began struggling in immense pain. Blood poured into the bowls on the floor faster as she struggled.

"Hey!" yelled Dean, entering the room.

Sam shot at Adam and Alex lifted her head up to see her brothers.

"Sammy, they're ghouls!" she yelled.

Her head fell back onto the kitchen table as Sam nodded. He lifted up his shotgun and shot Kate straight in the head, decapitating her.

"Which means headshots," said Sam and Dean simultaneously.

Dean nodded and rushed over to begin untying Alex. Just as he reached the kitchen table, Adam tackled him through the entryway and into the hallway. Sam looked over at Alex and then at Dean's struggle with Adam. Alex nodded weakly and Sam ran for Dean. He tossed Dean a fireplace poker and Dean caught it, turning around to hit Adam in the head with it. Adam had rolled away from Dean, but Sam caught him, holding him down. Sam threw Adam to the ground and watched as Dean bashed his head in with the bottom of a lamp.

Alex turned her head to see her brothers killing Adam.

"Dean," she called out weakly.

Dean quickly stood up and ran over to Alex, whose eyes had fluttered closed. She was very pale as Dean began untying her wrists. Blood spattered everywhere as Dean freed her.

"Come on, baby girl, open your eyes for me," whispered Dean.

Alex didn't move and Dean cursed. He climbed up on the table and sat on it, putting Alex's head in his lap. Sam wrapped towels around her wrists once he had finished freeing her legs. Sam applied pressure around the towels on her arms and waited.

"Alex?" whispered Dean.

Alex's eyes didn't open and Sam cursed.

"Sammy, start the Impala. We've got to get her to the hospital," said Dean.

Sam nodded and rushed out of the kitchen, Dean throwing him the keys as he reached the door. Dean gently set Alex down on the table and climbed off of it, blood covering his jeans. He winced as he saw all of the blood in the bowls on the floor. Dean heard the Impala start up outside, so he grabbed Alex and pulled her into his arms, cringing as he felt the blood seeping through the towels on her arms. He ran outside as fast as possible and Sam pushed open the passenger side door, Dean climbing inside and shutting the door as Sam sped away to the hospital.

Dean ran inside the emergency room, Alex in his arms. The nearest nurse took them in and her eyes widened as she rushed over to them.

"What happened?" she asked Dean.

"She was attacked. Please, just help her," begged Dean.

The nurse nodded and waved another nurse over. Sam rushed into the ER then and walked over to his siblings. Dean placed Alex down on the gurney the new nurse had brought over and watched as they wheeled her away. The first nurse looked at the brothers.

"She's gonna need a blood transfusion. What's her blood type?"

"She's, um…"

"She's A-. I can donate," offered Dean.

The nurse nodded.

"Come with me, please."

Sam and Dean followed her.

The next morning, Dean sighed in relief as he saw Alex open her eyes, her skin back its normal shade. Alex smiled weakly over at him, frowning when she took in the bandage wrapped around his arm. She looked down at her forearms and saw that gauze was wrapped tightly around them.

"Dean, what happened?" whispered Alex.

"You lost a lot of blood, Alex. We had to bring you here and you needed a blood transfusion."

Alex's eyes widened.

"Did Sam give blood?" she asked.

"No. Why?"

Alex shook her head and smiled instead.

"Oh, no reason. Thanks for saving me, big brother."

Dean smiled at his little sister.

"That's what family's for, Lex."

Sam smirked from the doorway where he stood, listening in on their conversation.

Later that same night, Alex watched as Dean broke a big stick over his knee, throwing it onto the pile of kindling underneath Adam's dead and wrapped body.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" asked Sam, glancing over at Dean.

"Ghouls didn't fake those pictures. And they didn't fake Dad's journal. Adam was our brother. He died like a hunter, so he deserves to go out like one," said Dean.

Alex nodded, Dean's jacket over her shoulders as she shivered from the cold night air.

"Maybe we could bring him back. Get a hold of Cas and call in a favor," said Sam.

"No, Adam's in a much better place," said Dean.

He struck a match and then threw it onto Adam's body. It immediately burst into flames.

"You know, I finally understand why you and Dad butted heads so much, Sam," said Dean.

Sam said nothing and Alex smiled.

"You two were practically the same person," said Alex.

"Exactly. I mean, I worshipped the guy, I dress like him, I acted like him, and I even listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now," explained Dean.

Sam nodded, his hands in the pockets of his coat.

"I'll take that as a compliment," said Sam.

"You can take it any way you want," said Dean.

Alex groaned as she, Dean, and Sam walked through a dark building in the middle of the night.

"What did he say, Dean? What was so important?" asked Sam, shining his flashlight in the shadows as they passed them.

"If I knew, would we be here?" shot back Dean.

Alex nodded with agreement and followed her brothers up a set of metal stairs. Debris was strewn everywhere around the room at the top of the stairs and lights would spark and fizz out every few seconds.

"What the hell?" whispered Alex.

"It looks like a bomb went off in here," said Sam.

They all crept forward very slowly so as not to disturb anything. They all looked around for clues as to what would have happened in this torn up room.

"There was a fight here," remarked Dean.

"Between who?" asked Alex.

Dean didn't answer, turning around to look at the rest of the room. His eyes widened as he took in the wall on the other side of the room.

"Check it out. Look familiar?"

Alex and Sam looked at the symbol painted on the wall directly behind them.

"Yeah, it does," said Sam.

"You use something like that to wish the angels back to the corn field," remarked Dean.

"So, what? Cas was fighting other angels?" asked Sam, moving his light away from the symbol and glancing over at Dean.

"I don't know," said Dean.

Alex sighed deeply and she looked around the place. She leaned forward when she spotted a figure lying on a large pile of debris. She gasped when she realized it was Castiel. She grabbed Dean's arm.

"Dean, look."

Dean's eyes widened as he spotted Castiel and the three siblings rushed over to Castiel's still form.

"Cas? Cas!" yelled Dean.

Once he reached Cas, he began shaking him roughly. Castiel's eyes opened and they grew wider as he took in the three siblings.

"What's going on?" asked Castiel.

Alex cocked her head to the side in confusion, noticing that Castiel's voice was very different.

"Just take it easy, take it easy," said Dean, holding out his hand for Castiel to take.

"Cas, are you okay?" asked Sam.

Castiel stood up suddenly, facing the three siblings.

"Castiel. I'm not Castiel. It's me," said Castiel.

Sam, Alex, and Dean looked at him strangely.

"Who's me?" asked Alex.

"Jimmy. My name's Jimmy," said the man.

"Where the hell is Castiel?" asked Dean.

The man shook his head.

"He's gone."

Dean turned around and faced his siblings.

Alex chuckled as the three Winchesters watched Jimmy shove down a hamburger in less than five minutes as he sat at their motel room kitchen table. Dean looked disgusted with Jimmy.

"Mind slowing down over there? You're making me nauseous," said Dean.

Jimmy just shrugged.

"I'm hungry."

"When's the last time you ate?" asked Alex, watching as Jimmy picked up his drink and took a sip from it.

Jimmy just shrugged.

"I don't know, months."

Jimmy continued eating and they all watched him eat until Sam spoke up.

"What the hell happened back there? I mean, it looked like an angel battle royale."

"All I remember is a bright flash of white light and then I woke up and I was just, you know, me again," explained Jimmy, shrugging.

"So, what? Cas just ditched out of your meat suit?" asked Dean.

"I really don't know."

"Do you remember anything about being possessed?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, bits and pieces."

"Okay. Well, Cas said he wanted to tell us all something. So please tell us you at least remember that," said Alex.

Jimmy shook his head sadly.

"Sorry."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"Well, what do you know then?"

Jimmy swallowed the bite of food that was currently in his mouth and then looked deep in thought for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"My name is Jimmy Novack. I'm from Pontiac, Illinois, and I have a family."

Alex sighed sadly and glanced at her brothers.

"So what do we do now?" asked Alex.

She was standing outside with her brothers, leaning against the Impala, while Jimmy paced inside the motel room.

"What do you mean? The guy's got a family. We buy him a freaking bus ticket and send him back home," said Dean, his eyebrows raised.

Alex nodded with agreement at Dean's statement, but Sam sighed, his lips pulled between his teeth nervously.

"I'm not so sure about that. Dean, he's the only lead we've got," argued Sam.

Dean looked back towards their motel room window.

"He doesn't remember a damn thing, Sam!"

"Okay, but are we one hundred percent sure about that?"

"You think he's lying?" asked Alex.

"Look, all I'm saying is that maybe he doesn't even know what he knows," said Sam.

"What?" asked Alex, looking thoroughly confused.

"Yeah, huh?" asked Dean.

Sam sighed deeply.

"I say, let's take him to Bobby's at least. Maybe all he needs is hypnosis or a psychic. Hell, maybe Castiel will just drop back into him. Back there, that was angel on angel violence. Look, I don't know what the hell's going on, but it seems pretty big to me and we can't just let the only lead we've got skip out," argued Sam.

Dean and Alex shook their heads, Alex biting her lip nervously as she looked between her two brothers.

"Sam, remember when our job was helping people?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, like getting them back to their families?" chimed in Alex.

"Look, I want to help him, but I'm just being realistic. Hell, we're doing him a favor," said Sam.

"How?" yelled Dean.

"Dean, if we can question the guy, you can damn well bet the demons will too," said Sam, raising his eyebrows.

Dean and Alex looked at Sam then, Alex shaking her head and Dean sighing.

"What the hell are you talking about, I can't go home?" asked Jimmy, looking at the three siblings like they were all insane.

"There's a really good chance that you have a gigantic bull's-eye on your back right now," explained Dean.

"What? From who?" asked Jimmy.

Dean hesitated and looked back at his siblings. He stuck his hands in his pockets and then turned back to face Jimmy.

"Demons."

"That's crazy. What would they even want with me?"

"I don't know. Information, maybe?"

Dean shrugged while Jimmy's eyes widened.

"I don't know anything!" he yelled.

"I know, but-"

"Look, I'm done, alright? With demons, angels, all of it. I just want to go home and see my family."

"We understand that," said Dean.

Jimmy shook his head vigorously, stepping towards all of them as he spoke until he was right in front of Dean.

"No, I don't think any of you do understand. I've been shot and stabbed and healed and my body's been dragged all over this earth and by some miracle, I am out and I am finished. I've given enough, alright?"

"Look, all we're saying is that until we figure this entire situation out, the safest place for you right now is with us," said Sam.

"For how long?" asked Jimmy.

Sam looked at his siblings, shaking his head.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," replied Sam.

Jimmy shook his head and huffed in indignation. He headed towards the door swiftly.

"Where are you going?" asked Alex.

Sam stepped in front of Jimmy, grabbing his shoulders to stop him from leaving.

"To see my wife and daughter, alright?"

"No, you're not," said Sam.

"So what, now I'm a prisoner?" asked Jimmy.

"That's an awfully harsh way to phrase it," said Alex.

Sam looked around the motel room as the clock struck 4:34 AM. His siblings were fast asleep in one bed while Jimmy tossed and turned in the other. Sam sighed deeply, but he headed for the door, opening it slowly. As he stepped outside, he failed to notice Jimmy's eyes pop open, watching him intently. Sam shut the door behind him and headed straight past Dean's Impala.

Jimmy sat up and pushed the covers off of his form. He glanced at Dean and Alex, who were still dead asleep, Alex curled up into Dean's chest with a smile of contentment on her sleeping face. Jimmy grabbed his tan trench coat and shut the motel room door behind him. He set off at a brisk pace, glancing around him as he took off. There was no sign of Sam, so he continued walking forward.

Sam pulled out a small silver flask and poured some of the contents into his hand. He was standing behind the vending machine across the parking lot from the motel room. Sam looked down at the puddle of demon blood in his palm. He brought it up to his lips and licked all of the blood off of his hand, savoring it. He continued drinking more of the blood for another ten minutes.

The next morning, Alex gave Sam a sideways glance as she took in his attitude. He was shoving clothes into a duffel bag hurriedly.

"Dean! Would you please hurry up?" called out Sam.

Dean emerged from the bathroom then, brushing his teeth and chuckling at Sam.

"Oh, I'm sorry. This is funny to you?"

"Yeah, it's pretty funny," said Dean, removing his toothbrush from his mouth just to reply to Sam's question.

"What were you doing anyway?" asked Alex.

"I was getting a soda from the vending machine," answered Sam.

Alex and Dean looked at him and Sam sighed.

"Can we just go, please?" asked Sam.

Dean chuckled once more before heading back into the bathroom to finish up brushing his teeth. Alex slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and followed Sam out the door to begin packing the Impala.

Dean drove as Sam sat in the passenger seat, heading for Jimmy's hometown of Pontiac, Illinois. As Alex sat in the backseat, she looked out her window. As she glanced over to Dean, she shrieked as she saw Anna now sitting beside her. Dean swerved into oncoming traffic briefly as he saw Anna in the rearview mirror.

"Oh, Jesus!" yelled Dean.

He drove the car back into the proper lane of traffic.

"You ever try calling ahead?" asked Alex, scooting farther away from Anna in the backseat.

"I like the element of surprise. Anyway, that's not why I'm here. You three let Jimmy get away?" asked Anna.

Alex and Dean both looked over at Sam.

"Talk to Sammy over here," said Dean.

Sam glanced back at Anna.

"Sam?" she asked him.

Sam didn't say anything, but Anna continued to stare at him.

"You seem… different."

"Who, me? Um, a haircut, maybe?" chuckled Sam.

Anna shook her head.

"That's not what I'm talking about, Sam."

Sam's face fell and he faced forward once again. Alex bit her lip nervously as Anna turned to face Dean then.

"So, what'd Jimmy tell you three? Did he remember anything at all?"

"Why, what's going on, Anna?" asked Dean.

"It's Cas. He got sent back home. Well, more like dragged back."

"To Heaven?" asked Alex.

Anna nodded.

"That's not a good thing?" asked Dean.

"No. That's a very, very bad thing. Painfully and awfully bad. He must have seriously pissed someone off."

"Anna, Cas said he had something to tell me, something important," said Dean, his attention turned back to the road once again.

"What is it?" asked Anna eagerly.

Dean shrugged.

"I don't know."

"Does Jimmy know?" asked Anna.

"I don't think so."

"You don't think so? Whatever it is, it's obviously huge. You've gotta find out for sure."

"That's why we're going after Jimmy," responded Sam, turning back to look at her.

"That's why you never should've let him go in the first place. He's… probably dead already or something," said Anna.

A couple of hours later, Sam, Dean, and Alex were stopped at a trucker station. Alex was using the restroom while Dean waited outside by the Impala, leaning against the trunk of the car. Sam stood inside the small building, leaving a voicemail for Ruby.

"Where the hell are you, Ruby? This really isn't funny anymore. I'm all out. Stop whatever you're doing and please, call me. I need more," begged Sam.

He took in a large, deep breath and hung up his cell phone. He sighed deeply as he held onto the countertop. Alex sat around the corner from where Sam was standing, her cheeks stained with tears. She had heard every word Sam had said to Ruby on his voicemail and she knew she had to tell Dean. Soon.

Another hour later, Dean pulled the car up to Jimmy's house. He put the car in park and got out, glancing up at the house. Alex and Sam joined him as they all walked up the steps to the front porch. As they reached the front door, they saw that it was ajar. Dean quickly pulled out Ruby's demon-killing knife and headed inside first. The three siblings skidded to a stop in the front hall leading into the living room. A man was holding a butcher knife to Jimmy's daughter's neck while Jimmy was being beaten up by a woman. The three siblings acted quickly then. Dean grabbed the man holding the little girl and slit his throat, throwing him to the hardwood floor once he was finished with him. Alex took the hand of Jimmy's daughter and the woman on top of Jimmy stood up, looking at Sam and Dean. Sam held up his palm, closing his eyes as he began to exorcize the demon from out of the woman. Dean stared at him.

"Go, get out of here, now!" yelled Sam.

"Go, go!" yelled Dean, following Alex, Jimmy, and Jimmy's family out of the house.

Back inside, Sam was struggling to exorcize the demon from the woman. She smirked and walked closer to him as Sam let down his palm, trying to catch his breath.

"Well, well. Can't get it up. Can you, Sam?"

Sam looked startled at the use of his name.

"Now, but I can," said Dean, coming up behind the woman.

As Dean brought his arm back to stab the woman, she opened her throat and let the demon escape from her body in a cloud of large black smoke. She fell to the floor, unconscious, once the demon had escaped from her body.

"Come on, come on," said Dean.

Sam nodded and followed Dean out the front door. They met Alex outside, where she was huddled next to Jimmy and his family.

"Let's go, let's go," yelled Dean.

He ran around to the driver's side of his car and unlocked it, Alex and Jimmy's family all crowding into the backseat. Dean peeled away from the curb and they headed out of town.

Jimmy looked back at his wife and daughter, who were nestled together in the backseat of the Impala.

"Well, you were right," said Jimmy, facing the siblings now.

Dean nodded, staring at Jimmy's family as well.

"I'm sorry we were right."

"But I'm telling you guys, I don't know anything."

"I don't think they're inclined to believe you," said Dean.

"And even if they did, you're a vessel. They're still gonna wanna know what makes you tick. So, I'm going to tell you once again, you're putting your family in extreme danger. You have to come with us," said Sam.

Jimmy sighed and glanced back at his family once again. He looked back at the siblings, crossing his arms over his chest.

"For how long?" he asked them.

The siblings all looked away.

"And don't give me that, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it crap."

"Don't you get it? Forever. Demons will never stop looking for you. You can never be with your family again. So you either get as far away from them as possible or you put a bullet in your head. And that's how you keep your family safe. But there's no getting out and there's no going home," said Sam.

"Well, don't sugarcoat it, Sam," said Alex, her eyebrows raised.

"I'm just telling him the truth, Alex. Someone has to," said Sam.

He looked back at Jimmy, basically glaring at him now. Jimmy looked down at the ground, sighing sadly. He nodded and headed back towards the Impala, squaring his shoulders to tell his family the bad news. Alex sighed and leaned in to Dean. Dean grabbed her and pulled her in closer, pressing a kiss to her temple. Alex looked up at her oldest brother.

"It's just not fair, Dean. Why can't he be happy with his family? Why do we always ruin people's lives?" cried Alex.

Dean pulled her into his chest then and Alex buried her face into his jacket.

"I wish I could change things, Lex, I really do," whispered Dean.

Dean watched as Jimmy hugged his crying wife and he sighed. He nodded to Sam, who went over to a brown vehicle and broke into it, hot-wiring the car. He nodded to Jimmy's wife as he climbed inside the Impala with his sister and Jimmy in the backseat. Dean pulled the car out of its parking spot and they headed off down the road, away from Jimmy's family.

Dean glanced over at Sam when he noticed that Jimmy was sleeping in the backseat. Alex leaned forward to listen to her brothers.

"What the hell happened back there?" whispered Dean.

"What?" asked Sam.

"You practically fainted trying to gank a demon back there," explained Dean.

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I didn't faint. I just got a little dizzy," answered Sam.

"You can call it whatever the hell you want, but the point is, you used to be strong enough to kill Alistair. And now you can't even kill a… stunt demon number three?"

"Well, what do you want me to say about it, Dean?"

"Well, for starters, what's going on with your mojo? You're yo-yoing all over the place. Now, I'm not trying to pick a fight here, it's just… you're scaring me, man."

Sam paused for a few seconds, staring straight ahead at the road in front of them.

"I'm scaring myself," whispered Sam.

Alex bit her lip nervously as Sam's phone began ringing shrilly in the quiet of the car. Sam pulled it out of his jacket pocket and held it up to his ear, pressing the TALK button.

"Hello?" he answered.

His face turned to one of confusion as he listened to the caller on the other end of the line.

"Who is this?"

Sam nodded and reached in the back, rousing Jimmy from his sleep.

"Hey. It's your wife," said Sam, holding out his phone for Jimmy to take.

Jimmy sat up quickly and placed the phone on his left ear.

"Amelia."

Jimmy paused and then he took in a sharp gasp.

"Oh my God."

Dean parked the car in the alleyway next to the building they were meeting Amelia at.

"Alright, they're expecting you to come alone and that's exactly what you're gonna do," explained Dean.

Jimmy shrugged on his tan trench coat, heading for the large, lit-up building.

"We'll make our way through the catwalks. We'll be right behind you though," explained Alex.

"All you've gotta do is stay calm and stall. Let us do our job," said Sam.

Jimmy whirled around to face all of them.

"You're asking me to stay calm? This is my family we're talking about here!" yelled Jimmy.

"Listen to me, this will work. You understand? No one is going to get hurt," said Dean.

"Yeah, whatever. Just give me a minute, alright?" yelled Jimmy, heading for the building once again.

Jimmy headed around the corner and out of earshot as Sam and Ale sighed, facing their oldest brother.

"There's absolutely no way they're expecting him to come alone, Dean," said Alex, biting her lip nervously once again.

"Yeah, you know this is probably all a trap, right?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, I know. And that's why I have a plan," answered Dean, leaning against the side of his beloved Impala.

Alex craned her head to the side as she heard the crunching of gravel behind her. She turned around and screamed when she saw the five demons running towards them. They all began running away, but they were grabbed. The demons held them roughly as they shoved them inside the building, standing behind Jimmy.

"Nice plan, Dean," said Sam.

Dean just shrugged.

"Yeah, well. No one ever bats a thousand," shot back Dean.

"And you know what's funny?" asked Amelia, staring over at Dean now.

"You wearing a soccer mom?" asked Alex.

"I was actually bummed to get this detail. Picking up an empty vessel. Sort of like a milk run. Now look who landed in my lap," smirked Amelia, her eyes roaming over the three siblings then.

"Yeah, well. You've got us, okay? Let these people go," said Sam.

"Aww, Sam. It's easy to act chivalrous when your Wonder Girl powers aren't working, huh?"

Sam glared at her while Alex and Dean looked over at Sam.

"Well, now for the punch line. Everyone dies," said Amelia.

She pulled out a revolver from her jacket pocket and held it up towards Sam, her face serious. Sam stared at her, his eyebrows raised, but then Amelia whirled around and shot Jimmy straight in the stomach instead. Jimmy fell to his knees as he gasped for breath. He held his hands over his gunshot wound. Amelia looked at one of the demons holding Alex back.

"Waste little orphan Annie," she ordered.

She walked past all of them and the demon obliged, letting go of Alex's right arm. He walked over to Jimmy's daughter and grabbed a metal pipe, walking over to the little girl. As he leaned towards her, her eyes suddenly popped open. She held her palm up to his forehead and a bright white light shot out from his eyes and nose. That was when the siblings acted and whirled around, punching the rest of the demons holding them. As they struggled to fight off the demons holding them, Jimmy's daughter stood up from her chair and looked over at Jimmy. Jimmy's eyes widened.

"C-Castiel," he managed to stammer out.

The little girl ignored and walked past him, going over to help out Alex, Sam, and Dean. The girl put a palm to one of the demons' foreheads, exorcizing him. The demon screamed in horror and Alex stood up. She watched as Sam cut the throat of the demon he was tangling with. He dipped his head down and when he came back up, his mouth was covered in blood. He whirled around, breathing heavily. Alex and Dean stared at him, both of their eyes wide. Sam turned back around and stabbed the demon underneath him, finally killing her. Sam whirled back around to face his siblings, but he was looking past them towards Amelia. Sam held up his palm as Dean pulled Alex off to the side with him. Sam exorcized the demon from Amelia's body, sending it straight back down to Hell where it belonged. Amelia fell to her knees, coughing. Alex stayed where she was while Dean ran over to Amelia, helping her stand back up straight. Jimmy's daughter walked over to him, where he was struggling to take in deep breaths. He shook his head when he saw her.

"No. Claire!" he managed to yell out.

His daughter looked at him.

"She's with me now."

Jimmy screamed in pain.

"She's chosen. It's in her blood as it was in yours as well."

"Please, Castiel. Please, just take me. Take me. Please," begged Jimmy.

Sam, Alex, Dean, and Amelia walked over to watch the scene unfolding in front of them between Jimmy and Castiel, who was using Claire as his current vessel.

"You won't die or age. If this last year was painful for you, imagine hundreds. A thousand more," she explained.

Jimmy grabbed her arm roughly.

"It doesn't matter. You take me. Take me!" begged Jimmy, his teeth chattering.

"As you wish."

Claire put her hand to Jimmy's face and suddenly, a bright white light erupted from Jimmy's eyes. After a few seconds, the transformation was complete. Claire was back to herself and Jimmy was now Castiel. Jimmy stood up, giving no second glance to Claire as she tried to catch her breath. Amelia rushed over to Claire as Castiel walked past her, standing in between all of the Winchester siblings now. He stared at Amelia and Claire before walking off. Dean whirled around to look at him.

"Cas. Hold up," said Dean.

Castiel turned back around to look at him.

"What were you gonna tell me?" asked Dean.

"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean. I serve Heaven, I don't serve man. And I certainly don't serve you," answered Castiel.

He gave Dean one last hateful glare and then stalked off, walking away from all of them and out of the building. The siblings watched him walk off.

In the car later that night, it was dead silent as Dean drove. The only audible sounds were the windshield wipers as they brushed off the rain and the sound of the roaring Impala engine. Sam sighed.

"Alright. Let's hear it," said Sam.

"What?" asked Dean.

"Drop the bomb, man. You saw what I did. Come on, stop the car, take a swing."

"I'm not gonna take a swing at you."

"Then scream, chew me out!"

"I'm not mad, Sam."

"Come on, man. You're not mad?"

Dean glanced briefly over at Sam, shaking his head as he turned back to face the road.

"Nope."

"Right. Look, at least let me explain myself," said Sam.

"No. Don't," whispered Alex.

Sam looked back at her.

"We don't care, Sammy," she replied.

"You two don't care?" asked Sam.

"Well, what do you want me to say? That I'm disappointed? Yeah, I am. But mostly, I'm just tired, man. Alex and I are just tired. We're done, I'm done. I'm just done," answered Dean.

Sam's cell phone rang then and he answered it swiftly.

"Hey, Bobby," answered Sam.

"Hey. You and your siblings better shag ass to my place ASAP," replied Bobby.

"What's going on?" asked Sam.

"The apocalypse, you genius you. Now get your asses over here immediately," answered Bobby.

Sam hung up the phone then, staring at it in his hands.

"What'd Bobby say?" asked Alex quietly.

"He said we need to get to his place as soon as we possibly can," answered Sam.

Dean and Alex nodded in unison and Dean stepped on the gas pedal.

A couple of hours later, Dean, Alex, and Sam followed Bobby downstairs to his safe room. Sam pulled open the heavy metal door and looked back at his siblings and Bobby. Bobby nodded towards the room.

"Now go on inside, there's something I wanna show you," offered Bobby.

Sam nodded and headed inside first, not noticing that no one else was following him inside the safe room.

"Alright. So, what's the big demon problem?" asked Sam, his voice echoing around the solid iron walls of the safe room.

He glanced back at Alex, Dean, and Bobby, who were crowded around the safe room's door.

"You are. And this is for your own good," said Bobby.

Bobby slammed the heavy metal door closed as Sam walked towards it, peeking out through the slot located in the middle of the solid iron door.

"Guys?"

Bobby pulled a slab of metal over the slot in the door and locked it, Sam's voice muffled behind it now.

"Hey, guys, this isn't funny! Guys! Hey! Guys!" yelled Sam.

He cried out in frustration and banged his fists on the metal door repeatedly with anger and frustration concentrated with every punch he made on the solid iron door.

An hour later, Dean walked back down into Bobby's basement, opening the small slot in the door so he could look inside and see Sam. Sam looked at Dean through the small slot in the door.

"Seriously, let me out, okay? This isn't funny anymore, Dean."

Dean nodded his head with agreement.

"Damn straight."

"Dean, come on. This is crazy."

"No. Not until you dry out."

"Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lied to you or Alex, just… open the door."

"You don't have to apologize. It's not your fault. It's not your fault that you lied to me over and over again. I get it now. You couldn't help it," said Dean.

"I'm not some junkie!" yelled Sam.

"Oh, really? I guess I've just imagined how strung out you've been lately."

Sam chuckled and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"You're actually trying to make this into some twisted form of a drug intervention right now?"

"Well, if it quacks like a duck…"

"Dean, I'm not drinking the damn demon blood for kicks. I'm getting strong enough to kill Lilith."

"Strong? That's about as far away from strong as you can get, buddy. Try weak. Try desperate, pathetic!" yelled Dean.

"Killing Lilith is what matters. Or are you so busy being self-righteous you forgot about her?" smirked Sam.

"Oh, Lilith's gonna die. Bobby, Alex, and I will kill her. But not with you."

"You're not serious," said Sam.

"Too bad, Sammy. You just bought yourself a bench warmer seat to the apocalypse."

Dean smirked and then shut the slot in the door, walking back upstairs and away from all of Sam's yelling.

Alex looked up as she saw Dean re-enter the kitchen. She gave him a sad, gentle smile as she finished preparing him some lunch. She set his ham sandwich down on the kitchen table and Dean smiled back at her. As Alex turned to wash her hands in the kitchen sink, Dean walked up behind her, pulling her into his chest. Alex turned around and began crying into his chest, hard. Dean stroked her hair softly, trying to soothe her.

"Dean, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," she whispered into his chest.

Dean's brow furrowed in confusion and he held Alex's chin in his hand.

"What?"

Alex's teary eyes widened as she looked up at her older brother's face.

"Um, r-remember that time Castiel asked you to, um, torture A-Alistair? And Sam and I stayed at the motel looking for you?" she whispered.

Dean nodded as Bobby walked into the kitchen. He stared at the two of them, hanging on Alex's every word.

"Well, Sam thought I was asleep, so he called Ruby. And, I..."

Alex trailed off, looking down at the floor as her eyes filled with tears once again.

"Alex, please tell me you didn't see Sam drinking demon blood from Ruby," whispered Dean.

Alex slowly nodded and Dean cursed under his breath. He pulled away from Alex and walked over to the kitchen counter. He braced his hands on either side of the sink, taking in deep breaths.

"Dean, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I just didn't know how. Please don't be mad at me," pleaded Alex.

Dean never turned to face her. Alex's tears fell over her cheeks as she walked out of the kitchen, brushing past Bobby to leave. Bobby watched her leave, looking after her sadly.

A few hours later, Bobby and Dean found Alex sitting in the study. She was curled up in one of the huge armchairs, looking off into the distance at nothing. Bobby winced as he heard Sam cry out from the basement. Dean didn't move a muscle as he grabbed the Scotch bottle and poured two shot glasses full, handing one to Bobby. They heard Sam gasping from down in the basement. Dean glanced over at Alex, who hadn't moved since they entered the room.

"How long is this gonna go on?" asked Dean.

Bobby looked over at him.

"Here, let me look it up in my demon detox manual. Oh wait, no one ever wrote one," said Bobby.

He leaned back in his chair, Dean closing his eyes as he heard Sam let out another horrific scream.

"No telling how long it'll take. Hell, or if Sam will even live through it," sighed Bobby.

Dean's eyes popped open and he looked at the older man's face. Sam's muffled screams continued even as the phone began ringing. Bobby threw back his shot of Scotch and stood up, grabbing the telephone from off of his desk.

"Hello?"

Bobby rolled his eyes as the person on the other end responded.

"Suck dirt and die, Rufus. You call me another time and I'll kill you."

Bobby hung up the phone angrily and Dean looked at him curiously.

"What's up with Rufus?" asked Dean.

Bobby sighed.

"He knows," explained Bobby.

Dean sighed as well and the phone began ringing again. Bobby let it ring for a little while longer and then he grabbed it, answering it in one smooth motion.

"I'm busy, you son of a bitch, so this better be important."

Bobby's face changed as the person on the other end of the line responded. He looked over at Dean, his eyes wide. He hung up the phone suddenly and grabbed a set of papers from his fax machine, which had just finished printing them off.

"I've got news, but the news ain't good," said Bobby.

He handed the papers over to Dean, who quickly began reading through them.

"Is this what Rufus called about?" asked Dean, leaning on the edge of Bobby's desk as he read the papers in his hands.

"Key West, 10 species go extinct," read Dean.

"Yep. Plus Alaska, 15 man fishing crew all stricken blind, cause unknown. New York, teacher goes postal, locks the door, kills exactly 66 kids. All this in a single day? I looked 'em up. There's no doubt about it. They're all seals. Breaking, fast," explained Bobby.

Dean turned to face him then.

"How many are even left?"

Bobby just shrugged.

"Who knows, can't be very many. Where the hell are your angel pals?" asked Bobby.

"You tell me."

Dean glanced over at Alex, who had moved slightly, but was now sleeping. He sighed. Bobby scratched the side of his face.

"I'm just wondering…"

"What?" asked Dean.

"With the apocalypse being nigh and all, is now really the right time to be having this domestic drama of ours?"

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I don't like this anymore than you do, but Sam can kill demons. He's got a shot at stopping Armageddon!"

"So, what? Sacrifice Sam's life, his soul, for the greater good? Is that what you're saying? Times are bad, so let's use Sam as a nuclear warhead?"

Bobby sighed, looking down at the floor.

"I know you hate me for suggesting it, I hate me for suggesting it. I love that boy like a son. All I'm saying is maybe he's here right now instead of on the battlefield because we love him too much," said Bobby.

Dean stood outside in Bobby's backyard, the junkyard full of broken down cars. Dean paced around, hoping and waiting for Castiel to appear and help him. As Dean turned and began pacing in a new direction, he heard the flapping of wings. He whirled around and saw Castiel standing behind him.

"Well, it's about time. I've been screaming myself hoarse out here for about two and a half hours now!" yelled Dean.

"What do you want?" asked Castiel, his voice gruff.

"Well, you can start with what the hell happened in Illinois."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, cut the crap. You were gonna tell me something."

"Nothing of importance."

Dean just stared at him.

"You got ass reamed in Heaven, but it wasn't important?"

"Dean. I can't. I'm sorry. Now, get to the reason you really called me. It's about Sam, right?"

"Can he do it? Kill Lilith? Stop the apocalypse?" asked Dean.

Castiel stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Possibly, yes. But as you know, he'd have to take certain steps."

Dean nodded.

"Crank up the Hell blood regimen."

"Consuming the amount of blood it would take to kill Lilith would change your brother forever. Most likely, he would become the next creature that you would feel compelled to kill. But there's no reason that this would have to come to pass, Dean. We believe it's you, Dean. Not your brother. The only question for us is whether you're willing to accept it. Stand up and accept your role. You are the one who will stop it."

Dean turned to face Castiel, nodding his head slowly.

"If I do this, Sammy doesn't have to?"

"If it gives you comfort to see it that way."

Dean scoffed and shook his head, turning away from Castiel.

"You're a dick these days."

He walked away from Castiel a few steps, taking in a deep breath.

"Fine, I'm in."

"You give yourself over fully to the service of God and His angels?"

Dean closed his eyes.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Say it."

Dean's eyebrows rose and he turned back around to face Castiel. Castiel stared right back at him.

"I give myself over fully to serve God and you guys," said Dean, walking back over to stand in front of Castiel as he spoke.

"You swear to serve God's will and His word as swiftly and obediently as you did your own father's?"

"Yes, I swear. Now what?" asked Dean.

Castiel nodded.

"Now, you wait. And we call on you when it's time," explained Castiel.

Alex stood in the archway between the study and entryway. She was leaning against the pillar located there. She cringed as she heard Sam's cries and screams for help. She closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened her eyes, she looked over at Dean and Bobby, who were standing in the middle of the study.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but you willingly signed up to be the angel's bitch?" asked Bobby, crossing his arms over his chest.

Dean glared over at him.

"After everything you've said about them, now you trust them?" asked Bobby.

"Come on, give me a little bit of credit here, Bobby. I've never trusted them less! I mean, they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan!" yelled Dean.

Alex chuckled as she watched the two of them, but suddenly stopped when she couldn't hear anything from downstairs.

"Well, then why in the hell did y-"

"Because what other option do I have? It's either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon?" yelled Dean, cutting him off.

Bobby nodded slowly.

"I see your point."

"Um, Dean?" asked Alex.

"What?" yelled Dean, whirling around to face her.

Alex flinched back and Dean's face softened.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Dean and Bobby stopped and listened.

"That's a little too much of nothing," said Bobby.

He and Dean rushed down the stairs, Alex right behind them. They rushed over to the safe room and pulled open the slot on the door. Sam was lying on the ground, his body rolling from side to side as he seemed to be choking on something.

"What if he's faking?" asked Dean.

"Do you really think he would do that?" whispered Bobby.

"I think he'd do anything," replied Dean.

Alex bit her lip as she stood behind the two men, not knowing what was happening. She jumped back, startled as she heard a loud thumping noise come from inside the safe room.

"That ain't faking," said Bobby.

Dean rushed to unlock and open the door as an unseen force propelled Sam across the room and into the iron metal walls of Bobby's basement safe room. The three of them rushed inside, Ale standing by the open door as Dean and Bobby grabbed Sam by the arms, pulling him away from the walls. Alex's eyes filled with tears as she watched Bobby remove his belt and place it tightly into Sam's mouth so Sam wouldn't hurt himself.

"We're gonna have to tie him down for his own safety," said Bobby, looking over at Dean.

Dean stared down at Sam, not saying a word or moving a muscle.

"Dean, you with me here?" yelled Bobby.

Dean still didn't move, watching as Sam's eyes rolled back into his head.

"Dean!" yelled Bobby.

Dean startled back to the present at Bobby's yell and he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get this over with," agreed Dean.

Alex cried as she watched Bobby and Dean tie Sam down to the small bed in the safe room.

Sam awoke to find himself chained down to the only bed in the room. His eyes widened as he moved his hands and feet.

"We had to," said Dean.

Sam saw Dean standing at the foot of his bed, so he sat up.

"The demon blood was flinging you all over the room. Tell me something, Sam, why did you do this to yourself?" asked Dean, a pained expression on his face.

"You know why."

Dean nodded.

"Right. Kill Lilith, good excuse. But why? You want revenge, right?"

"Of course."

"Revenge for what? For sending me to Hell? Did you happen to notice that I'm back? Alive and kicking. So what's the point?" asked Dean.

"The point? How about stop the damn apocalypse?"

"My gig, not yours! The angels said so, remember? God picked me, man. So, do you have any other fantastic excuses? Hmm?" asked Dean.

Sam was hallucinating downstairs while Dean, Bobby, and Alex sat in Bobby's study upstairs. Bobby sighed as he stood behind his desk.

"I'm gonna ask y'all one more time. Are we absolutely sure that we're doing the right thing here?"

"Bobby, you saw what was happening to him down there. That damn demon blood is killing him!" yelled Dean.

Bobby shook his head.

"No, it isn't. We are."

"What?" asked Alex, standing up to stand beside her brother.

"I'm sorry, I just can't bite my tongue any longer. We're killing him. Keeping him locked up down there, this cold turkey thing isn't working. Look, if he doesn't get what he needs, soon, Sam's not gonna last much longer."

Alex shook her head as Dean stared at Bobby.

"No. I'm not giving him demon blood, I won't do it," said Dean.

"And if he dies?" asked Bobby.

"Then at least he dies human!" yelled Dean.

"I would die for him in a second, so would Dean. But we won't let him do this to himself. We can't. We won't let our brother turn into a monster," said Alex.

She stepped closer to Dean and grabbed his hand. Dean squeezed her hand gently as she held it in her own. Alex looked up at him and Dean sighed.

"Lex, it's okay that you didn't tell me about Sam sooner. I know you were confused and unsure of how to tell me. It's alright, I forgive you," said Dean.

Alex's smile beamed as she looked at her older brother. She stood on her tip-toes and kissed his cheek. Bobby smiled softly over at the two of them.

Later that night, Sam watched as his bonds were removed and the safe room door swung open. He sat up and looked out into the dark basement.

"Hello?" he called out.

No one answered back to him, so Sam took the opportunity that was presented to him and stood up, stepping over the bottom of the doorway and walking into the dark basement. He climbed up the steps, not noticing Castiel, who stood underneath the steps. Castiel shut the safe room door, locking it as well.

Sam walked up the stairs, being quiet as he went. He grabbed his jacket off of the coat hook right beside him and stopped as he saw the entryway to the study. The three of them were asleep, Bobby sitting in his desk chair while his head rested on his desk. Dean was asleep on the small loveseat and Alex was curled up into a ball form on the large armchair in the room. Sam glanced at them one last time before steeling himself and turning away, heading for the front door.

Sam walked around to the back yard, looking for a drivable car in the junkyard. As he finally managed to unlock one car, he heard the sound of a gun being readied to shoot. Sam whirled around and saw Bobby standing right behind him.

"Uh-uh, Sam. The only place you're going is back inside with me," said Bobby.

Sam looked at Bobby sadly.

"No," said Sam.

"Damn it, boy."

"You won't shoot me, Bobby," said Sam, walking forward.

Bobby shook his head, his teeth clenched together.

"Don't test me, Sam."

Sam shook his head as he stared at Bobby, waling a few more steps closer to Bobby.

"You won't shoot me. You can't do it."

"We're trying to help you, Sam."

Sam stepped closer still until Bobby's rifle was touching his shirt.

"Then shoot," said Sam, tears welling up in his eyes as he moved the rifle over until he rested directly on his heart.

Bobby's eyes widened and he looked up at Sam's face. Bobby hesitated too long, so Sam grabbed the gun and flipped it around, ramming the butt end of the rifle into Bobby's face, knocking him unconscious as he fell to the ground. Sam sighed sadly and threw the rifle down onto the ground next to Bobby's unconscious form. He turned back to the car he had been ready to steal and he pulled open the driver's side door, climbing inside. He hotwired the car and then Sam took off, leaving Bobby unconscious in his own backyard.

The next morning, Alex, Dean, and Bobby opened the door to the safe room, trying to figure out how Sam had ever escaped. Dean checked the door thoroughly as Alex looked around the room.

"How in the hell did he get out?" asked Dean.

"Maybe he had help," said Bobby.

Alex nodded, pointing down at the floor next to all of their feet.

"A room full of busted Devil's Traps," she explained.

"Demons?" asked Dean.

Alex shook her head.

"Nope. Ruby," she relied, staring at her older brother.

"That'd be my guess," said Bobby, raising his eyebrows.

"But how'd she even touch the door?" asked Dean, inspecting the door frame closer.

"You think she's got that kind of mojo?" asked Bobby.

"I didn't think so," said Alex, shrugging her shoulders.

Dean bent down, looking at the Devil's Trap marked on the cement basement floor outside of the safe room door. He sighed.

"I don't know, guys."

"Well, what difference does it even make? How he got gone ain't as important as where he got gone to," said Bobby.

"Yeah, well, I'll tell you one thing. At this point, I hope he's with Ruby," said Dean.

"Why?" asked Bobby.

"Because killing her is the next big item on my to-do list," said Dean.

"I thought you were on call for angel duty," said Alex.

"I am on call. In my car, on my way to murder the bitch. Lex, you coming or what?" asked Dean, heading for the stairs.

Alex nodded eagerly and headed after Dean. Bobby stepped out of the safe room right behind them.

"One thing. Sam don't wanna be found. Which means he's gonna be damn near impossible to find," said Bobby.

"Yeah, we'll see," said Dean.

He headed up the stairs, Alex right behind him.

Dean was working on tuning up the Impala while Alex sat on the hood of the car next to the Impala, watching him work. Bobby came outside and they both looked over at him. Bobby placed his hands in his pockets.

"Well, the police found my car. Abandoned in an alley in Jamestown, North Dakota."

"Ah, he's switching up. Any other cars stolen in Jamestown?" asked Dean.

He stood up and began wiping his dirty hands off with an old rag sitting beside him. Bobby nodded.

"Two. A 1999 Honda Civic, blue. Nice and anonymous like Sam likes."

"And what was the other one?" asked Alex.

Bobby scoffed.

"White '05 Escalade with custom rims. That's a neon sign."

"Yeah, you're right, he'd never take that," said Dean.

"Which is exactly what he did," said Alex, hopping off of the hood of the car she had been sitting on.

She walked over to stand between Dean and Bobby.

"You think?" asked Bobby.

Dean nodded.

"We know that kid. So, we'll head in that direction. You stay here, ride the police databases. We've gotta find him, quick," said Dean.

He slammed the hood of the Impala down. Bobby nodded with agreement and watched as Alex and Dean climbed into Dean's precious car.

"The cops found the Escalade in a ditch outside Elk River," said Bobby.

Alex looked out her passenger side window as Dean drove, his phone to his ear as he spoke to Bobby.

"How far away are we?" asked Dean.

"A couple of hours. I pulled up a weather map, made some calls. There's a town not far from there, Colt Spring. Lighting up with demons signs," explained Bobby.

"That's certainly a good place to look," said Dean.

Bobby sighed over the phone.

"Hey, listen. Us finding Sam? That's gotta be about getting him back, not pushing him away."

"Right."

"Look, I know you're mad, Dean. I understand, you have the right to be mad. But I'm just saying. Be good to him anyway. You've gotta get through to him."

Dean said nothing in response, but just hung up the phone. Alex looked over at him worriedly, her bottom lip now pulled between her teeth with nervousness.

Sam walked out of his motel room and walked down the hallway, Dean and Alex watching him from around the corner on the other end of the hallway. Dean and Alex walked over to the door that Sam had just left and Dean pushed it open slowly. They both saw Ruby standing at the foot of the bed, packing her duffel bag. She heard the door creak open and she whirled around, her eyes widening as she saw Dean lunge towards her with her demon-killing knife in his hand. Ruby deflected his first blow and then she held his wrist away from her, fighting him as Dean pushed forward trying to stab her. Alex watched from the doorway as Dean struggled to stab Ruby. She heard footsteps from down the hall and watched as Sam rushed into the room. Alex grabbed his jacket and Sam whirled around to face her.

"Sammy, let it be. This has to happen," said Alex.

Sam ignored her plea and shoved her out of the way, Alex falling back into the door. Sam rushed over to Dean and Ruby, grabbing Dean's arm. He took the knife from Dean's hand and shoved Dean away from them, Dean falling onto the bed.

"Stop, Dean. Just take it easy," said Sam, holing up his palm to placate Dean.

Dean slowly stood up, staring at his brother.

"Well, that must have been some party you two had going. Considering how hard you tried to keep me from crashing it. Well, solid try, but here I am," said Dean.

"Dean, I'm glad that you and Alex are here. Look, let's just talk about this," said Sam.

"As soon as she's dead, we can talk all you want," said Dean, shaking his head.

Sam turned back to speak to Ruby.

"Ruby, get out of here."

"No, she's not going anywhere," said Dean, starting towards Sam.

Sam stepped forward, blocking Dean from getting to Ruby. Dean looked at Sam. Alex glared at Ruby as she walked out of the room.

"She's poison, Sam!"

"Look, it's not what you think, Dean."

"Look what she did to you! She up and vanishes weeks at a time, leaves you cracking out for another hit!"

"She was looking for Lilith!"

Dean scoffed as he stared at his brother.

"That is French for manipulating your sorry ass ten ways from Sunday."

"You're wrong, Dean."

Dean shook his head sadly as he stepped towards his brother.

"Sammy, you're lying to yourself. Look, I just want you to be okay. And you would do the same for me, you know you would."

"Just listen for a second. We've got a lead on a demon close to Lilith. Come with us, Dean. You and Alex. The four of us, we'll do this all together."

"That sounds great. As long as it's you, me, and Alex. That demon bitch is a deal breaker. You kiss her goodbye and we can go right now, this very second."

Sam sighed sadly.

"I can't. Dean, I need her. To help me kill Lilith. I know you can't wrap your head around it right now, but maybe, one day, you'll understand. I'm the only one who can do this, Dean."

Dean had turned away from Sam, but he suddenly whirled back around. Alex looked between the two of them, her bottom lip in between her teeth nervously as she stood by the closed door.

"No, you're not the one who's gonna do this," said Dean, facing Sam once again.

"Right, that's right, I forgot. The angels think that it's you."

"What, you don't think I can?"

"No. You can't. You're not strong enough."

"Then who the hell are you?"

"I'm being practical here. I'm doing what needs to be done."

"Oh, yeah? You're not gonna do a single damn thing."

"Stop bossing me around, Dean! Look, my whole life, you take the wheel, you call the shots and I trust you because you're my brother. Now, I'm asking you, for once, trust me."

Alex watched as Dean shook his head.

"No."

Sam let out an exasperated sigh and looked up towards the ceiling for a brief second after Dean's rejection.

"You don't know what you're doing, Sam."

"Yes, I do!"

"Then that's worse!"

"Why? Just listen to me!"

"Because it's not something that you're doing, it's what you are! It means-"

Dean stopped.

"What?" asked Sam.

Sam stared at his older brother, tears in his eyes and a sarcastic smirk on his lips. He grit his teeth together.

"No. Say it," said Sam.

Dean nodded exasperatedly.

"It means you're a monster," he finally said.

Sam nodded and looked over towards the door where Alex was standing.

"Is that what you think too, Alex? Huh? That I'm some kind of freak, some kind of monster?"

Alex shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at her twin brother.

"Sammy, please," she whispered.

Sam looked away from her and turned back to face Dean. Alex watched as a tear fell from Dean's eye and down his face. She gasped in horror as Sam punched Dean straight in the face. Dean fell to the floor, but quickly stood back up. He ran towards Sam, grabbing him by the lapels of his jacket and punching him in the face. Dean got in a few good punches until Sam kneed him in the stomach. Dean stumbled backwards, but caught his footing quickly. He punched Sam right in the face and Sam stumbled backwards then, falling into the entryway of the bathroom. Dean stalked towards him, but Sam was ready for him. Sam punched Dean in the stomach and grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. He pushed Dean up into the wall and hit him a few more times. Sam jabbed Dean with quick uppercut under the chin, sending Dean flying into the mirror behind him. Alex gasped in horror and ran over to the two of them. She watched as Dean turned around and ran toward Sam. Dean went to strike Sam in the face, but Sam ducked and grabbed Dean around the middle. Sam threw Dean into the decorative pillar that stood between the door and the bedroom. Dean broke it on his way down into the glass coffee table, which shattered into a million tiny pieces as he fell on top of it from Sam's throw. Dean coughed from his position on the floor, wincing as he felt the glass beneath him. Dean wheezed and gasped for breath as Sam stalked towards him. Alex looked on and watched as Sam wrapped his hands around Dean's throat. Dean held Sam's hands on his neck, but he was too weak to fight him. Dean's eyes were beginning to roll back into his head when Alex rushed over to them. She began yelling at Sam, so Sam let go of Dean's throat. Dean began coughing profusely as Sam stood up straight. Alex looked at her twin brother, tears welling up in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks as she cried.

"Sammy, what the hell is wrong with you? You almost fucking killed Dean!" she yelled.

Sam glared at her.

"Neither one of you know me. You never did and you never will."

Sam began heading for the door when Dean spoke.

"You walk out that door… don't you ever come back!" yelled Dean.

Sam grabbed the doorknob, turning his head to look down at Dean on the floor. He pulled open the door and Dean rolled over onto his side, wincing as he did so.

"Sammy, please don't leave. You're my twin brother, I love you," whispered Alex.

Sam looked over at her. He said nothing and stepped outside into the hallway, slamming the motel room door closed behind him. Alex crouched down to the floor, shaking as she began crying profusely, sobbing loudly into the now empty room.

"Come here, Lex," whispered Dean, his voice gruff.

Alex nodded and walked over to where Dean was sitting up in the middle of the disastrous room. Dean grabbed her hand and pulled her sideways onto his lap, her head in his chest and his lips at her ear.

"I should be the one helping you. You're the one who just went through a whole fight," said Alex.

Dean smirked slightly.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, baby girl."

Alex nodded into his chest and began crying once again. Dean kissed the side of her head as they sat in the middle of the motel room.

"Dean?" called out Alex, staring at her brother.

She sighed when he didn't respond and stared over at him. Dean was looking out the window of Bobby's study while Bobby sat behind his desk and Alex leaned against it.

"Dean? You hear a word I just said?" asked Bobby, glancing over at him as well.

"Yeah, I heard you," said Dean.

He shook his head.

"I'm not calling him."

Bobby sighed and looked over at Alex, who looked down at the floor, avoiding the question.

"Don't make me get my gun."

Dean turned around and glared at Bobby.

"Bobby, we are damn near kickoff for Armageddon. Don't you think we've got bigger fish to fry right now?" asked Dean.

"Look, I know you're pissed off and I'm not making apologies for what Sam's done, but he's your-"

"Your blood? He's our blood, is that what you were gonna say?" asked Dean.

"He's your brother. And he's drowning."

"Bobby, we tried to help him, we really did. And look what happened."

"So try again."

Dean shook his head and paced across the study floor.

"No, it's too late."

"There's no such thing as too late."

"No, damn it! No. Look, we've gotta face the facts here. Sam never wanted to be a part of this family. He hated this life growing up, ran away to Stanford first chance he got. And now it's like déjà vu all over again. Well, I am sick and tired of chasing him. Screw him. He can do whatever the hell he wants to do now," said Dean, sitting down in an armchair next to Bobby's desk.

"You don't mean that," said Bobby.

"Yes, he does, Bobby. Sam's gone. And I'm not even sure if he's still our brother anymore. If he ever even was. He doesn't want us, he never wanted us," whispered Alex.

Bobby looked over at her, his eyes wide. He began fuming and suddenly threw all of the papers and books off of his desk, throwing them all off to the side. He stormed over to Dean.

"You stupid son of a bitch! Well, boo-hoo, I am so sorry that your and Alex's feelings are hurt. Are you two damn idiots under the impression that family is supposed to make you feel great? Make you an apple pie, maybe? They're supposed to make you miserable, that's why they're family!" yelled Bobby.

"I told him that if he walked out that door, don't come back and he walked out anyway. That was his choice!" yelled Dean.

"You sound like a whiny little brat."

Dean rolled his eyes and shoved past Bobby, moving to stand over beside Alex now. She looked between the two of them, her eyes wide as Bobby looked at Dean's retreating form, shaking his head.

"No, you sound like your father. Well, let me tell you something. Your dad was a coward."

Dean turned around to face Bobby then.

"My dad was a lot of things, Bobby, but a coward?"

"He'd rather push Sam away than reach out to him. Well, that don't strike me as very brave. You are a better man than your daddy ever was. So you do all three of us a favor. Don't be him," said Bobby.

Dean turned away, looking out the window in the study once again. Alex walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Dean reached out, covering her hand with one of his. As Dean turned around, his brow furrowed with confusion. He and Alex were no longer standing in Bobby' study, but were in a large open room full of paintings and statues.

"Dean, where the hell are we?" asked Alex, taking her lower lip in between her teeth with nervousness.

"Hello, Dean. It's almost time."

Alex and Dean whirled around to see Castiel standing behind them. Dean stepped a little in front of Alex, blocking her only slightly from Castiel's view. Castiel suddenly disappeared and Dean visibly relaxed. He turned around to face Alex.

"Dean, I don't understand. What did he mean, it's almost time?" asked Alex.

Dean took her face gently between his hands and forced Alex to look up at him.

"Alex, I need you to listen to me. I made a deal with Castiel, remember? That I would help them take down Lilith instead of Sam, right?"

Alex nodded as best she could while Dean was still holding her face.

"Now, I don't know why they brought you here with me. Probably because they knew you would be more of an asset if you were here with me too. Just listen to me, okay? We'll get through this together as long as you just stay and listen with me, alright?"

Alex tried to nod once again and Dean finally let go of her face. He kissed her forehead and they looked around the room. A marble table held a large tray of cheeseburgers and a large bucket of beer. Dean walked up to it hesitantly, not noticing the two angels standing beside it as he grabbed a bottle of beer from out of the ice filled silver bucket.

"Hello, Dean," said a voice to his right.

Dean looked over to his right and saw Castiel and Zachariah standing there.

"You're looking fit," said Zachariah, smirking as he took in Dean.

Dean scoffed and placed the bottle of beer back into the ice filled bucket.

"Well how about this. So what is this? Where the hell am I?" asked Dean.

"You can call it a green room. We're closing in on the grand finale here. Wanna keep you and your sister safe before show time. You're both important for our success here," said Zachariah.

He looked behind Dean at Alex, who didn't look directly at him. Dean stepped into his line of vision.

"I wanna know what the game plan is."

Zachariah nodded.

"Let us worry about that. We want you two focused, relaxed."

"Well, we're about to be pissed and leaving. So, start talking, Chuckles."

"All the seals have fallen. Except one."

"That's an impressive score. That's right up there with the Washington Generals."

"Oh, you think sarcasm's appropriate, do you? Especially considering that you started all of this?"

Dean's face fell and Alex walked forward.

"Okay, you know what, asshole? You're being a real dick and I don't appreciate it. Either tell us your fucking plan or I'll kick your holy ass all the way back to Heaven," said Alex.

She stepped closer to Zachariah and Castiel, but Dean grabbed her around the waist, keeping her in place right beside him. Zachariah's eyebrows rose as he chuckled at her outburst.

"Ooh, you're just a real feisty one, aren't you? But the final seal, it'll be different."

"Why?" asked Dean.

"Because Lilith has to break it. She's the only one who can. Tomorrow night at midnight."

"Where?"

"We're working on it."

"Well work harder," said Alex.

"We'll do our job, you two just make sure you do yours," said Zachariah.

"And what is that exactly? I'm supposed to be the one that stops her, how, with a knife?" asked Dean.

"All in good time."

"Isn't now a great time?"

"Have a little bit of faith."

"In you? Give me one good reason why I should."

"Because you swore your obedience. So obey," threatened Zachariah.

Dean looked over at Castiel, who looked down at the floor.

Alex watched as Dean paced the floor of the room they were currently stuck in. She was seated at the marble table in the room while Dean smacked his phone against his open palm as he paced. She rolled her eyes as Dean stared down at his phone.

"Dean, please just do it," begged Alex.

Dean looked over at her and then nodded.

"Ah, screw it," said Dean.

He flipped open his phone and dialed Sam's phone number. It only rang a few times until it rolled straight into Sam's voicemail message. Dean waited for the beep to sound and then he spoke.

"Hey, it's me. Um, look… I'll just get right to it then. I'm still pissed and I owe you a serious beat down. But… I shouldn't have said what I said. You know, I'm not Dad. We're brothers, you know, we're family. And, um, no matter how bad it gets, that doesn't change. Sammy, I'm sorry."

The beep sounded then, indicating that Dean's message was over. He nodded and pulled his cell phone away from his ear. He sighed, but sat down across from Alex at the white marble table.

"I'm proud of you, you know," said Alex, smirking over at him.

Dean looked over at her, smirking right back.

"Hey, I'm proud of you too. And I'm sorry you were dragged into all of this mess."

He waved his hand around, indicating the angels and the waiting they were currently doing. Alex smiled softly over at him now.

"It's alright. I know I'd probably be going stir crazy over at Bobby's trying to figure out where they had taken you."

Dean smirked and nodded with agreement.

Another hour later, Alex was asleep with her head resting on top of her arms, which were resting on the marble table. Dean walked over to an end table and pushed over a small white statue. The statue shattered and Castiel appeared behind Dean then.

"You asked to see me," said Castiel.

Dean whirled around to face him. He looked down at the broken statue and then back up at Castiel, his face now a little bit sheepish. He cleared his throat.

"Yeah, listen. I, um, need something," said Dean.

"Anything you wish," responded Castiel.

Dean nodded.

"I need you to take me to see Sam."

"Why?"

"There's something I've gotta talk to him about."

"What's that?"

Dean just shrugged.

"What's it to you? Let's make this snappy here."

"I don't think that's very wise," said Castiel, looking around the room instead of looking at Dean.

Dean stepped forward towards Castiel.

"Well, I didn't ask you for your opinion."

Castiel finally looked at him.

"Have you forgotten what happened the last time you met?"

"No. That's the whole point. Listen, I'm gonna do whatever you guys want, okay? I just need to tie up this one loose end. Five minutes, that's all I need."

Castiel stared at him for a few seconds.

"No."

Dean flinched back.

"What do you mean, no? Are you saying that I'm trapped here?"

"You can go wherever you want."

"Super, I wanna go see Sam."

"Except there."

"I wanna take a walk."

"Fine, I'll go with you."

"Alone."

"No."

Dean smirked sarcastically.

"You know what, screw this noise, I'm out of here."

"Through what door?" asked Castiel.

Dean looked back at him curiously and then turned around to see that the door that has just previously been in front of him was now gone, having vanished into thin air. Dean turned back around to face Castiel, who was now nowhere to be found.

"Damn it," muttered Dean, looking up towards the ceiling.

Alex was startled awake by the sounds of Dean pounding into the wall. She sat up straight, stretched her arms above her head, and saw Dean across the room. He had flipped a bronze statue around and was using the bottom of its base to smash a hole into the wall.

"Dean, what are you doing?" asked Alex.

"Trying to get us out of here," replied Dean.

He turned back to the wall, but the hole he had just been making was now completely gone. He stared at it curiously, brushing his hand over the wall where his hole had been. He threw the statue to the ground carelessly and turned around. Alex was standing up, glaring at Zachariah. Dean walked over to join her side.

"Let us out of here," said Dean.

"Like I told you, it's too dangerous out there, Dean. Demons on the prowl."

"I've been getting my ass kicked all year and now you're sweating my safety? You're lying. We want to see our brother," yelled Dean.

"That's ill advised."

"You know, I am so sick of your crap riddles and your smug, fat face. What the hell is going on, huh? Why can't we see Sam? And how am I gonna ice Lilith?"

Zachariah sighed and briefly looked down at the floor before he looked back up at Dean and Alex once again.

"You're not. Neither one of you are. Going to ice Lilith, I mean," answered Zachariah.

"What?" asked Dean.

"Lilith's going to break the final seal. The train's left the station," said Zachariah.

He plopped himself down on the golden loveseat that was located at the other end of the large white room. Dean and Alex walked after him.

"But we can stop this," said Alex.

Zachariah looked up at both of them, a smug smirk on his face.

"You don't want to stop it, do you?" asked Dean.

Alex looked over at him.

"Nope. Never did. The end is nigh, the apocalypse is coming, kiddos. To a theater near you."

"So what was all of that crap about saving seals?"

"We couldn't just tell everyone the whole truth, we'd have a full scale rebellion on our hands. I mean, think about it. Would we really let 65 seals get broken unless senior management wanted it that way?" asked Zachariah.

"But why?" asked Alex.

She reached over and grabbed Dean's hand, his face visibly paling from this new round of information.

"Why not? The apocalypse. Really, all it is is we like our chances. When our side wins, and we will, it's paradise on earth. What's not to like about that?"

"What happens to all the people during your little pissing contest?" asked Dean.

Zachariah stood up then, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"Well, you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. In this case, truckloads of eggs, but you all get the picture. Look, it happens. This isn't the first planetary enema we've delivered."

"You're despicable," spat Alex, glaring over at Zachariah.

Zachariah just smirked and buttoned up his black suit jacket.

"And what about Sam? He won't go quietly, he'll stop Lilith," said Dean.

Zachariah took in a deep breath through his nose, still smirking while he did so.

"Sam has a part to play. A very important part. He may need a little nudging in the right direction, but I'll make sure he plays it."

"What does that mean?" asked Dean, stepping closer to Zachariah.

"What are you gonna do to him?" whispered Alex, her eyes fearful now.

Zachariah rolled his eyes at both of them.

"Sam, Sam, Sam. Forget about him, would you? You have larger concerns. Why do you think I'm confiding in you? You two are still vital. We weren't lying about your destiny, Dean. Just omitted a few pertinent details, but nothing's changed. You are chosen and you will stop it. Just… not Lilith or the apocalypse, that's all."

"Which means what exactly?" asked Dean.

Zachariah didn't answer right away, but looked at the picture in front of them now. Dean and Alex looked at it as well. It was a picture of a curly haired man clad in black armor.

"Lucifer. You're going to stop Lucifer. You're our own little Russell Crowe, complete with surly attitude and all. And when it's over and when you've won, your rewards will be unimaginable. Peace, happiness. Trust me, one day we'll look back on this and laugh," explained Zachariah.

He turned away from them, beginning to walk away from them as well.

"Tell me something. Where's God in all of this?" asked Dean.

Zachariah stopped walking away from them, but he didn't turn to face them as he responded.

"God? God has left the building."

Dean and Alex remained staring at Zachariah's back, but once they blinked, he was gone. Alex sighed and ran a hand through her long, blonde locks while Dean glanced over at the picture of Lucifer once again.

Dean pulled out his phone, trying to call Sam once again, but it wouldn't even let him leave a voicemail. The phone emitted static noises. Dean hung up in frustration and as he tried to reach Sam once again, Alex noticed Castiel standing beside her now. She jumped in fear, holding a hand to her now pounding heart.

"Dean, we have a visitor," announced Alex.

Dean whirled around to face them, his cell phone still in his hand.

"You can't reach him, Dean. You're outside your coverage zone," explained Castiel.

"What are you gonna do to Sam?" asked Dean.

"Nothing. He's gonna do it to himself."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Alex, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at Castiel angrily.

Castiel looked down at the floor, avoiding answering her question.

"Oh, right, right. You've gotta toe the company line. Why are you here, Cas?"

"We've been through much together, you and I. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry that it ended like this."

"Sorry?"

Dean reared back and punched Castiel in the face. Castiel hardly flinched, his head flying backwards. Dean cradled his hand to his chest in pain, Alex looking on in shock and horror.

"It's Armageddon, Cas, you need a bigger word than sorry," said Dean, turning back around to face Castiel once again.

"Just try to understand that this is long foretold. This is your-"

"Destiny? Don't give me that holy crap. Destiny, God's plan. It's all a bunch of lies, you poor, stupid, son of a bitch. It's just a way for your bosses to keep me and keep you in line. You know what's real? People. Families. That's real. And you're gonna watch 'em all burn?"

"What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you, I see your guilt. Your anger, confusion. In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace. Even with Sam."

"Okay, well, you can take your peace and shove it up your ass. I'll take the pain and the guilt, hell, I'll even take Sam as is. It's a lot better than being some stepford bitch in paradise. This is simple, Cas! No more crap about being a good soldier. There is a right and there is a wrong here and you know it. Look at me! You know it! Now, you were gonna help me, help us once, weren't you? You were gonna warn me about all of this before they dragged you back to Bible camp. Help me. Now. Please."

Castiel looked straight ahead instead of at Dean or Alex.

"What would you have me do?" asked Castiel.

"Get me and Alex to Sam and we can stop this before it's all too late."

"If I do that, we will all be hunted. We'll all be killed."

Dean looked back at Alex, who stepped up to stand beside her older brother. Dean looked back at Castiel then.

"If there is anything worth dying for, then this is it."

Dean and Alex looked over at Castiel, who shook his head, looking down at the floor. Dean shook his head, stepping away from him.

"You spineless, soulless son of a bitch. What do you even care about dying, you're already dead, we're done."

Dean turned his back on Castiel, walking away from him.

"Dean," muttered Castiel.

"We're done."

Alex sighed as Castiel disappeared into thin air. She glanced over at Dean, who was angry as hell. She plopped down onto the golden loveseat on one end of the large room and rested her elbows on her knees. She placed her head in her hands and sighed, praying that Sam was doing alright out in the real world with Ruby.

An hour later, Dean walked over to the marble table, grabbing a cheeseburger. As he held it up to his lips, Castiel grabbed him from behind, throwing him up against the wall behind them. Alex rushed over to Dean and Castiel, standing beside her older brother. Castiel held a finger to his lips and Alex and Dean both nodded with understanding. Castiel pulled out Ruby's demon-killing knife from his trench coat pocket and held it up to his left forearm. Alex and Dean's eyes both widened as they watched Castiel cut himself, blood dripping onto the white floor. Castiel took his other hand and began painting something onto the wall with his blood, Alex and Dean moving out of his way so he could do so. As he painted, Zachariah entered the room.

"Castiel," he called out.

They all whirled around to face him. Zachariah stalked forward and just as he reached the three of them, Castiel finished his symbol drawing. He stuck his palm in the middle of the drawing and a vibrant white light flashed, Dean and Alex ducking as they shielded their eyes. Zachariah disappeared and Castiel glanced behind him at Alex and Dean.

"He won't be gone long. We have to find Sam now," explained Castiel.

"Well, where is he?" asked Alex, looking over at Castiel expectantly.

"I don't know. But I know who does. We have to stop him, Dean. From killing Lilith," answered Castiel, handing Dean Ruby's knife with his blood on it now.

"But Lilith's gonna break the final seal," yelled Dean, taking the knife from Castiel's hands.

"Lilith is the final seal. She dies, the end begins."

Alex blinked and then she noticed that she was now standing in Chuck Shirley's kitchen, staring at him as he hung up the phone. Dean and Castiel stood beside her. Chuck sighed and grabbed a stack of papers off of his desk. He handed them over to Dean.

"St. Mary's? What is that, a convent?" asked Dean, staring down at the paper.

"Yeah, but you guys aren't supposed to be there. You're not in this story," responded Chuck.

"Yeah, well. We're making it up as we go here," said Castiel.

Suddenly, the room began shaking and a bright, white light began filling up the room.

"Come on, not again!" yelled Chuck, putting his arms above his head to shield himself from the falling debris.

"It's the archangel! I'll hold him off! Just stop Sam!" yelled Castiel.

He put a palm on both Alex and Dean's foreheads and they were suddenly transported to St. Mary's convent in Ilchester, Maryland. They were standing in a hallway, so Dean grabbed Alex's hand and began dragging her around the first corner he could find. After about three minutes, they rounded another corner and stopped. Down the hallway they were currently facing, they saw Sam standing in a large room, Lilith lying on the floor in front of him while Ruby stood beside him. Ruby turned her head, seeing the two of them at the end of the hallway. She smirked evilly and held out her palm, causing the wooden doors to slam shut.

Back in the room, Sam stalked forward towards Lilith, smirking as he did so.

"I've been waiting for this for a very long time," said Sam.

"Then give me your best shot," sneered Lilith, her lip curling upwards as she spoke.

Sam held up his palm towards Lilith, Ruby smiling behind him. An orange light began shining from Lilith's chest and her pupils turned yellow. Sam cocked his head to the side as he heard a background noise. His eyebrows pulled together with confusion and he lowered his palm, freeing Lilith. He turned towards the closed doors.

Dean and Alex banged on the closed doors, screaming for Sam.

"Sam! Sam!"

"Sammy, open the door! Please!"

"Dean?" whispered Sam, ignoring Ruby's screams beside him.

Lilith began laughing behind Sam, so Sam turned back to face her.

"You've turned yourself into some kind of freak. A monster. And now, you're not even gonna bite. I'm sorry, but that is honestly adorable," said Lilith.

She began chuckling once again, which pissed Sam off even more. With his eyes now as black as night, Sam held up his palm towards Lilith once again. He clenched his fist and Lilith began gasping for breath, her eyes wide. A bright white light burst from her chest and then she slumped to the floor, dead. Sam's eyes returned to their normal coloring as he caught his breath, staring down at Lilith's dead body. Ruby stepped closer to Sam, both of them watching curiously as Lilith's blood began flowing from her head swiftly. It started to form a pattern on the floor beneath their feet.

"What the hell is going on?" whispered Sam.

"I can't believe it," muttered Ruby, stepping closer to the ever faster flowing blood.

"Ruby, what the hell's going on?" asked Sam, looking at the demon beside him.

"You did it. I mean, it was a little touch and go there for a while, but… you did it," answered Ruby, turning to look at Sam beside her.

Sam shook his head, his eyebrows raised.

"What? What-what did I do?"

"You opened the door. And now he is free. He's free at last."

"No, no, no, no. Lilith, I stopped her, I killed her!"

Ruby smiled up at him.

"And it is written that the first demon shall be the last seal. And you busted her open. So now, guess who's coming to dinner?"

Sam's eyes widened even more and he ran his hands through his hair as he walked away from Ruby, staring down at Lilith's cold, dead body.

"Oh my God," he whispered.

"Guess again," said Ruby, watching the blood pool on the floor.

Sam glared over at Ruby.

"And you don't even know how hard this was. All the demons out for my head, no one knew. I was the best of those sons of bitches! The most loyal! Not even Alistair knew! Only Lilith! And yeah, I'm sure you're a little bit angry right now, but, I mean, come on, Sam! Even you have to admit, I'm fucking awesome!"

"You bitch. You lying bitch!"

Sam flung out both of his arms, but nothing happened to Ruby. He fell flat on his back with pain, an excruciating headache tearing through his forehead suddenly. Ruby just stared at him knowingly.

"Don't hurt yourself now, Sammy, it's useless. You shot your payload on the big boss."

"The blood... You poisoned me!"

Ruby shook her head at Sam, looking sympathetic now as she moved closer to him.

"No, it wasn't the blood. It was you and your choices. I just gave you all of the options and you simply chose the right path every single time. You didn't need the feather to fly, you had it in you the whole time, Dumbo."

Sam stared over at her with disgust. Ruby fell to her knees in front of him.

"I know it's hard to see it now. But this is a miracle. So long coming. Everything Azazeal did and Lilith did, just to get you here. And you were the only one who could do it."

"Why? Why me?" whispered Sam, looking into Ruby's face as she held and caressed his cheek with her palm.

"Because. Because it had to be you, Sammy. It always had to be you. You saved us. You set him free. And he's gonna be so grateful. He's gonna repay you in ways that you can't even imagine!" said Ruby, a mega-watt smile spreading across her face as she stroked Sam's cheek.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and Alex and Dean stormed inside. Ruby whirled around to face them, Sam looking over at them sadly. Dean pulled out Ruby's knife from his waistband as Ruby stood up, smirking as he stalked towards her. Sam stared at the circle of blood in the room while Alex rushed over to him.

"You're too late," said Ruby, a triumphant smile on her smug face.

"I don't care," said Dean.

Alex stood behind Ruby and quickly grabbed her arms, holding her down as Dean stabbed her straight in the stomach. Ruby cried out in pain as Dean twisted the knife in even further. Dean pulled out the knife after a couple more seconds and Ruby's dead body fell to the marble floor. Dean and Alex both looked over at Sam then, who looked about to burst into tears, his face very apologetic.

"I'm sorry," whispered Sam.

As Sam finished muttering his apology, Lilith's blood finished pooling into a large round circle. A bright white light shot straight up from the middle of the circle of blood as the siblings looked on in horror.

"Come on, guys, let's get out of here," said Alex, grabbing the sleeve of Sam's tan jacket.

"Dean, Alex. He's coming," whispered Sam, staring into the bright white light.

Alex's other hand grabbed onto the arm of Dean's jacket and she stood between her two brothers, watching as the bright white light continued flooding into the room.


	42. Chapter 42

_This is my first story, so please be nice. Tell me what you think. _

_I do not own any of the characters (except for Alex) and I do not own any of the storylines. I am __**SO**__ sorry that it has taken me forever to update. School has been kicking my ass lately! Anyway, this story is getting a little long, so I may begin writing the sequel/continuation soon! Thanks for sticking with me and still reading! It is very much appreciated!_

**Chapter 42**

_Previously in __At Hell's Gates__: _

_As Sam finished muttering his apology, Lilith's blood finished pooling into a large round circle. A bright white light shot straight up from the middle of the circle of blood as the siblings looked on in horror._

_"Come on, guys, let's get out of here," said Alex, grabbing the sleeve of Sam's tan jacket._

_"Dean, Alex. He's coming," whispered Sam, staring into the bright white light._

_Alex's other hand grabbed onto the arm of Dean's jacket and she stood between her two brothers, watching as the bright white light continued flooding into the room._

Dean looked on for a second longer before grabbing Alex's free hand and running towards the door. Alex grabbed Sam's hand and just as they reached the wooden doors, they slammed shut. The siblings stopped in their tracks. Dean and Sam tried using the door handles, but the door wouldn't budge at all. The white light burned brighter, even beginning to burn holes straight through the wooden doors. A high-pitched whistling sounded throughout the room as Dean and Sam exchanged wide eyed glances with each other. They turned around, standing behind Alex. All three of them cringed at the bright light, holding one hand out to try and block the light. Each of them used their other free hand to attempt to block the whistling sound from their ears. Once they released there was no stopping the light, each sibling held both hands up to their ears, falling to their knees from the crippling sound. The light only seemed to burn brighter and the noise only seemed to get louder. Sam and Dean were on either side of Alex now as the light finally overtook the entire room.

Alex opened her eyes a minute later to see that she was seated in between Sam and Dean. They were now on a plane, a cartoon playing on the TV screens in front of them. She removed her hands from her ears, nudging Sam and Dean to do the same.

"What the hell?" whispered Dean, taking in his surroundings.

Sam shook his head.

"I don't know."

A beep sounded and the captain's voice came over the speakers in the plane.

"Folks, a quick word from the flight deck. We're just passing over Ilchester, then Ellicott City on our initial descent into…"

"Ilchester, weren't we just there?" asked Dean, looking over at his siblings.

As Alex nodded in the affirmative, the plane suddenly jolted to the right. Alarms began sounding in the plane and the oxygen masks dropped down from the ceiling. Dean, Alex, and Sam each located one, grabbing it and putting it over their faces. They held onto the empty seats in front of them as the place took a nosedive towards the ground. Dean looked out his window, his eyes widening as the plane headed towards the ground.

Alex opened her eyes once again and found that they were now driving down a road, Sam switching the dials on the radio. The stations were all talking about things such as nuclear missiles and warfare. Sam finally sighed and gave up on the radio, turning it off completely instead. He shook his head, sighing sadly.

"Guys, look, I-"

"Don't say anything. It's okay. Now we just gotta keep our heads down and stay low, alright?" said Dean.

Sam's eyes widened, but he nodded with agreement.

"Okay."

"Well, first things first, how did we end up on soul plane?" asked Dean.

Alex shrugged.

"I don't know, angels, maybe? You know, beaming us out of harm's way?" she suggested.

"Yeah, well, whatever. It's the least of our worries. We need to find Cas," said Dean.

A few hours later, Sam, Alex, and Dean were walking through Chuck's house, looking for Castiel. There was debris strewn everywhere, as if there had been a rather large, blow-out fight there. As Sam stepped into the hallway by the staircase, he was whacked in the head with a baseball bat. He stumbled backwards, holding a hand to his head in pain.

"Geez! Ow!" he yelled.

Chuck's eyes widened.

"Sam!"

"Yeah!"

"Hey, Chuck," said Alex.

Chuck looked over at her, just now noticing her and Dean.

"So, you're okay, Sam! I mean, my last vision, you went like, full on Vader. Your heart was 250, your temperature skyrocketed to 107 and your eyes were black!"

"Your eyes went black?" asked Dean.

Sam turned to look at his siblings, gulping nervously.

"I didn't know," explained Sam.

"Where's Cas?" asked Dean, looking over at Chuck once again.

Chuck's shoulders slumped and he looked defeated as he answered.

"He's dead. Or gone. The archangel smoked the crap out of him. I'm sorry," said Chuck, shaking his head.

"You're sure?" asked Alex sadly.

"Yeah, he like, exploded. Like a water balloon of chunky soup."

Alex's face paled at the disgusting visual Chuck had just described to them. Dean shook his head, looking down at the ground.

"Cas, you stupid bastard," he muttered under his breath.

Sam turned to face him.

"Stupid? He was trying to help us," replied Sam.

"Yeah, exactly," responded Dean.

"So what now?"

"I don't know."

"Oh, crap," said Chuck.

"What?" asked Alex, turning her attention back over to him.

"I can feel them," whispered Chuck.

"We thought we'd find you here," said Zachariah.

The three siblings turned to see Zachariah standing in the kitchen, flanked by two men that they had never seen before. Zachariah kicked some rubble out of his way as Dean staked towards him.

"Play time's over, Dean. Time to come with us."

Zachariah stepped forward, but Dean pointed a finger over at him.

"You just keep your distance, asshat."

Zachariah halted, looking confused.

"You're upset," he stated.

"Yeah, a little. You sons of bitches jumpstarted Judgment Day!"

"Okay, sure, we may have _let_ it happen, but we didn't _start _anything. Right, Sammy?"

Zachariah winked at Sam, whose face was cold as he stared at the angel.

"You had a chance to stop your brother and you couldn't. So let's not quibble over who started what, let's just say that it was all our faults and move forward. 'Cause like it or not, it's Apocalypse Now. And we're back on the same team again," said Zachariah.

"Is that so?" asked Dean.

"You wanna kill the devil and we want you to kill the devil."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you? Right. Cram it with walnuts, ugly."

"This isn't a game, son. Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description and we need to strike now. Before he finds his vessel."

"His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?" asked Alex, scoffing.

"He is an angel. Bends the rules. But when he touches down, we're talking Four Horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies, his greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean. But you need our help," finished Zachariah, a smirk on his face.

"You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!"

"You listen to me, boy! You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?" yelled Zachariah, stepping forward.

He glanced down at Dean's clenched fists and looked taken aback. Blood was dripping from Dean's closed palm onto the floor.

"You're bleeding," said Zachariah.

"Oh, yeah. A little insurance policy in case you dicks decided to show up," said Dean.

Zachariah looked confused, but his eyes widened with fear as he saw Dean pull open the door that divides the kitchen from the living room. Dean placed his bleeding palm on the symbol drawn there and the three angels disappeared in a flash of bright white light. Dean glanced around the kitchen, seeing no sign of the angels. He looked up towards the ceiling.

"I learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch," said Dean.

"This sucks ass," said Chuck, shaking his head sadly.

Dean and Alex looked up as Sam re-entered the motel room they were currently staying in. Sam tossed each of them a small bag he had been hiding in his jacket.

"Here. Hex bags. No way the angels will find us with those. Or demons either, for that matter."

"Where'd you get it?" asked Dean, looking at the small bag in his hands.

"I made it," answered Sam.

"How?" asked Alex, reloading her gun.

Sam hesitated in his answer, causing Alex and Dean to both glance over at him.

"I, um, learned it from Ruby."

Dean nodded and walked towards Sam.

"Speaking of, how are you doing? Are you jonesing for another hit of bitch blood, or what?" asked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes at Dean's blunt question. Sam put his hands on his hips.

"It's weird, but to tell you the truth, I'm fine. No shakes, no fever, it's like whoever put me on that plane cleaned me right up," answered Sam.

Dean turned back around and began working on his gun again.

"Guys, I'm so sorry. I screwed up. Look, there's nothing I can do or say that will ever make this right again-"

"So why do you keep bringing it up?" yelled Dean.

Alex flinched at his loud, harsh tone. Sam sighed, casting his eyes downward as Dean turned to face him.

"Look, all I'm saying is why do we have to put this under a microscope? We made a mess, we clean it up, and that's it. If this were just like any other hunt, we would already be out there looking for the thing," said Dean.

"So, let's go find the devil," said Alex, a hint of nervousness in her tone.

Alex groaned as she laid on her bed later that day, listening to the newscasters on the TV debating about why all of this weird weather was cropping up all at the same time. Dean was in charge of the remote while Sam sat at the kitchen table in the motel room, reading the newspaper. Just as Dean flicked the Power button, turning off the TV, a knock sounded on the door. All three of them suddenly looked up, confused. Dean got up first, heading for the door with his gun in his hand. Alex and Sam followed directly behind him. Sam beat Dean to the door and looked through the peephole. He opened the door and saw a girl about Alex's height standing in front of him. She gasped when she saw him, looking as if she was about to cry or faint.

"You okay, lady?" asked Sam.

"Oh, Sam. Is it really you?"

Sam glanced back at his siblings, confused. The girl stepped closer, touching his chest. Sam quickly looked back in front of him.

"And you're so firm!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide as she looked up into his face.

"Um, do I know you?" asked Sam.

The girl removed her hand from Sam's chest and shook her head.

"No. But I know you. You're Sam Winchester. And you're-"

She looked into the room, where Dean and Alex were sitting on the end of Dean's bed. The girl's smile faded as she took them in.

"Not what I pictured," she finished.

Alex scoffed, glaring at the girl as Dean just looked confused. The girl's face brightened again as she took in Sam.

"I'm Becky," she said.

She brushed past Sam as she walked confidently into the room, stopping once she was in the middle.

"I've read all about you three. And I've even written a few…"

She trailed off, looking embarrassed and sheepish as she giggled and looked down towards the floor.

"Anyway, Mister Edlund told me where you were."

"Chuck?" asked Alex.

She and Dean stood up from the bed as Sam slammed the door closed, locking it behind him as well.

"He's got a message. But he's being watched. Angels. Nice change up to the mythology, by the way, because the demon stuff was getting kind of old."

"What's the message?" asked Alex, crossing her arms over her chest impatiently.

"He had a vision. 'The Michael Sword is on Earth. The angels lost it.'"

"The Michael Sword?" asked Dean.

"Becky, does he know where it is?" asked Sam, ignoring Dean's question for now.

"In a castle. On a hill made of forty-two dogs," answered Becky.

"Forty-two dogs," stated Dean, sounding skeptical as he exchanged glances with his siblings.

"Are you sure you got that right?" asked Alex.

"It doesn't even make sense. But that's what he said. I memorized every word," said Becky, ending her sentence in a whisper as she stepped forward, placing her open palm on Sam's chest once again.

Dean and Alex watched her do this, Alex holding back her laughter as Dean just looked confused.

"For you," whispered Becky.

"Um, Becky, um, can you please quit touching me?" asked Sam.

"No," replied Becky, her eyes closed as she moved her palm in circles over Sam's firm chest.

Alex's smile widened as she heard a knock on their motel room door an hour or so later. She bounded over to open the door and Bobby smirked as he saw her standing in front of him. Alex practically jumped into his arms and he hugged her firmly. She let him into their room, shutting the door behind him.

"Thanks for coming, Bobby," said Dean, as he pulled Bobby in for a hug.

"No problem. I'm just glad to see you three all in one piece," said Bobby, finally hugging Sam last.

"You weren't followed, were you?" asked Dean.

"You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new super fan?" asked Bobby, giving Sam a sideways glance.

Sam chuckled uncomfortably.

"So you heard."

"Oh, I heard all about it, Romeo."

Bobby's eyes slid over to Alex and Sam gave Alex a warning glare. Alex winked and blew him a kiss, causing Sam to smile.

"So. The Sword of Michael, huh?"

"You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual archangel?" asked Dean.

"You better freaking hope so," said Bobby.

He walked over to the kitchen table in the small room and pulled out a mythology book. He opened it to an earmarked page and pointed to the large picture located there.

"That's Michael. Toughest son of a bitch they've got. He commands the Heavenly Host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he was the one who booted Lucifer's ass to the basement and he did it using that sword. So, if we can find it…" said Bobby, trailing off.

"We can kick the devil's ass all over again," finished Sam.

"Alright, so, where do we start?" asked Alex.

She sat across from Sam and Bobby at the table. She wore one of Sam's sweatshirts and a pair of yoga pants, holding a steaming cup of hot tea in her hands. She was suffering from period cramps and the boys knew to steer clear of her on those particular days of the month.

"Divvy up and start reading. Let's try and make sense of Chuck's nonsense," said Bobby.

Sam nodded with agreement. He stood up, heading over to Dean's bed. A whole stack of Bibles was lying on the end of Dean's bed. Sam stood hesitantly over them.

"Kid? You alright?" asked Bobby.

Sam turned to face his family then.

"No, actually. Bobby, this is all my fault. And I'm sorry," said Sam.

Dean sighed angrily.

"Sam."

"Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal."

Bobby looked over at Dean, who was practically glaring at Sam.

"Sam, stop it," warned Dean.

"I killed her, and I set Lucifer free."

"You what?" asked Bobby, sounding appalled now.

"You guys warned me about Ruby and the demon blood, but I never listened. I brought all of this on," said Sam.

Bobby stood up from his chair, his chest rising and falling as he took in deep breaths.

"You're damn right, you never listened. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant."

"I'm sorry," said Sam, his eyes welling up with tears.

"Oh, yeah? You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, Sam. If by some miracle, we manage to pull this off, I want you to lose my number. Do you understand me?" asked Bobby.

Sam looked down at the floor, nodding. Alex stood up from her chair, looking at Bobby.

"Bobby, don't you think you're being a little-"

"Alexandra Marie, don't you dare stand up for him!" yelled Bobby.

Alex shrank back in her chair, her eyes filling up with tears at Bobby's tone of voice. He never yelled at her. She looked over at her twin brother from her seated position, willing him to look over at her.

"There's an old church nearby. Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there," offered Sam, not looking Bobby in the eyes.

Bobby nodded.

"Yeah, you do that," answered Bobby.

Alex watched sadly as Sam left the room. She grabbed her cup of hot tea and stormed away from the table, purposely shoving into Bobby as she walked past him. Bobby grabbed her by the elbow, whirling her around to face him.

"Don't you dare touch me after what you just said to Sammy! You of all people, Bobby!" yelled Alex, angry tears falling from her eyes.

Bobby let go of her arm and Alex laid down on her bed, curling up into a ball.

Thirty minutes later, Dean and Bobby were sitting at the kitchen table, poring over books and Bibles. Alex was sound asleep on her bed.

"I would've never guessed your daddy would've been right," said Bobby.

"Right about what?" asked Dean.

"About your brother. What John said about save Sam or kill him. Maybe…"

"Maybe what?" asked Dean.

"Maybe we shouldn't have tried so hard to save him," answered Bobby, shrugging.

"Bobby," sighed Dean.

"He ended the freaking world, Dean. And you and I weren't strong enough to stop him. That's on us. Hell, even Alex couldn't stop him. The person he's been the closest to his whole entire life couldn't get through to him. Look, all I'm saying is, your dad was right."

Dean suddenly sat up straight at the mention of his father.

"Dad."

Dean pushed his chair away from the table and walked over to his bed. He grabbed his duffel bag and began rifling through it until he found a plastic Ziploc bag full of cards. He searched through the plastic bag until he found exactly what he was searching for. He smirked and walked back over to Bobby, who was still standing at the table.

"What is that?" asked Bobby.

"It's a card. From my dad's lock-up in Upstate New York. Here, read it," said Dean, handing the card over to Bobby.

"Castle Storage, 42 Rover Hill," read Bobby, still sounding confused.

"Castle on a hill of forty-two dogs," said Dean.

He pulled out his cell phone and began dialing Sam's number.

"So you think your father had Michael's Sword all this time?" asked Bobby.

Dean shook his head in confusion.

"I don't know, but I'm not sure what else Chuck could've meant."

"Yeah. Okay. Well, that's good enough for me," said Bobby.

As Dean turned his attention back to his cell phone, Bobby suddenly punched him in the chin. Dean went flying backwards and landed on the floor. As he used the edge of his bed to pull himself up, Bobby kicked him hard in the stomach, sending Dean flying through the wall and into the coat closet. Alex sat up from her sleep, screaming as she saw Bobby's eyes, which were now pitch black. He smirked and stepped forward, grabbing Dean by the shoulders. Dean watched as two more demons walked through the door, one a woman.

"I always knew you were a big, dumb, slow, pain in the ass, Dean," said the woman, smirking at him evilly.

Alex glanced over and saw Ruby's demon-killing knife on the nightstand. As she quickly moved to grab it, the male demon grabbed her by the leg, pulling her backwards. Alex kicked at him, hitting him in the face. Dean listened to her struggle, wincing when he heard Alex hit the floor with a thud. The male demon had Alex's arms pinned behind her back and the female demon smirked as he handed her Ruby's knife.

"Ruby?" guessed Dean.

"Try again. Go back further," she replied.

"Meg," whispered Alex.

Meg smirked over at her.

"Hi. You know, our father's among us now and we're all dreamy again. It's Heaven on Earth. Or Hell. You know, we really owe your brother a fruit basket or something," said Meg.

"You know what, fuck you, bitch," said Alex.

She winced in pain as the male demon tightened his hold on her arms. Meg smirked and walked over to Alex. She slapped Alex across the face, the slap sounding throughout the whole entire room.

"You two are the only bump in the road. So every single demon is just dying to get their hands on you two," said Meg.

Dean smirked sarcastically.

"Well, get in line."

"Oh, I'm in the front of the line, honey."

She smirked as she handed the knife over to Bobby. Bobby took it from her and held the knife to Dean's throat. Alex looked on in horror as Bobby brought back the knife, ready to stab it into Dean's heart.

"Bobby, no!" cried Alex.

Bobby's eyes returned to normal at Alex's scream and instead of stabbing Dean, Bobby plunged the knife into himself, groaning in pain. Bobby fell to the floor and Dean charged toward Meg. He punched Meg in the face, causing the other demon to let go of Alex. Alex watched as the demon grabbed Dean, pinning him to the wall. Just as the male demon punched and kicked Dean in the stomach, Sam opened the motel room door. His eyes widened in horror, but then he walked into the room, seeing Bobby's body on the floor.

"No!" yelled Sam.

Meg hit Sam in the face with the telephone from the room and Sam fell against the wall.

"Hey there, Sammy, did you miss me? Because I sure as hell missed you," smirked Meg.

"Meg," said Sam.

Meg giggled and Sam threw a punch. Meg ducked and then she began attacking Sam.

"Not so easy without those super special demon killing powers, is it, Sammy?" taunted Meg.

Alex took action then, pulling the knife from Bobby's abdomen. She rushed over to Dean, who had just briefly gained the upper hand, knocking the male demon to the floor. Alex quickly stood over him and brought the knife down into the demon's chest. The demon yelled in pain as he died and Dean stood up, groaning. Meg stood in the middle of the room as Alex approached her. Meg opened her mouth to scream, the demon escaping from her body. The cloud of black smoke disappeared into the night.

Alex ran ahead of her brothers as they carried Bobby inside the emergency room of the nearest hospital. The closest nurse rushed over to Alex.

"What happened?" she asked, glancing at Bobby.

"He was stabbed!" yelled Alex.

The nurse snapped and a gurney was wheeled over to them. Dean and Sam laid Bobby down on top of the gurney and the three siblings watched them wheel Bobby down the hall and around the corner. Sam tried to follow them, but the nurse stopped him.

"No, we can't just leave him," said Sam.

"Just don't move. I've got questions for you three," said the nurse.

She walked away and Sam ran a hand through his hair.

"C'mon, we gotta go," said Dean.

Sam shook his head.

"No, no way, Dean."

"The demons already know where the sword is. We've gotta get to it before they do or it might be too late already. Come on!" yelled Dean.

Sam looked back towards where they had wheeled Bobby, but then followed his siblings out of the hospital and over to the Impala.

Dean pushed the gas pedal down as far as it would go, heading for the storage space. Once they were there, each Winchester sibling grabbed at least two loaded guns from the trunk. Dean led the way to the storage space that their father used to rent and picked the lock quickly, Sam and Alex keeping a lookout. As Dean pulled the large door open, he saw two dead men lying on a Devil's Trap that was drawn on the floor. The three siblings stepped carefully inside, noticing another dead man farther inside the huge storage space.

"I see you told the demons where the sword is," said Zachariah, appearing out of thin air directly in front of the three of them.

The siblings all looked over at Zachariah and his two henchmen.

"Oh, thank God, the angels are here," said Dean, a sarcastic grin on his face.

"And to think, they could've grabbed it any time they wanted. It was right in front of them," said Zachariah, shutting the still open storage door.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

"Sure, we may have planted that particular piece of prophecy inside Chuck's skull, but it just so happened to be true. We did lose the Michael Sword and we truly couldn't find it. Until now, you've just hand delivered it to us."

"We don't have anything," said Sam.

Zachariah sighed and looked over at Dean.

"It's you, chucklehead. You're the Michael Sword."

Dean looked confused while Sam and Alex looked over at Dean. Zachariah smirked.

"What, you thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No. You're just a human, Dean."

"What do you mean I'm the sword?" ground out Dean, his teeth smashed together with anger.

"You're his weapon. Or rather, his receptacle."

"Holy shit. Dean, I think you're a vessel," whispered Alex.

"You're the vessel. Michael's vessel," answered Zachariah.

"How? Why me?" asked Dean.

"Because you're chosen! It's a great honor, Dean."

"Oh, yeah, life as an angel condom. That's real fun. But I think I'll pass, thanks."

"Joking, always joking, wow. No more jokes," said Zachariah, holding his fingers up to form a gun.

He pointed his fingers at Alex and then they all heard something snap. Alex fell to the ground, clutching at her ankle. Sam's eyes widened as he fell to his knees in front of her, pulling her ankle onto his lap.

"You son of a bitch!" yelled Dean, whirling around to glare at Zachariah.

"Keep mouthing off and I'll break more than her ankle," threatened Zachariah.

Dean looked back at Alex, who had tears running down her face as Sam looked at her broken and very swollen ankle in his lap.

"I am through screwing around. The war has begun and we don't have our general. That's bad. Now, Michael is going to take his vessel and lead the final charge against the adversary. Do you understand me?" asked Zachariah.

"And how many humans die in the crossfire, huh? A million? Five, ten?"

"Probably more, if Lucifer goes unchecked, do you know how many will die? All of them because he'll roast the planet alive."

Dean stared into Zachariah's face.

"There's a reason you're telling me this. Instead of just nabbing me. You need my consent. Michael needs my say so to ride around in my skin."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"There's gotta be another way."

"There's no other way, there must be a battle. Michael must defeat the serpent. It is written."

"Yeah, maybe. But on the other hand, eat me. The answer's no," yelled Dean.

"Okay. How about this. Your friend Bobby, we know he's gravely injured. Um, say yes and we'll heal him. Say no and he'll never walk again."

Sam and Alex looked up at Dean then, Alex now cradled into Sam's side. Dean continued to glare at Zachariah.

"No," said Dean.

"Then how about we heal you from… Stage Four stomach cancer."

Dean's eyes widened as he suddenly hunched over, holding his stomach and coughing up blood as he fell to the ground. He looked at the blood that he just spit out onto his palm.

"No," he managed to get out.

"Then let's get really creative. Um, let's see how Sam does without his lungs?"

Dean looked back at his siblings where Sam was now gasping for breath. Alex's eyes widened.

"Are we having fun yet?" asked Zachariah.

Zachariah stalked towards Dean, grabbing his chin in his hands and looking him straight in the face.

"You're going to say yes, Dean."

"Just kill us," ground out Dean.

"Kill you? Oh no. I'm just getting started," said Zachariah.

He let go of Dean's chin and stood up straight. Suddenly, from behind Zachariah, a flash of blinding white light entered the room. Zachariah whirled around and watched as Castiel stabbed one of his henchmen in the throat. The dead man fell to the floor as Castiel began fighting the other angel. Alex looked away and turned her attention back to Sam, who was holding onto his throat. She grimaced as the pain in her ankle continued throbbing.

"Sammy, calm down, okay? Castiel is here now and he's gonna get us all out of here, alright?" whispered Alex.

She saw out of her peripheral vision that Castiel had just gained the upper-hand, stabbing the other angel in the throat as well. There was another blinding flash of white light and then the second angel's body fell to the floor as well. Castiel stalked over to Zachariah then.

"How are you…?"

"Alive? That's a great question. How did these three end up on that airplane? Another good question because the angels sure didn't do it. So I think we both know the answer, don't we?"

"No. That's not possible," whispered Zachariah, looking down at the floor before looking up at Castiel once again as he spoke.

"It scares you. Well, it should. Now put these three back together and go. I won't ask twice," threatened Castiel.

Zachariah took in a deep breath as he stared down Castiel. He suddenly disappeared and Sam caught his breath, Dean stood up, and Alex moved her ankle around again. Sam helped Alex stand up and they stood beside Dean, all three of them staring over at Castiel.

"You three need to be more careful now," warned Castiel.

"Yeah, we're starting to get that," said Dean.

"Your frat brothers are bigger dicks than we thought," chimed in Sam.

Castiel shook his head.

"I don't mean the angels. Lucifer is now circling his vessel as we speak. And once he takes it, those hex bags will not be enough to protect any one of you."

Castiel stepped forward and put his palms on Dean and Alex's chests first. They groaned in pain and grabbed their chests as soon as Castiel let go. He did the same to Sam before Sam could move away and then all three of them were wincing as they held their chests.

"What the hell was that?" muttered Dean.

"An Enochian Sigel. It will hide you from every angel in creation, including Lucifer."

"What, did you just brand us with it?" asked Alex.

"No, I carved it into your ribs," answered Castiel.

"Hey, Cas. Were you really dead?" asked Sam.

Castiel looked down at the floor.

"Yes," he answered, looking back up at the three of them.

"Then how are you back?" asked Dean.

Castiel didn't answer the question, but left instead. The three siblings looked around the room, but he was completely gone.

A few hours later, Alex, Sam, and Dean were leaning against the windowsill as Bobby yelled at the doctor who had just delivered him the news that he was unlikely to ever walk again. The doctor ran out of the room, the siblings all looking amused standing over by the window. When the doctor was completely out of sight, Bobby turned his attention over to the three of them.

"Can you believe that yahoo?" asked Bobby.

"Screw him, you'll be fine," said Dean.

Alex and Sam avoided Bobby's probing gaze.

"So let me ask the million dollar question. What do we do now?" asked Sam, speaking up after an awkward moment of silence.

"Well, we save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess. It's bad. Whoever wins, Heaven or Hell, we're boned," answered Bobby.

"What if we win?" asked Alex.

"Screw the angels and the demons and their shit apocalypse. Now, they want to fight a war, they can find their own damn planet. This one's ours and I say they all get the hell off of it. We take them all on, we kill the devil, hell, we even kill Michal if we have to, but we'll do it our own damn selves," said Dean, coming to stand in the middle of the room during his spiel.

"And how are we supposed to do all of this, you genius?" asked Bobby.

Dean just shrugged, throwing his hands up.

"I've got no clue. But what I do have is a GED and a give 'em hell attitude, I'll figure it out," answered Dean.

Bobby smirked, looking over at Alex and Sam. They shrugged and smirked right back at him.

"You are nine kinds of crazy, boy," said Bobby, looking back over at Dean.

"That's been said. But listen, you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit."

Dean put a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder before walking out of the room. Alex gently kissed his cheek, following Dean out.

"Sam?" called out Bobby.

Sam whirled around to face his pseudo father figure. Dean and Alex saw that Sam wasn't behind them, so they stepped back into the room to listen to what Bobby was saying to Sam.

"I was real awake and I know what I said back there. And I just want you to know… that was the demon talking. I ain't cutting you out, boy. Not ever."

Sam sighed deeply, nodding.

"Thanks, Bobby."

"You're welcome. And Alex?"

Alex perked up at the mention of her name, smiling over at Bobby.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you for sticking up for Sam. That wasn't me either and I hope you know that," apologized Bobby.

Alex smiled warmly at him.

"I know, Bobby. I know," she replied.

"You know, I deserve a damn medal for this. But you're welcome anyway," finished Bobby.

Sam and Alex smirked as they finally walked out of the room with Dean leading the way out of the hospital.

An ambulance drove by the three siblings as they stepped onto the asphalt parking lot, heading for their car.

"You know, I was thinking back there, guys. And maybe we should go after the Colt," said Sam.

"Why, what difference would that make?" asked Dean.

"Well, we could use it on Lucifer. I mean, you just said back there-"

Dean sighed angrily.

"I just said a bunch of shit for Bobby's benefit. I mean, I'll fight. I'll fight through the last man, but let's at least be honest. I mean, we don't stand a snowball's chance and you both know that," said Dean.

Sam looked away and Dean scoffed.

"I mean, hell, Sam, you of all people know that."

Alex pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth then, watching her two brothers closely. Sam sighed.

"Dean. Is there something you want to say to me?"

Dean looked Sam over for a brief minute before answering.

"I tried, Sammy. I mean, I really tried. But I just can't keep pretending that everything's alright because it's not and it's never going to be alright. You chose a demon over your own family and look what happened."

"I would give anything, _anything,_ to take it all back," whispered Sam.

"I know you would, and so does Alex. And we know how sorry you are, we really, truly do. But man, you were the one that we depended on the most. And you let us down in ways that I can't even…"

Dean trailed off then, shaking his head sadly at Sam.

"I'm just, I'm having a hard time forgiving and forgetting here, you know?" finished Dean.

Sam nodded sadly.

"What can I do?" asked Sam.

"Honestly? Nothing. I just don't… I don't think that we can ever be what we were. You know? I just don't think I can trust you."

Dean shook his head and Sam's eyes filled with hurt. Dean headed towards the Impala, Sam looking down at the ground. As Alex heard the door open and then slam close, she looked over at her twin brother. Sam looked at her and Alex gave him a gentle smile.

"Come on, Sammy. Let's go," she whispered.

"Alex, can we talk about-"

Alex gave Sam a small smile.

"Sammy, I don't really want to have this conversation right now. Can we do this later. Please?" she whispered.

Sam looked at her, gulping nervously. He finally nodded after a few seconds, although it felt like forever to the both of them. Alex held out her hand and Sam took it, his large hand engulfing her small one. She led them over to the Impala and they both climbed inside.

The next day, Alex and Dean walked over to stand beside Sam, who was standing in the open doorway of Bobby's hospital room. Bobby was looking out the window in his room while sitting in his wheelchair, his back towards the three of them.

"We gotta cheer him up," said Alex.

"Look, we might have to wrap our heads around the idea that Bobby might not just bounce back this time," said Sam.

Dean and Alex looked at Sam, who shrugged sadly. He glanced down at the manila envelope Dean was holding in his hands.

"What's in the envelope?" asked Sam.

"From radiology. Let's just say, the doctors are baffled," answered Dean.

He handed Sam an X-ray of his ribs.

"Holy shit," said Alex, looking at the picture with Sam.

The X-ray showed Dean's ribs, which had all kinds of intricate symbols etched into Dean's ribs.

"Yeah, well, Cas carved each of you one too."

Sam's cell phone began ringing, so he handed the X-ray over to Alex while he fished for his cell phone in his jacket pocket.

"Hello?" said Sam.

Sam looked at his siblings as the person on the other end of the line responded.

"Castiel? Um, St. Martin's hospital, why? What do you wanna? Cas?"

Sam looked down at his phone, hanging up. Sam sighed as he looked at his siblings. Suddenly, Castiel was walking down the hall towards them, stopping in front of them once he had reached them.

"A cell phone, Cas? Really?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows.

Castiel sighed.

"You're hidden from angels now, all angels. I won't be able to simply-"

"Enough foreplay. Get over here and lay your damn hands on me," yelled Bobby, interrupting Castiel's speech.

The siblings looked at Castiel, who sighed deeply.

"I can't heal you."

Bobby spun his wheelchair around, facing all four of them now.

"Say again?"

Castiel stepped forward past the siblings, entering the room and standing in front of Bobby.

"I'm cut off from Heaven. Much of Heaven's power. There are certain things I can do and certain things I can't."

"You're telling me you lost your powers just in time to get me stuck in this trap for the rest of my life?"

"I'm sorry," said Castiel.

"Just shove it up your ass," replied Bobby.

He turned away from Castiel, turning back to face the window once again.

"Well, at least he's talking now," whispered Dean.

"I heard that," said Bobby.

Castiel walked back over to the siblings.

"I don't have much time and we need to talk," said Castiel, speaking to Dean.

"Okay?"

"Your plan to kill Lucifer, it's foolish. It can't work."

"Oh, well, thanks for the support."

"But I believe that I have the solution. There is someone besides Michael who is strong enough to take on Lucifer and stop the apocalypse."

"And who's that?" asked Alex, biting her lip.

"The one who resurrected me and put you three on that airplane. The one who began everything. God," said Castiel.

The siblings all looked at him curiously.

"I'm gonna find God," finished Castiel.

Dean sighed and grabbed Castiel by the arm, shoving him into Bobby's room with Alex and Sam following right behind them, Alex closing the door behind her. Dean whirled around to face Castiel, staring at him.

"God? God?" asked Dean.

"Yes. He isn't in Heaven, so He has to be somewhere," replied Castiel.

"Try New Mexico, I hear he's on a tortilla," smirked Dean.

Castiel looked confused for a split second.

"No, he's not on any flatbread."

"Listen, Chuckles, even if there is a God, He is either dead, which is the generous theory-"

"He is out there, Dean."

"Or He's up and kicking and doesn't give a rat's ass about any of us. I mean, look around you, man, the world is in the toilet. We are literally at the end of days here and he's off somewhere drinking booze out of coconuts, alright?"

"Enough. This is not a theological issue, this is strategic. With God's help, we can win. I killed two angels this week and I am now being hunted. I did it all for you and you failed. You and your siblings destroyed the world and I lost everything. For nothing. So keep your opinions to yourself," said Castiel, ending in a whisper.

"Well, we know you didn't come here to tear us a new one. What is it you want?" asked Bobby.

"I did come for something. An amulet," explained Castiel.

"An amulet? What kind?" asked Bobby.

"Very rare, very powerful. It burns hot in God's presence, it will help me find Him."

"Like a God EMF?" asked Sam.

Castiel nodded slowly while Bobby just shook his head.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about. I've got nothing like that."

"I know you don't."

Castiel looked over at Dean then. Dean looked confused and then Castiel's gaze drifted down, to the amulet that Dean always wore, the one that Sam and Alex had given him for a Christmas as kids.

"What, this?" asked Dean, looking into Castiel's face.

"May I please borrow it?" asked Castiel.

"No."

"Dean. Give it to me."

Dean stared at Castiel, looking between the necklace and Castiel. Dean finally relented, pulling the necklace off.

"Alright, I guess."

Dean held it in his hands for a few seconds before gently placing it into Castiel's open palm.

"Don't lose it," warned Dean, his face very serious and his eyebrows raised.

"I'll be in touch," said Castiel.

"Great, now I feel naked," muttered Dean, rubbing his neck.

Castiel disappeared in the blink of an eye and Bobby sighed.

"When you find God, tell Him to send legs!" yelled Bobby, looking up towards the ceiling.

Alex smirked and then, Bobby's cell phone rang. He grabbed it from the table beside him, holding it up to his ear as he spoke.

"Hello?"

"Bobby. Bobby, damn it, can you hear me?" said the man on the other end of the call.

"I can't hear you. Where are you? Colorado? River Pass, Colorado. Rufus? Rufus?" replied Bobby.

Bobby's eyes widened as he heard gunshots fired on Rufus' end of the call. He hung up as the line suddenly went dead and he looked over at the siblings.

Dean stopped at the end of the damaged bridge which led into River Pass, Colorado. The bridge was destroyed, the other half crumbled into the small stream below it. Dena turned off the car and climbed out, Alex and Sam following him out of the vehicle.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Alex, squinting as she looked down at the crumbled bridge.

Dean kicked a rock off of the edge and it fell into the stream down below.

"This is the only road in or out," said Dean.

Sam pulled out his phone, holding it up to check for a signal.

"No signal," he said after a minute.

"Rufus was right, demons have got this place locked down," said Dean.

"Well, looks like we're hiking in then," said Alex.

"And the hits just keep on coming," said Dean, heading for the trunk.

Alex walked in between her brothers as they walked into the seemingly empty town. Overturned cars were all over the empty streets, sprinklers were still spraying water on the green front lawns, and kiddie pools were full of water, but no kids were playing in them. One particular car was still running, the driver's door wide open and the radio still on, playing "Spirit in the Sky." Sam reached inside, turning the key and shutting the car off. He sighed, but the siblings continued on, heading for the gas station at the end of the street. Alex gagged as they approached one car, which had a large puddle of blood surrounding the driver's side of the car. An abandoned baby stroller was by the front left tire. Suddenly, a woman approached them from behind, cocking her pistol. The three siblings whirled around quickly, their guns aimed at the stranger.

"Ellen?" asked Sam, looking at the woman.

They all lowered their weapons, including Ellen.

"Hello there," said Ellen.

She approached them, Dean hiking his bag further up on his shoulder.

"Ellen, what the hell's going on here?" he asked her.

She quickly threw holy water into Dean's face. Dean flinched, closing his eyes.

"We're us," said Alex.

Ellen gave them one last glance and then brushed past them, heading for the small white church building located behind them. They followed her inside the building, carefully stepping over the salt line on the front door. Ellen stopped once Sam had shut the door and she looked at them.

"I'm so glad to see you three," said Ellen.

She threw herself into a hug with Dean and Dean wrapped his arms around her. She let go after about a minute and then suddenly slapped him. Dean's eyes widened.

"I should open a can of whoop-ass on you. You three can't pick up a damn phone? What are you, allergic to giving me some piece of mind?"

She glared over at Sam, who had been smirking. His smirk disappeared as he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I gotta find out that you're alive from Rufus?"

"We're sorry, Ellen," apologized Dean.

"Yeah, you better be. You better put me on speed dial, kid."

Dean nodded.

"Yes, ma'am."

Ellen stared at them for a few more minutes and then briefly smiled before heading down the stairs. Dean turned back, gave his siblings a look, and then they followed her down the stairs.

"So what's going on, Ellen?" asked Alex.

"More than I can handle alone," she replied.

"How many demons are there?" asked Sam.

"Pretty much the whole town, minus the dead people and these guys."

They had all reached the bottom of the stairs and they were staring at a set of wooden doors. Ellen turned to look back at the three siblings.

"So. This is it, right? The end of times? I mean, it's gotta be."

"It seems like it," said Sam, nodding and raising his eyebrows.

Ellen nodded and headed for the set of wooden doors. She banged on them twice.

"It's me," she said.

Someone on the other side of the doors looked through a makeshift peephole to confirm her identity and then the doors were pulled open. A rugged, handsome man opened the doors and the strangers inside stared as Alex, Sam, and Dean walked in behind Ellen.

"This is Sam, Dean, and Alex. They're hunters, here to help," explained Ellen.

"You guys hip to this whole demon thing?" asked the handsome stranger who had let them into the room.

"Yeah, are you?" asked Dean.

"Mike's eyes turned black. And he came at me with a brick. Kind of makes you embrace the paranormal," said another man, who was sitting at the long table in the middle of the room.

"Alright, catch us up," said Sam, turning to face Ellen.

Alex and Dean turned to her as well. Ellen sighed sadly.

"I doubt I know much more than you. Rufus called. Said that he was in town investigating omens. All of a sudden, the whole town was possessed. Me, Joe, and Kellan were nearby-"

"You were hunting with Joe?" asked Dean.

"Kellan's here?" asked Alex, her eyes brightening at the mention of Kellan's name.

Ellen nodded.

"Yeah, I've been hunting with them for a while now. We got here and the place… Well, the place was just like you see it now. Couldn't find Rufus and then me and my boys got separated. I was out looking for them when I found you three," said Ellen, looking down at the floor sadly.

Alex's eyes filled with tears and she turned into Sam's chest.

"Shh, don't worry, we'll find them," said Sam.

"Either way, these people cannot just sit here. We've gotta get them out now," said Dean.

"No, it's not that easy. I've been trying. We tried to make a run for it once," explained Ellen.

"What happened?" asked Sam.

"There used to be twenty of us."

Alex's face paled as she took in the nine people plus Ellen who were currently in the room.

"Well, there are four of us now," said Dean.

"You don't know what it's like out there, demons are literally everywhere. We won't be able to cover everyone."

"What if we give everyone guns?" asked Sam.

"The more people firing, the more demons we can keep away," said Alex, glancing over at the pregnant woman, who looked terrified as she held lovingly onto her rather large baby bump.

"There's a sporting goods store we passed on Main Street on the way in and I bet they've got guns," said Dean.

"Alright. You stay, we'll go," said Sam, looking over at Ellen.

"What about-" began Ellen, but Sam cut her off.

"If the boys are out there, we'll bring them back."

Ellen nodded and the siblings headed for the doors they had just come through. The man who had previously opened the door for them nodded as they passed back through it and he shut it as they left. Dean stopped his siblings as they got to the stairs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Why don't I just go?" asked Dean.

Sam and Alex stared at him.

"What, alone?" asked Sam.

"Yeah, someone's gotta stay here and start giving them shotgun 101."

"Yeah, Ellen," said Alex.

"No, it's gonna go a lot faster if you two stay and help, okay?" said Dean.

"While you go get guns and salt and look for Rufus, Joe, and Kellan? That's dumb, Dean," said Alex, rolling her eyes.

"I can handle it."

Alex looked at him curiously while Sam nodded, scoffing.

"You don't want me going out there," stated Sam.

Dean looked appalled.

"I never said that."

"Around demons."

"I didn't say that!"

"Fine. Then let's go," said Sam.

He gave Dean one hard, last look and then he headed up the stairs. Dean sighed and nudged Alex to follow him as he brought up the rear.

Once outside, they moved swiftly, heading back towards the way they had entered the town.

"I'll get the salt, you two get the guns," suggested Sam.

"No, we'll stick together," said Dean.

"Dean, it's right there. Can we at least do this like professionals?" said Sam, grinding his teeth with frustration.

Sam walked onward, heading for the supermarket they had walked past earlier. Dean sighed, but he grabbed Alex by the hand and they walked towards the sporting goods store.

Sam was putting all of the containers of rock salt into a large white trash bag when the bell above the front door of the supermarket sounded, indicating that someone has just entered the empty store. Sam slowly and quietly stood up, looking over the shelf in front of him. Two teenage boys were standing at the front of the store, both of them with pitch black eyes. One held a baseball bat over his shoulder. Sam crouched back down and watched them through the large mirror hanging over the check-out counter. One of them stood with his back to him as he began putting multiple water bottles into his backpack. Just as Sam reached for his shotgun, the teenager turned around and ran towards him. The demon had his hands around Sam's neck, but Sam managed to squeeze out the Latin words he needed to exorcize the demon from the teenager. When the kid's grip became too much, Sam managed to break free and pulled a knife from his pocket, stabbing the teenager. The kid fell to the floor and then the other demon came up from behind Sam, swinging at him with the bat. Sam ducked and then swiftly stood up and stabbed the second demon straight in the throat. The demon fell to the floor. Sam looked down at the puddles of blood that were now pooling on the floor beneath the two dead bodies. He looked at the blood on the knife and touched some using his thumb. As he brought his blood-covered thumb closer to his mouth, the bell above the door chimed once again. Sam looked at the circular mirror and saw Dean and Alex walk inside the store.

"Sammy," called out Dean.

Sam sighed in relief and stood up from his crouched position just as Dean and Alex rounded the corner. They stared at the two dead demons and then up at Sam, who was breathing very heavily.

Back in the church, Sam, Dean, Alex, and Ellen were teaching all of the residents in the church with them how to properly load and use a shotgun. Dean handed a gun to the man who was in charge of the door.

"You know you way around a gun at all?" Dean asked him.

The man smirked and took the rifle from Dean's hands. He swiftly unloaded it and then set it down on the table in front of Dean, who looked down at it with a smirk.

"Hmm. Where'd you serve?" asked Dean, looking back up at the man then.

"Fallujah. Two tours. I got back a little over a year ago. Takes one to know one though. Where'd you serve?" he asked Dean.

Dean's mouth lifted into a slight smirk and then he looked at the man.

"Hell."

The man smirked, scoffing.

"No, seriously."

"Seriously. Hell."

Alex sat next to Sam as they watched the strangers get acquainted with their shotguns. Dean walked over to join his siblings.

"Hey," he said, sitting down between the two of them.

"Hey," said Sam.

Alex rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I'm gonna go find Ellen."

She leaned forward, pressing a kiss to Dean's cheek and then another to Sam's before walking over to talk with Ellen.

"What's wrong?" asked Dean, looking over at Sam.

"It's just… At the supermarket, those demons were possessing teenagers. I mean, I literally had to slit some innocent kid's throat."

"Come on, Sam, you had to."

"I know, I just… I just wish I could save people, you know? Like I used to."

"What, you mean when you were all hopped up on demon blood?"

Sam sighed, frustrated.

"I didn't say that."

Ellen approached them then.

"I'll be back," she told them.

"Where are you going?" asked Dean, looking up at her.

"I can't sit here on my ass anymore. My sons are out there somewhere. If I'm not back in half an hour, get these people out of here."

Sam and Dean both stood up.

"Ellen, wait. I'll go with you," volunteered Sam.

"Whoa, hold on. Sam, can I please talk to you for a second?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded and they headed out of the room.

"You wanna go out there again?" asked Dean.

"Dean, it's fine. You and Alex can just stay here, get them all ready for battle, and I'll cover Ellen."

"Why's it gotta be you?"

Sam rolled his eyes, smirking sarcastically.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot. You think I'll take one look at a demon and suddenly fall off the wagon as if after everything we've now gone through, I haven't learned my lesson."

"Well, have you?" asked Dean, his face deadly serious now.

Sam suddenly shoved Dean and Alex headed for the door, looking worried. Ellen grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"If you actually think…"

Sam trailed off, glaring daggers at Dean. He stormed back inside.

"So where'd you see them last?" asked Sam, walking with Ellen down Main Street.

"Up ahead. So, what's up with you and your siblings?" asked Ellen.

"Just… stresses of the job, you know how it is. I'm kind of surprised you and the boys are hunting."

"I don't want them to be, but if they're gonna do it anyway…"

"Might as well keep an eye on them," finished Sam.

He stopped and pointed to some smoke that was circulating through the air a few blocks in front of them.

"Is that a chimney going?" asked Ellen.

"Looks like it. Come on," said Sam.

He looked down both ends of the street before they both started walking towards the large white house at the end of the street. They headed in through the backyard, creeping around the corners cautiously and looking at all of the windows before walking forward. A bald man appeared in the window adjacent to them, so Sam and Ellen hid in the shadows along the house.

"I guess we found base camp," said Ellen.

The man left the window and Sam shook his head, looking at the chimney, which was still emitting smoke.

"Demons don't get cold. Makes you wonder what they're burning," said Sam.

He stalked forward slowly and as Ellen stepped out to follow him, she was suddenly grabbed from behind. She yelled and Sam whirled around. The male demon held her up against the wall as she struggled.

"Don't move, you black-eyed evil skank! And give me my mom back!" yelled the other demon.

Sam's eyes widened as he realized that one of the demons in front of them was Joe. Sam pulled the one man off of Ellen, but then that demon and another began fighting him. Joe attacked Ellen and Ellen stared into Joe's pitch black eyes. Suddenly, she struck out, hitting Joe in the face with her shotgun. Joe fell to the ground just as Sam punched his last demon, knocking him to the concrete ground.

"Ellen, run!" yelled Sam.

As Sam loaded his shotgun, another demon came up from behind, knocking Sam down to the ground. Ellen ran away back down the street where they had just come from and Sam looked up. Although his vision was a little blurry from the knock on his head, he saw two figures standing above him, their eyes pitch black.

"Got you now," said one, which was Rufus.

"You bastard," said Kellan.

Sam fell unconscious.

Dean and Alex were pacing in front of the door as the people around them sat at the long table praying. Alex was biting her lip nervously. Alex jumped as a banging sounded on the door. Dean walked over, looking through the peephole. He saw that it was Ellen, so he let her inside. She stormed into the large basement room, Dean shutting the door behind her.

"Where's Sam?" asked Alex.

Ellen set her shotgun down on the table and turned to look at Dean and Alex then. She shook her head and sank down into a wooden chair at the table.

"They took him?" asked the pregnant woman sitting across from Ellen.

Dean sighed and grabbed his own shotgun.

"Everyone, sit tight. I've gotta…"

Dean trailed off as he reached the doors. He looked over at Alex, who was looking at him. He cursed under his breath and then turned back around.

"Alright, we need to get a solid plan together. Ellen, tell us everything you saw," said Alex.

"Dean, one of them is in Joe. We've gotta get it out without hurting him. It called me an evil skank," said Ellen.

"Bruise a little easy, don't you think?"

"No, that's not what I meant. It called me a black-eyed evil skank. What kinds of demons are these? Holy water and salt roll right off. My son may be an idiot, but he's not stupid. He wears an anti-possession charm. So does Kellan. I mean, it's all kind of weird, right?" asked Ellen.

"The whole thing's off," whispered Alex.

"What's your instinct?" asked Ellen.

"My instinct? My instinct is to call Bobby and ask for help. Or Sam."

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Well, tough! We've only got the three of us, so let's figure this shit out," said Ellen.

"Alright. Do you know why Rufus came to town, was there a specific omen?" asked Dean.

"He said something about water, that's all I know."

Dean glanced over and saw the priest standing by the fireplace.

"Padre, do you have any idea what she's talking about with the water?"

"Um, the river ran polluted all of a sudden."

"When?" asked Alex.

"Last Wednesday. And then the demon thing started up the next day," answered the soldier.

"Anything else?" asked Dean.

"Maybe, but it's pretty random. A shooting star? Does that count? Real big, on the same exact night. Wednesday," explained the soldier.

Alex's eyes widened and she turned around to face Ellen and her older brother. She stood up from her seat and walked over to the nearest bookshelf, locating a Bible. She walked back over to the table and sat down in her same place next to Dean and across from Ellen. She opened the Bible and began searching through it.

"So, um, you think that all of this comes from outer space?" asked the soldier, crossing his arms over his chest.

"This isn't the _X-Files_, pal," remarked Dean, watching Alex closely as she continued flipping through the Bible.

She finally found what she was looking for and read from the Bible aloud.

"And there fell a great star from Heaven, burning like a torch. And it fell upon the river and the name of the star was Wormwood and many men died."

"Revelation 8:10. Are you saying that this is about the… the apocalypse?" asked the priest, looking very alarmed.

"Sure, you could say that," remarked Dean.

"Now, these specific omens, they're a prelude to what?" asked Alex.

"The Four Horsemen."

"And which one rides the red horse?"

"War," answered the priest.

She looked at Dean and Ellen.

"That cherry mustang parked on Main Street," whispered Dean.

Alex nodded triumphantly.

"You can't think that a car is-"

"That's the way I'd roll. I mean, think about it. It all makes sense. If War's a dude and he's here, maybe he's messing with our heads," explained Alex.

"Turning us on each other," said Ellen.

"You said Joe called you a black-eyed evil skank? Well, they think we're demons and we think they're demons. What if there are no demons at all and we're all just killing each other?" proposed Dean.

"Wait a second, just back up, please. It's the apocalypse?" asked the priest.

"Sorry, Padre," said Dean.

"So now you're saying that there are no demons and that War is a guy," stated the soldier.

"Well, you believed crazy before," said Dean.

A furious knocking sounded on the basement doors then and the soldier rushed over to see who it was on the other side.

"Open up, it's Roger!" called out the man on the other side of the doors.

The soldier looked through the peephole and then swiftly opened the door, letting Roger back inside. Roger was still dressed in his business suit from work, his glasses slightly askew and his red and blue striped tie undone.

"I saw them. The demons. They know we're trying to leave. They said they're gonna pick us off one by one," panted Roger, leaning against the table.

"Wait, wait, wait, what?" asked Alex.

"I thought you two said there were no demons," argued the soldier, looking between Alex and Dean then.

"There's not! Where did you go?" yelled Dean.

"I thought someone should go out and see what the hell's going on!" yelled Roger.

"Where did you see the demons and what exactly did they say?" asked Dean.

"We've got people to protect," said the soldier.

He grabbed a shotgun from off of the table.

"Okay, let's slow our roll, this is not a demon thing," said Dean.

Then, Alex looked at Roger and he winked slyly at her. She gasped and Roger flashed his ring, quickly turning it.

"Look at their eyes! They're demons!" he yelled, pointing at Alex, Ellen, and Dean.

"Go, run, go!" yelled Dean.

He ushered Alex and Ellen out of the basement room first and ducked as the soldier fired off a round from his shotgun. Roger smirked as he watched them run away from the church.

Dean, Alex, and Ellen made their way to the demons home base, where Sam, Kellan, Joe, and Rufus were located. They broke through a window, Dean grabbing Rufus and Ellen grabbing Joe. Alex watched helplessly as Dean tried to get through to Rufus. Finally, after minutes of fighting, Rufus came around and realized that he had been hallucinating all along.

"Did you figure this out all by yourself, genius?" asked Rufus.

Alex smirked and Dean rolled his eyes, helping Rufus stand up straight. They walked inside the house, meeting up with Ellen and Joe.

"We all on the same page?" asked Ellen.

They all nodded.

"Good. Hi, Joe," said Dean.

Joe gave him an acknowledging nod. Alex smiled gently over at Joe, who smiled right back.

"Hey."

"Okay. Now, we gotta find War before everyone in this town starts-"

Dean was cut off by the sounds of bullets zinging through the air at them.

"Damn it. Where's Sam?" asked Dean.

"Upstairs," said Rufus, pointing to the stairs directly behind all of them.

Dean nodded and he and Alex headed upstairs, Ellen right behind them while she looked for Kellan. Dean reached the top of the stairs and tried the first door. Luckily, Sam was in the room.

"Dean! It's not demons, it's-"

"War, we know," said Dean.

He rushed over to Sam and began cutting the ropes that held him down.

"I just can't figure out how he's doing it all!" yelled Dean.

"It's his ring," said Alex, standing in the doorway.

Dean nodded.

"The ring, right! We've gotta move, guys, come on."

Dean helped Sam stand up and the three siblings rushed out of the room. As they ran from the room, they bumped into Kellan. As Kellan raised his shotgun to shoot them, Dean knocked it out of his hands. Alex grabbed Kellan's face in between her hands and forced him to look at her.

"Kellan, baby, it's me. I'm not a demon, it's War, one of the Four Horsemen pitting us against each other. Please, look at me."

Kellan shook his head and then his face brightened. He pulled Alex into his embrace and then kissed the top of her head.

"Sis, we've gotta go," said Dean.

Alex waved them off, so Dean and Sam took off running throughout the house, heading for War.

The two brothers caught up to War in a back alley, heading for his cherry Mustang. Dean grabbed him from behind and Roger chuckled. Sam pulled out Ruby's knife and he laughed even more.

"Oh, that's a sweet little knife. But come on. You can't kill War, kiddos."

"Oh, we know," said Dean.

Sam grabbed Roger's hand and held it down on the top of the hood of his car. Blood splattered all over Sam's face as he sliced off War's left ring finger. After it was gone, War and his car disappeared. Dean picked up the bloody ring off of the asphalt, looking around and wondering where War had disappeared to.

The next morning, Sam and Dean were sitting around a picnic table in a local park while Alex was saying goodbye to Kellan once again, over by the parked cars. The park was located at the top of a grassy knoll and Dean twirled War's ring around on his finger.

"So. Pit stop on Mount Doom?" he asked Sam.

Sam chuckled briefly, but then he looked calm and serious.

"Dean-"

"Sam, let's not," argued Dean.

"No, I want you to listen to me. Because this is really important. I know you don't trust me. It's just… now I've realized something. I don't trust me either. From the minute I saw that blood on my knife, the only thought in my head…"

Sam trailed off, shaking his head before he continued on.

"And I tell myself that for the right reasons, my intentions are good. And that feels true, you know? But I think, underneath, I just miss that feeling. I know how messed up that sounds, which means I know how messed up I am. But the thing is, the problem's not the demon blood, not really. I mean, for what I did, I can't blame the blood or Ruby or anything really. The problem's me. How far I'll go. There's something in me that… it scares the hell out of me. And within the last couple of days, I caught another glimpse," finished Sam, looking down at the wooden picnic table top now.

"So what are you saying?" asked Dean.

"I'm in no shape to be hunting. I need to step back because I'm very dangerous. Maybe it's best if we just… go our separate ways with you and Alex heading one way and me the other."

"Well, I think you're right," said Dean.

Sam looked up then.

"I was expecting a fight."

"Well, the truth is, I spend more time worrying about you than about doing the job right. I can't babysit you and Alex, you know how much I have to look after her. And I just can't afford to be any more distracted than I already am by watching her because you can't look after yourself anymore. And especially not now."

"I'm so sorry, Dean," whispered Sam, shaking his head.

"I know you are, Sam."

Sam nodded sadly and turned around to leave the picnic table. He turned back around when Dean spoke to him once again.

"Hey. Do you, um, want to take the Impala?"

Sam smiled sadly, shaking his head.

"That's okay."

Sam swung his legs over the picnic bench he was sitting on one by one. He turned back to look at Dean once he was standing.

"You take care of yourself, Dean. And take care of Alex too. I'll say goodbye, but it's not going to be pretty," said Sam.

Dean nodded, licking his chapped lips briefly.

"I'll watch out for her, but you take care of yourself too, Sammy, alright?"

Sam nodded briefly before heading over to the parked Impala. He grabbed his duffel bag full of clothes and his leather satchel carrying his laptop out of the backseat. As he walked around the back of the Impala, he ran his hand over it. He took a deep breath and then headed over to where Alex was standing with Kellan.

Alex laughed as Kellan tickled her sides. She saw Sam approaching and she pushed Kellan away gently. Kellan smirked and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

"I'm gonna help Mom load the rest of our stuff up, okay, baby?"

Alex nodded and Kellan walked a few steps over to where Ellen and Joe were loading up their vehicle. Sam approached Alex and Alex looked at him, confused as she saw his bags slung over his shoulder.

"Hi, baby sister," whispered Sam.

He let his bags fall to the gravel and he pulled Alex into his arms, closing his eyes as he kissed the top of her head. Alex returned his hug, but then stepped back to look Sam in the eyes.

"Sammy, what's going on? Why do you have all of your bags with you?" she asked him.

Sam sighed deeply.

"Alex, I'm going to stop hunting for a little while."

Alex stepped out of Sam's reach. Dean cursed under his breath from his spot at the picnic table as he watched their exchange. Kellan looked over from his spot as well.

"W-what do you mean? What are you talking about, Sam?"

"Alex, I can't trust myself anymore. You know I can't hunt right now, Dean doesn't trust me. I need to figure out what is happening with me before I can keep on doing this. Please, listen to me," begged Sam.

Alex shook her head, her eyes filling up with tears. She threw her arms around herself as sobs began racking her body. Kellan cursed and ran over to her, catching her before she fell to the ground. He held her in his arms as they fell to the ground together. Sam's eyes were filled with pain as he watched his twin sister break down in front of him.

"Alex, please," whispered Sam.

"Kellan. I've got her."

Kellan, Alex, and Sam all looked over as Dean finally reached them. Kellan nodded in understanding and he brushed a few stray hairs off of Alex's forehead.

"I love you, Alex Winchester. Never forget that," whispered Kellan.

Alex nodded numbly and Kellan gently pressed his lips to hers. He stood up, Alex huddled into his side. He reached out, shaking Dean's hand before pressing a final kiss to Alex's temple. He stepped away and Dean pulled Alex into his arms. Alex pressed her face into his chest and sobbed even harder. Sam's face looked even more pained than before.

"I love you, baby sister. Never forget that," whispered Sam.

Alex finally looked up at Sam, her face tear-stained and red.

"Please don't leave me again. We can work through this together," pleaded Alex.

Sam shook his head sadly.

"This is something I have to do alone. I'm so sorry," whispered Sam.

He looked at Alex and then looked up at Dean. Dean nodded and Sam turned around, heading for a blue truck that was headed out of town. He climbed inside, chancing one last glance back at his siblings. Dean and Alex were both watching him climb inside the pick-up truck. Sam sighed and finally closed the door. The truck pulled away and Alex broke down once again.

Alex shot up in her bed, gasping for breath. She looked around at the dark motel room. She quickly reached over, searching for Sam's shoulder to shake him awake and watch stupid infomercials with her until she fell asleep again. She frowned when she realized that Sam wasn't sleeping soundly beside her. She glanced over at the clock and read that it was 4:30 AM. The events from the previous day came rushing back to her and she sighed, a single tear escaping and rolling down her cheek. She flung off her blankets, walking over to Dean's bed. She climbed into the empty right side of his queen sized bed and sighed when Dean threw his arm over her waist.

"You okay, little sis?" asked Dean, his voice gruff with sleep.

Alex nodded and squeezed his arm gently.

"I'll be okay. At least for right now."

She smiled gently when she heard Dean snoring again less than a minute later. She snuggled down into the blankets and closed her eyes, sleeping peacefully for at least a couple of hours.

Dean bobbed his head to the music as he drove along the highway late at night. He looked over at the passenger seat, where Alex was curled up into a ball as she slept. She had on a pair of jeans and one of Sam's sweatshirts that she had stolen long before he had left them. Dean sighed as he looked at her sleeping peacefully.

Alex watched as Dean stood over the bathroom sink in their motel room, cleaning off one of his many jackets using a wet washcloth. She glanced down at her cell phone and when she looked up, she jumped back in fright. Castiel had suddenly appeared right over Dean's shoulder and was staring Dean down. Dean jumped when he too finally spotted Castiel standing behind him.

"God! Don't do that," yelled Dean, slamming his fist down on the countertop.

"Hello, Dean," said Castiel.

Dean sighed, but turned around to face Castiel, who was standing very close to him. Dean looked down at the bathroom's tile floor, clearing his throat.

"Cas. We've talked about this before. Personal space."

"Oh, sorry. My apologies."

Castiel stood back and Dean grabbed his jacket off of the countertop. He walked over to the bed that Alex was sitting on, setting the jacket down beside her legs.

"So how'd you find us? I thought we were flying under the angel radar?" asked Alex, glancing over at Castiel.

"You are. Bobby told me where you two were. Where's Sam?" asked Castiel, looking around the room, his eyebrows pulled together with confusion.

Alex began biting her lip and pulling at her cuticle as she looked away from Castiel's face. Dean stopped packing his duffel bag for a split second, but then he resumed his packing, shrugging on his dark blue jacket as he spoke.

"Sam is taking a separate vacation from us for a while."

Dean took in a deep breath and then turned to face Castiel once again.

"So. Did you find God yet? Or, more importantly, can I have my damn necklace back please?"

"No, I haven't found Him yet. But that's why I'm here. I need your help."

"With what?" asked Alex.

"A God hunt? We're not interested," said Dean, rolling up the sleeves of his jacket.

"It's not God, it's someone else entirely."

"Who?" asked Dean.

"It's an archangel. The one who killed me."

"Excuse me?" asked Dean, raising his eyebrows.

"His name is Raphael."

"You were wasted by a teenage mutant ninja angel?"

Alex chuckled.

"I have heard whispers that he's walking the earth. This is a very rare opportunity."

"For what?" asked Alex, standing up and stretching her arms and legs.

"Information," explained Castiel.

"So, what? You think if we find this guy, he's just gonna start spilling God's address?" asked Dean.

"Yes. Because we are going to trap and interrogate him."

Both Alex and Dean looked over at Castiel then, whose face was deathly serious.

"You're serious about this?" asked Dean.

Castiel turned to face him.

"Yes," responded Castiel.

"Give us one good reason why we should help you out," said Alex.

She slipped on her brown boots and began packing her duffel bag as Dean was doing previously.

"Because you're Michael's vessel, Dean. And no angel will dare harm you because of that."

"Oh, so I'm your bullet shield."

"I need your help. Because you are the only one who will actually help me. Please," begged Castiel.

Dean nodded slowly.

"Alright, fine. Where is he?"

"Maine."

Dean nodded and Alex shrugged on her black leather jacket. Dean grabbed his own duffel bag and Alex and Castiel followed him out of the spacious motel room, heading for the Impala.

Dean parked along the curb across from the local police station in Waterville, Maine.

"And we're here because…?" asked Alex, looking over at Castiel expectantly, her eyebrows raised.

"A deputy sheriff laid eyes on the archangel," explained Castiel.

"And he still has eyes?" asked Dean.

Castiel ignored his remark, so Dean sighed and stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants.

"Alright, so, what's the plan?" asked Alex.

"We'll have to tell the officer that he witnessed an angel of the Lord, and then the officer will tell us exactly where the angel is."

"You're serious?" asked Dean, staring into Castiel's face.

"You're actually going to walk in there and tell this guy the whole truth?" asked Alex, disbelief lacing her tone of voice as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Well, why not?" asked Castiel.

"Because. We're humans. And when humans want something really, really badly, we just lie about it," explained Dean.

He began fixing Castiel's jacket, shirt collar, and tie while Alex handed Castiel a fake ID badge, telling him to place it in one of the many pockets of his tan trench coat.

"Why would you lie?" asked Castiel.

"Because. That's how you become the President," said Dean.

Alex smirked and followed Dean across the street to the local police station. Castiel followed reluctantly behind the two of them.

"Are you W.B. Framingham?" asked Dean, approaching an African-American police officer who was standing in the very front of the police station.

The man turned around, nodding as he faced the three of them.

"I'm Lazlo Jones, FBI. These are my partners, also FBI," said Dean.

Alex flashed her fake ID badge with ease, but Castiel just stood there, staring at the police officer. Alex sighed and discreetly nudged him with her elbow. Castiel jumped and reached inside his jacket, pulling out his fake badge and flashing it as well. Dean smiled as he reached over and turned Castiel's badge right-side up.

"He's, um, he's new," whispered Alex.

She winked at the police officer standing in front of them.

"Would you mind if we asked you a few questions?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, sure. Talk here though," said W.B., pointing to his right ear as they walked forward, farther into the police station.

"My hearing's all blown to hell in this one," he stated, pointing to his left ear then.

"Did that just happen recently?" asked Dean.

He followed Alex into the office, sitting in a chair across from W.B.'s desk. Alex sat down in the other chair while Castiel was left to stand in between them.

"Yes. Gas station thing. That's why you're here, isn't it?" asked W.B, staring at the three of them expectantly.

"Yes it is," answered Alex, smiling at the police officer.

"Would you mind just running us through what happened?" asked Dean.

"Well, a call came in. Disturbance out at the local Pump and Go on Route Four."

"What kind of disturbance?" asked Alex.

W.B. shook his head slowly, sighing.

"Would not have believed my eyes if I hadn't seen it myself. We're talking a riot. Full scale."

"How many?" asked Dean.

"Thirty, maybe forty. An all-out, kill or be killed combat."

"Any ideas as to what set them off?"

"It's angels and demons probably," said Castiel.

Alex's eyes widened at his outburst as Castiel looked at W.B., nodding his head.

"They're skirmishing all over the globe right now."

"Um, come again?" asked W.B., looking thoroughly confused now.

"Demons," said Castiel.

"Demons! You know, drinks, adultery. We all have our demons, W.B.," said Alex, smiling politely over at the police officer.

"Yeah, I guess," said W.B., looking over at Castiel once again.

"Anyway, what happened next?" asked Dean.

"A freaking explosion, that's what! Oh, they said it was one of those underground gas tanks, but I don't think it was."

"Why not?" asked Alex.

"Well, it wasn't your usual fireball, but it was, um…"

"Pure white," stated Castiel.

W.B. looked over at him, his eyes wide as he nodded his head with agreement.

"Yes. The gas station was leveled, everyone was just… It was just horrible. And then I see this one guy, just kneeling there. Real focused like. Not a damn scratch or bruise on him," explained W.B.

"Did you know him?" asked Alex.

"Donnie Finnerman."

"And let me guess. Then he just vanished into thin air?" asked Dean.

"Uh, no."

W.B. looked at Dean like he was stupid or crazy.

"He's down at St. Pete's."

"St. Pete's," repeated Castiel, talking with a dramatic whisper and nodding his head.

"Thank you," said Alex, looking at Castiel and shaking her head.

"I take it that's not Raphael anymore?" asked Dean, standing with Alex and Castiel as they looked through a window outside of Donnie Finnerman's hospital room.

"No, just an empty vessel," explained Castiel.

"So is this what I'm looking at if Michael jumps my bones?" asked Dean.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"No, not at all actually. Michael is much more powerful. It will be far worse for you."

Dean nodded, looking away from the hospital room. Alex sighed, biting on her lower lip as she looked over at her oldest sibling.

Later that night, Alex sat in an old armchair as she watched Dean pace across the room, the Bible in his hands. He was skimming through the book as he walked across the old hardwood floor. Suddenly, a whooshing sound filled the room and both Alex and Dean looked over towards the entryway, where Castiel now stood. Dean placed the Bible in his hands down on the table in front of him and then looked back over towards where Castiel was currently standing in front of them.

"Where have you been?" asked Dean.

"Jerusalem," answered Castiel, walking further into the front room now.

"Oh and how was that little trip?" asked Alex, smirking sarcastically over at Castiel.

"Arid," replied Castiel.

He placed a very old looking jug on the table next to Dean's open Bible.

"What is that?" asked Alex.

"It's oil. It's very special and very rare."

"So this ritual of yours, when's it gotta do down?" asked Dean.

Castiel took a seat in an old dining room chair across from Dean's standing form.

"Sunrise."

"Tell me something, you keep saying we're gonna trap this guy, but it feels like we're trying to trap a hurricane with a butterfly net," said Dean.

"No, it's much harder than that."

"Do we have any chance of surviving this?" asked Alex.

Castiel looked over at her.

"You two do."

"So odds are, you're a dead man tomorrow," stated Dean.

"Yes," answered Castiel, looking over at him.

Dean scoffed.

"Wow. Well, it's your last night on Earth, so what are your plans?" asked Dean.

"I just thought I would sit here quietly," answered Castiel.

Alex smirked and Dean rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"Dude, come on, anything? Hmm? Booze, women?"

Castiel glanced away at the mention of women and Dean stopped walking around, looking over at Castiel with his eyebrows raised.

"You have been with a woman before, right? Or an angel, at least?"

Castiel scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably and looked anywhere but at the two siblings.

"You mean to tell us that you've never been with a woman before?" asked Alex.

"Look, I've never had an occasion, alright?"

Dean looked appalled while Alex just chuckled at Dean's expression. After a few minutes, Dean finally stood up straight, nodding his head.

"Alright," said Dean.

He walked over to the table and grabbed his jacket, beginning to put it on.

"Let me tell you, son, there are two things I know for certain. One, Bert and Ernie are gay. Two, you are not going to die a virgin, alright? At least not on my watch," said Dean.

He finished putting on his jacket and closed the Bible on the wooden table.

"Let's go," said Dean.

He headed for the door, Alex smirking as the two men left.

Dean watched as Castiel glanced around the room nervously, avoiding looking at the scantily clad women around them.

"This is a den of iniquity, I really should not be here," whispered Castiel.

Dean sighed and put his glass of beer down on the table in front of them.

"Dude, you full on rebelled against Heaven. Iniquity is just one of the perks now."

He glanced over to the side and saw a beautiful blonde woman approaching their table, looking straight at Castiel.

"Oh, show time," whispered Dean.

"Hi. What's your name?" she asked Castiel, her voice very sultry.

Castiel stared at the woman, not answering.

"Cas! His name is Cas. What's your name?" asked Dean, smiling over at the beautiful woman.

"Chastity," she replied.

Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Chastity?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Wow. Well, he likes you and you like him, so have at it!" said Dean.

He picked up his glass of beer and began drinking from it once again, smirking as Chastity grabbed Castiel's hand from his lap, standing him up.

"Come on, baby," she encouraged, leading him towards the back rooms.

As Castiel walked past Dean, Dean stood up, grabbing Castiel's arm and stopping him from walking on any further with Chastity.

"Oh, hey, listen."

Dean handed Castiel a wad of cash from his jacket pocket, shoving it into Castiel's open palm.

"Take this and if she asks for a credit card, say no. Now, just stick to the basics, okay? Do not order off of the menu. Go get her, tiger."

Dean smirked and Castiel looked at him.

"Don't make me push you," warned Dean.

Castiel sighed deeply, but took the money and then Chastity led him to the back rooms, Dean smirking after them.

About ten minutes later, a scream was heard from the back rooms. Dean's smiled faded and he rushed over to the back hallway, parting the black curtains which blocked it off from the front room and heading towards the middle of the hallway, where Castiel was standing. Chastity brushed past him roughly and Dean looked at Castiel, his eyes wide and his eyebrows raised.

"What happened?" asked Dean, disbelief evident in his tone of voice.

Castiel just shrugged.

"I don't know. I just looked her straight in the eyes and told her that it wasn't her fault that her father Gene ran off when she was a child. It was really because he absolutely hated his job at the local post office," stated Castiel.

Dean rolled his eyes, scoffing and chuckling at the same time.

"Oh, no, man. This whole industry runs on absent fathers, it's just the natural order of things."

Dean looked back towards the front hallway entrance, where two men dressed all in black were headed for them. Dean's face turned deathly serious.

"We should go now. Come on," said Dean.

He grabbed Castiel's arm and steered him towards the EXIT sign that was hanging over the other door at the other end of the hallway, the two bouncers following them. Dean and Castiel hurried away, barely managing to get away in the nick of time.

The next morning, Dean, Alex, and Castiel were back at the St. Pete's Hospital, but this time, they were inside Donnie Finnerman's room, working on the ritual to bring Raphael back.

"When the oil burns, no angel can touch or pass through the flames or he dies," explained Castiel.

He began pouring the oil from Jerusalem out onto the floor, around Donnie's form.

"Okay. So we trap him in a steel cage of holy fire, but, um, one question. How in the hell do we even get him here?" asked Dean, glancing over at Castiel as he continued pouring the sacred oil onto the tile floor.

"There's… Well, almost an open phone line between a vessel and his angel," explained Castiel, setting the empty oil jar down on Donnie's bedside table.

"One just has to know how to dial."

Castiel walked over to Donnie then, standing behind him. Castiel crouched down, lowering himself so he could be cheek to cheek with Donnie and he began chanting in ancient Latin. Dean and Alex watched curiously.

"I'm here, Raphael. Come and get me, you little bastard," said Castiel, standing straight up once he was finished with his ritual.

"Just out of curiosity, what is the average caller wait time to speak to an archangel?" asked Dean.

Castiel looked over at Dean and Alex then.

"Just be ready," he warned.

Castiel pulled out a small box of matches and took one out from the box, swiping it and lighting it on fire. He threw it onto the circle of oil around Donnie Finnerman and the oil immediately caught on fire, creating a flame circle around Donnie. The three of them stood, waiting patiently for Raphael to arrive.

Hours later, Dean parked the Impala next to the house they were currently squatting in while they were in town.

"Well, that's a day of my life that I will never get back," said Dean, climbing out of the Impala and heading for the front door of the house. As Dean pushed open the front door, Castiel stepped in front of him.

"Dean, wait."

As they walked into the house, a bright white light lit up the entire front living room. In the middle of the entryway between the two rooms was Donnie, suspended from the floor. He had what looked to be large wings made up from the flashing white lights that suddenly illuminated the front rooms of the old abandoned house. Once he was done, Raphael looked over at the three of them standing in front of him.

"Castiel," said Raphael, his voice very deep.

"Raphael."

"Oh, you know, I thought you were gonna be impressive, but all you do is black out the rooms?" asked Dean.

"And the whole Eastern Seaboard," said Raphael.

As if to punctuate his point, lightning flashed through the window outside, a large storm brewing now.

"It is a testament to my never-ending mercy that I don't smite you here, Castiel. Right now."

"Or maybe you're full of shit," said Alex, crossing her arms over her chest with defiance.

Raphael turned his head to look over at her then. Dean glanced over at her as well.

"Maybe you're afraid that God will bring Cas back to life and smite _you,_ you pansy ass," said Dean, smirking over at Raphael then.

"By the way, hi, I'm Dean Winchester and this is my little sister, Alex."

"I know who you two are. And now thanks to Castiel, I know _where_ you are."

"You will not kill them. You wouldn't dare," threatened Castiel.

"Maybe not, but I will take him to Michael."

"Well, that sounds just terrifying, it really does. But, um, I hate to tell you, I'm not going anywhere with you," said Dean.

He grabbed a bottle of beer from the cooler by his feet, popping the top off and taking a long drag from the bottle.

"Surely you remember Zachariah giving you stomach cancer?" asked Raphael.

"Yeah, that was… That was hilarious," remarked Dean, a smirk on his face once again.

"Yes, well, he doesn't have anything close to my imagination," threatened Castiel.

"Oh yeah?" asked Dean.

Raphael began slowly stepping closer to Dean, his eyes trained on Dean's face. Dean glanced over at Castiel nervously as Raphael stepped even closer. Once he was only a few feet away, Dean smirked.

"Well, I bet you couldn't imagine one thing though."

"What?"

"We knew you were coming, you stupid son of a bitch," said Dean.

He looked over at Alex, who flipped open her silver lighter and threw it onto the circle of oil that was now surrounding where Raphael was standing. The bright orange and yellow flames rose up around Raphael and he stared at Alex and Dean.

"Well, don't look at us, it was his idea," said Alex, pointing over to where Castiel was still calmly standing.

"Where is he?" asked Castiel, ignoring Alex's comment.

"God?" asked Raphael.

Castiel nodded his head slowly in the affirmative.

"Didn't you hear? He's dead, Castiel. Dead and gone."

Castiel looked over at Dean and Alex then.

"You're lying," said Castiel, turning his attention back to Raphael.

"Am I? Do you even remember the twentieth century? Do you think the twenty-first is going any better? Do you think God would have let any of that stuff happen if He were truly alive?"

"Yeah, I'm sure your Father would be so proud to find out that his sons started the freaking apocalypse!" yelled Dean.

"Who ran off and disappeared, who left no instructions and a world to run?"

"So Daddy ran away and disappeared. He didn't happen to work for the post office, did He?" asked Dean.

He exchanged a glance with Castiel while Alex just looked worried and confused at his statement.

"This is funny to you? You're living in a Godless universe."

"And?" asked Dean.

"What, you and the other kids just decide to throw an apocalypse while He's gone?" asked Alex.

"We're tired. We just want this to be over. We just want… paradise," said Raphael, looking over at Castiel then.

"So, what? God is gone and now you think you can do whatever the hell you all want to do, is that it?" asked Dean, yelling at Raphael now.

"Yes! And whatever we want, we get!"

Raphael's voice rose as he also yelled and then the front room's windows shattered, making Dean and Alex duck from the blast. Glass flew through the room, causing Dean to shelter Alex from the flying glass by placing the upper half of his body over hers, protecting her. Once the glass was done, they both stood up straight, staring at Raphael once again.

"If God is dead, then why have I returned?" asked Castiel, yelling now to be heard over the raging storm that was circulating outside now.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe Lucifer raised you?"

"No."

"Think about it. He needs all the rebellious angels that he can find. You know it adds up, Castiel."

Castiel stared Raphael down for a solid minute before turning to the siblings.

"Let's go," he said.

"Castiel. I'm warning you, do not leave me here," said Raphael, his bass voice eerily calm.

Castiel looked away.

"I will find you," warned Raphael.

"Maybe one day, but for today, you're my little bitch."

Castiel walked off, Alex following directly behind him. Dean turned back, smirking over at Raphael.

"What he said," yelled Dean.

He turned forward and followed Alex and Castiel out of the house and into the raging storm.

Dean glanced over at Castiel in the passenger seat as he drove down the highway. Alex was curled up in the backseat, asleep with Sam's sweatshirt draped over her tiny sleeping form.

"Hey, man, you alright?" asked Dean, glancing over at Castiel.

Castiel just continued to look out of his window.

"You know, I'll be the first to let you know that this crusade of yours is insane, but I do know a little something about missing fathers."

"What do you mean?" asked Castiel, still looking straight ahead out of the front windshield of Dean's Impala.

"I mean, there were times when I was looking for my father when… all logic said that he was dead. But I knew, in my heart, that he was still alive and kicking. So who cares what some ninja turtle says, Cas, what do you believe?"

Castiel paused for a moment before actually answering Dean's question.

"I believe that He's still out there."

"Good. Then go find Him."

Castiel looked over at Dean then, his face very serious.

"What about you?" asked Castiel.

"What about me? Oh, I don't know. Honestly, I'm great. I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but I am. I'm really great."

"Even without your brother?"

"Especially without my brother. I mean, I spend so much time worrying about the son of a bitch. I mean, I've had more find with you within the past twenty-four hours than I've ever had with Sam in years. And you're honestly not that much fun. It's funny, you know. I've been so chained to my family. But now that it's just me and Alex… Hell, I'm happy."

Dean smiled softly, but when he looked over at Castiel, he was gone. The passenger seat was empty, as if no one had even ever been sitting there. Dean's smile faded as he turned his attention back to the road lying in front of him.

Sam awoke in the middle of the night in his motel room, feeling as if something was off. He sat up, rubbing a hand over his face. As he looked over his shoulder, he shot off of his bed, seeing a man sitting behind him. He raced over to stand at the foot of his bed, just staring at the man in front of him.

"You know who I am," stated the man, looking over at Sam.

"Lucifer," whispered Sam, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"You are a hard one to find, Sam. Harder than most humans. I don't suppose you'd tell me where you are?"

"I'm dreaming? What do you want with me?" asked Sam.

"Thanks to you, I now walk the earth. I want to give you a gift. I want to give you everything you ask me for."

"I don't want anything from you, ever!"

Lucifer sighed deeply, taking in a deep breath and then shaking his head sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Sam, I really am, but Nick here is just an improvisation. Plan B. He can barely contain me without spontaneously combusting."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sam, his eyebrows pulling together with confusion now.

Lucifer stood up from his seat on the edge of Sam's bed.

"Why do you think you were in that chapel?"

Lucifer began walking forward toward Sam and with every step he took forward, Sam stepped backwards.

"You're the one, Sam. You're my vessel. My true vessel."

Sam's eyes widened with disbelief.

"No," whispered Sam.

"Yes," whispered Lucifer, nodding his head and raising his eyebrows.

"No. That will never happen," said Sam, shaking his head and letting a tear escape from his eye, falling down his face.

"I'm sorry, but it will. I will find you and when I do, you will let me in. I'm sure of it."

"You need my consent."

Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest, smirking.

"Of course, I'm an angel."

Sam smirked.

"I will kill myself before letting you in."

"Yeah, and then I'll just bring you back," said Lucifer, rolling his eyes.

He looked at Sam straight on, taking in a deep breath and then sighing deeply as he exhaled the breath he had just taken in.

"Sam, my heart breaks for you. The weight on your shoulders. What you've done and what you still have to do. It is more than anyone could bear and if there was only some other way, but there isn't. I will never lie to you, I will never trick you, but you will say yes to me."

Sam shook his head, smirking triumphantly.

"You're wrong."

"No, I'm not. I honestly think I know you better than you know yourself."

"Why me?"

"Because it just had to be you, Sam. It always had to be you."

Sam looked down at the floor, trying to force himself not to cry in front of Lucifer. When he looked up again, Lucifer was gone, having vanished into thin air. Sam sighed, letting another tear escape from his eye and roll down his face.


End file.
